Information for Bereaved Families & Friends
From Monday, 9th September 2024, all deaths in any health setting that are not investigated by a coroner will be reviewed by NHS medical examiners. These are independent senior doctors trained in the legal and clinical elements of the death certification process and they will not have been involved in your relative’s / loved one’s care.
Our medical examiner office has been working hard over the last four years, together with our local Registration Services, to minimise the impact of the change in the law. This is a major change for healthcare professionals, registrars and funeral services, but we all have the goal of creating a seamless transition for families going though bereavement. Your feedback will be invaluable in helping us to continuously improve this service.
The most noticeable changes that come in on 9th September relate to the medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD) and the cremation paperwork.
New Point of Contact for bereaved families
The medical examiner office will be the point of contact for families after bereavement. We can tell you if we have received notification of the death, and if we have, where we are in the process of review. There are instances where our review may indicate a referral to the coroner is required. The most common reason for this would be because the doctors attending the deceased may not be certain of the cause of death and there may be other reasons which will be explained to you by the Medical Examiner Team or treating Clinician.
Our team can be contacted on 01484 356 930 or 01484 356 931, Monday to Friday between 08:00 and 17:00.
New Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD)
The medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD) is the certificate completed by the doctors who looked after the deceased. This is the certificate that goes to Calderdale or Kirklees Registration Services and the information from this is added to the official Death Certificate that the Registrar will give you. From 9th September, medical examiners will be required in law to review every death in England and Wales that is not reviewed by a coroner. Once this review has been completed the medical examiner countersigns the new version of the medical certificate before it can go the Registrar.
Registering the Death
We strongly recommend you do not book a registration or funeral date until the medical examiners office has contacted you to confirm a MCCD can be issued. There are two reasons for this:
- the medical examiners team cannot start reviewing a death until they have received all the paperwork from the attending doctor (currently 2-5 days after the death)
- review might indicate a coroner’s referral is necessary which means an MCCD may not be issued
Where it is possible to proceed with a MCCD, the medical examiners team will contact the next of kin as documented in the medical records, explain the certificate, answer any questions and if all is well, give them the go-ahead to make an appointment to register. We can also help with explaining next steps. Families have five days to register a death from the moment the medical cause of death certificate is received by the Registrars.
MCCDs are sent to Registration Services electronically. There is no need to come into the hospitals or GP practices to collect a certificate.
Cremation forms
From 9th September 2024 these become obsolete
Still have questions?
If you have questions or concerns about the care of the deceased received, the medical examiners team will do their best to explain what they can from the medical records. If needed, we will help you access answers to your questions by linking you up with the NHS organisation who provided that care through their Patient Liaison services or Complaints process. If you feel a coroner needs to be involved, we can help with that.
The purpose of the medical examiner system is to:
- provide greater safeguards for the public by ensuring independent scrutiny of all non-coronial deaths
- ensure the appropriate direction of deaths to the coroner
- provide a better service for the bereaved and an opportunity for them to raise any concerns to a doctor not involved in the care of the deceased
- improve the quality of death certification
- improve the quality of mortality data.
Medical examiner offices in England are based at acute trusts and in Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield there is an office at Calderdale Royal Hospital. They are staffed by teams of medical examiners, supported by medical examiner officers.
The role of the Medical Examiner Office is to examine deaths to:
- agree the proposed cause of death and the overall accuracy of the medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD) with the doctor completing it
- discuss the cause of death with bereaved families and establish if they have questions or any concerns with care before death
- act as a medical advice resource for the local coroner
- identify cases for further review under local mortality arrangements and contribute to other clinical governance processes.
The ME service is not accountable to the hospital trust but is accountable to their professional regulatory body and the regional and national ME service.
Our service is overseen by Dr Tim Jackson (Lead Medical Examiner), Mr Graham Cooper (Regional Medical Examiner) and Dr Alan Fletcher (National Medical Examiner).
Our office hours are: Monday to Friday 8am - 5pm.
Our office contact numbers are: 01484 356930 / 01484 356931
Weekend / Bank Holidays out of hours for faith deaths is via relevant switchboard between 08:30am - 09:30am:
Huddersfield Royal Infirmary - 01484 34 2000 / Calderdale Royal Hospital - 01422 35 7171
Email: medical.examiner@cht.nhs.uk
In a minority of cases: deaths that need to be referred to the West Yorkshire HM Coroner based in Bradford. If the coroner is involved, the clinicians will not be able to issue an MCCD unless the HM Coroner authorises it. More information and contact details are available here: LINK The Coroners Office and inquests | Bradford Council
