Sept 2024 New Medical Examiner changes for Death Certificates
When a person dies, one of the first steps for their representative or relative is to obtain a death certificate.
Depending on the cause of death, there will either be an investigation by a coroner, or medical certification by a medical practitioner who is usually either the GP or the Hospital Dr or Hospice Dr taking care of the patient in their last days of life.
From 9th September 2024, all deaths in England and Wales, without exception, will require an independent review (by either a Coroner or Medical Examiner – sometimes abbreviated as “ME”).
Medical Examiners will review the cause of death proposed by the attending practitioner (GP, Hospital Dr etc), who had knowledge of or involvement in the care of the deceased.
The reforms mean that a Coroner’s referral will not be needed even if they have not been seen recently by their GP or any GP in the practice.
New Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD)
A revised MCCD will replace the existing certificate and will include details of the medical examiner and additional information regarding the person who has died. This will assist with local and national mortality data.
Exceptional circumstances
If an attending practitioner is unavailable, the death will be referred to the Senior Coroner.
Should the Senior Coroner decide not to investigate, it will be possible for them to refer to a Medical Examiner to certify the death.
What does this mean in practice? Impact of the changes
GPs will no longer issue death certificates independently as all certificates will be reviewed and issued by the Medical Examiner.
Therefore after any death the GP or the duty clinician will call the relative to offer condolences and collect information needed to send the referral to the Medical Examiner (usually no later than 72 hours of the death occurring).
The deceased’s representative will then be contacted by the Medical Examiner to complete the death certificate.
Increased timescales for registering a death
It may take longer for deaths to be certified and registered due to the additional step involving the Medical Examiner. This may be the case particularly in the initial months from September 2024, whilst the process beds in.
Notification of deceased’s representative
The deceased’s representative will not be able to register the death until the Medical Examiner has sent the MCCD to the Registrar (in some cases this may take longer than 5 days).
Changes to death certificates
New death certificates will include some different information, such as the new categories of informant (deceased’s partner or representative).
Greater efficiency in coroner cases
Over time, the involvement of medical examiners should streamline cases requiring coroner intervention.
Improved mortality data quality
Enhanced scrutiny and additional data collection will benefit national statistics.
For further information:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/patient-safety/patient-safety-insight/national-medical-examiner-system
For Erewash (Derbyshire County) deaths:
For Derby City deaths:
https://www.derby.gov.uk/community-and-living/deaths-funerals-cremations/deaths