Tuesday marks 1 year since the Medical Examiner Service became statutory. Since 9th Sept 2024 we have endeavoured to ensure deaths in NW #Surrey are explained with care, compassion & transparency—supporting families & improving patient safety every day. Here’s our year in numbers #MedicalExaminers

Position Statement on Terminally Ill Adult (End Of Life) Bill @rcpath.bsky.social

www.rcpath.org/discover-pat...

An in-person appt to register a death may be offered 2-5 days from the online booking

A death must be registered within 5 days of #MedicalExaminers releasing the MCCD to the Registrars

At the in-person appointment, families register and receive the Death Certificate

THIS IS THE DEATH CERTIFICATE

The completed MCCD is scanned and sent to Registration Services

At this point, the family are advised they can book an appointment online to register in person and go ahead and book a funeral date

NOT BEFORE

(Until the ME has reviewed it is not certain if the coroner will need to be involved) 8/

NOW #MedicalExaminers are involved

ME reviews MCCD & compares with hospital + GP records to make sure all tracks AND checks for missed opportunities for care AND ensures coroner referral not indicated AND checks with family for concerns
THEN countersigns MCCD (which is NOT a death certificate) 7/

Let’s say all goes smoothly and an AP is available and happy to offer a Cause of Death ‘to the best of their knowledge and belief’
They then complete the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD)

The MCCD is NOT the Death Certificate 6/

If an AP cannot be sourced in a “reasonable time” (~72hrs) the death must be referred to the coroner under the Notification of Deaths Regulations 2019

This is the law

If the coroner is also unable to source an AP, they open an investigation which may include a post-mortem examination 5/

*NB* routine check-ups and care home visits do not need to be undertaken by a GP. Health professionals such as paramedics and district nurses may have far more contact with people approaching end of life which means an eligible AP may not be quickly available and hospitals may be asked to assist 4/

News of the death is communicated to the Attending Practitioner (AP).

In hospitals this is via a daily report

In GP practice this is via a number of varied ways and may take 1-2 days

The AP is any doctor who has treated the deceased in life AND is able to offer a cause of death 3/

When a person dies, the death needs to be Verified.
This is a precise medical assessment following set rules to provide legal confirmation of life extinct
(Time of death is recorded as the time of these tests, usually within hours)

The Verification of Death is NOT the Death Certificate 2/

🚨TW: a thread on death

There has been a lot of discussion this week around delays to obtaining a death certificate, which highlights misunderstandings around the documents that accompany a death

So…

What is a “Death Certificate”?
#MedicalExaminers #DeathCertification #journosky #medsky 1/

I’m so sorry - it does look like both hospitals do have on Office from our contact list:

Long A&E waits associated with increased risk of early fatality

archive.ph/1S7Cr

Deaths of 56 babies at Leeds hospitals may have been preventable, BBC told

apple.news/AkG7xHdYnT6e...

Startling data from Dr Georgia Richards and the #PreventableDeathsTracker
217 #PFDs to eleven Ambulance Trusts in eleven years

We are here at the Vox Conference Centre for #SWL24 Smarter Working Live Awards 2024, shortlisted in the #SmallscaleBigImpact category for our Medical Examiners Service - good luck to all those shortlisted!

Implants need to be logged on the #newMCCD - but which ones are important?
*hint: the ones that could explode💥
Here’s our explainer
#MedicalExaminers #MedEd ll

In England & Wales, Medical Examiner Offices are hosted by Acute Trusts, but report to @nhsengland.bsky.social

This is us, the ME Office hosted by Ashford & St Peter’s Hospitals NHSFT *waves*