Medical Examiners
The Medical Examiner service is an independent service located at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust.
Medical Examiners
All Acute Trusts in England and Local Health Boards in Wales were asked to host Medical Examiner Offices to focus on the certification of all deaths that occur within the Trust Organisation and in the Community setting.
The purpose of the Medical Examiner System is to:
- provide greater safeguards for the public by ensuring proper 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.
What is a Medical Examiner?
Medical Examiners are senior medical doctors who are contracted for a number of sessions a week to undertake Medical Examiner duties outside of their usual clinical duties. They are trained in the legal and clinical elements of death certification processes. The Medical Examiner’s service is an independent service housed/located within Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust and Medical Examiners carry out their duties as independent medical professional.
The role of the Medical Examiner is 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 the next of kin/informant and establish if they have questions or any concerns with care before death.
- Act as a medical advice resource for the local coroner.
- Inform the selection of cases for further review under local mortality arrangements and contribute to other clinical governance procedures.
Medical examiners are assisted by Medical Examiner Officers, who have specifically trained for the role.
Who are the Medical Examiners?
| Name | Role |
| Dr Katherine Naik | Lead Medical Examiner and Consultant Radiologist |
| Dr Elizabeth Carson | Medical Examiner and Consultant Anaesthetist |
| Dr Owen Johnson |
Medical Examiner and Consultant in Respiratory Medicine |
| Dr Anthony Taylor | Medical Examiner and Consultant in Emergency Medicine |
| Dr Owain Prys-Jones | Medical Examiner and General Practitioner |
| Dr Marie-Anne Fisher | Medical Examiner and General Practitioner |
| Dr Steven Grimshaw | Medical Examiner and Consultant in Elderly Medicine |
| Dr Toria Stocks | Medical Examiner and Consultant in Emergency Medicine |
| Mrs Helen Thomson | Medical Examiner and Consultant Colorectal Surgeon |
| Dr Dave Hall | Medical Examiner and Consultant in Emergency Medicine |
| Dr Neil Allen | Medical Examiner and ICU Consultant |
| Dr Jenifer Moffat | Medical Examiner and General Practitioner |
| Dr Rebecca Hilton | Medical Examiner and General Practitioner |
Who are the Medical Examiner Officers?
| Name | Role |
| Mrs Janice Munford | Senior Lead Medical Examiner Officer |
| Mr Asif Nawaz | Lead Medical Examiner Officer |
| Mrs Fiona Turner | Medical Examiner Officer |
| Mrs Lisa Phillips | Medical Examiner Officer |
How Medical Examiners or Medical Officers contact you?
A Medical Examiner or Medical Examiner Officer will contact you by phone within a few days of your bereavement. This usually takes place after the attending doctor who is issuing the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death has contacted the Medical Examiner Office to discuss the death. If the Coroner is involved in investigating the death, you may not always receive a call from the Medical Examiner Team, but you should expect a call from a Coroners Officer.
If it is inconvenient to take the call at that time or if you would prefer a different member of your family to take the call, please let us know. Delaying the call may delay the process of registering the death, which should be completed within five days wherever possible.
What you can discuss with the Medical Examiners
The Medical Examiner or Medical Examiner Officer will tell you what has been proposed as the cause of death.
You will be asked if it is what you expected and if you need any explanation. Causes of death often use medical terminology which can be confusing. Please feel free to ask for an explanation if you are unsure of what the Medical Examiner or Officer is discussing with you.
A doctor will always provide a cause of death to their best knowledge and belief. Whilst the law does not permit you to reject a treating doctor’s opinion on what the cause of death is, one of the purposes of your discussion with the Medical Examiner or Officer is for you to express your opinion if you disagree with the proposed cause. If you are able to provide new information which may alter the cause of death, the Medical Examiner or Officer will have a discussion with the treating doctor and this will be taken into consideration.
The Medical Examiner or Officer will then ask you if you have any comments or questions regarding the healthcare provided to your deceased relative or if you think there is anything that should be investigated further. Your comments will be fed back to the members of staff involved, if the Medical Examiner thinks it is appropriate to do so. The Medical Examiner will not be able to guarantee that any action will be taken, but they have a duty to pass on serious or persistent problems to the Regional Medical Examiner or Coroner, who will decide what action is appropriate.
The conversation with the Medical Examiner, as well as independent, is covered by the usual rules of medical confidentiality. This means, any information you share with the Medical Examiner or Officer will be kept confidential and not shared with the hosting organisation, unless you provide permission. In some circumstances, it may be necessary for the Medical Examiner to pass information to others (for example the coroner or police) to improve future care, protect other patients or comply with the law.
Further information and support
If you have questions about the illness or the treatment of your relative, the Medical Examiner is a senior doctor and may have sufficient knowledge to be able to help you. However, Medical Examiners are not specialists, and they may need to explain how you can seek answers to specialist medical questions.
If you would like any further support or information regarding your bereavement, please contact the Bereavement Office in the Acute Trust where your relative passed away. Alternatively, please contact the GP surgery who is issuing the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death who will be able to assist you and signpost you to support.