New Medical Examiner system will improve patient care and give bereaved families a voice

A change in the law will see Medical Examiners providing independent scrutiny of all deaths that are not referred to the Coroner from 9 September 2024.

Medical Examiners are senior medical practitioners who provide independent scrutiny of causes of death. Supported by medical examiner officers, they carry out detailed reviews of medical records and give bereaved people the opportunity to raise concerns or ask questions about the care their loved one received prior to their death.

As part of the changes, a new Medical Certificate Cause of Death (MCCD) will replace the existing Death Certificate.

Under the new system, once the attending practitioner and the medical examiner have both completed their declarations of certification and scrutiny, and the cause of death is confirmed, the MCCD will be sent to the registrar. The family of the deceased will then contact the registrar to arrange the registration of the death.

Dr Katherine Naik, Lead Medical Examiner at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, said: “Medical Examiners at the Trust have already been scrutinising all hospital deaths not referred to the Coroner for some time, providing support for bereaved families, increasing safeguards, and improving patient care.

“The move to a statutory system on 9 September will further strengthen those safeguards, ensuring that all deaths are independently reviewed, causes of death are accurately recorded and the voices of all bereaved people are heard.

“We understand how difficult losing a loved one is for families, and that being able to make funeral or other arrangements as quickly and smoothly as possible is of the utmost importance. That is why we have been working hard to prepare for these changes since they were first announced in 2022. We have been working closely with GPs, registrars, the coroner, and bereavement services to ensure the change to the new system runs smoothly.

“An on-call system has also been put in place, so a Medical Examiner is on hand for any deaths that occur at weekends or Bank Holidays. This will ensure there are no delays for families where there is a religious or cultural need for burial or cremation to take place as soon as possible.”

Full details about the changes, along with FAQs, can be found on our website at www.midyorks.nhs.uk/medical-examiners