Hackney: Medical Examiner referral
Death Certification Reforms will come into force on Monday 9 September 2024 meaning independent scrutiny by a medical examiner (ME) will become a statutory requirement prior to the registration of all non-coronial deaths in England and Wales from this date. The regulations were laid in parliament on Monday 15 April 2024 and announced by the Department of Health and Social Care.
To check if your practice is listed as an organisation that will receive the new medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD), which must be used from 9 September 2024, please review the published list:
New MCCD: check that your organisation is on the distribution list – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The medical examiner system is designed to:
- improve the quality/accuracy of medical certification of cause of death.
- advise on whether the law requires the coroner to be informed about a death.
- provide bereaved families with greater transparency and opportunities to raise concerns.
- provide the public with greater safeguards through improved and consistent scrutiny of all non-coronial deaths.
- support local learning/improvement by identifying matters in need of clinical governance and related processes.
Subsequent to the ministerial announcement of the statutory date, NHS England communications were sent out in the Primary Care Bulletin and Healthcare Leaders Update to inform GP Practices and NHS trusts that they must make arrangements with ME offices if they have not already done so.
Deaths in Hackney are referred to the ME office hosted by Homerton Healthcare. For the City of London its Barts Health.
Homerton Healthcare
Covering deaths at the Homerton Healthcare NHSFT and community deaths in the London Borough of Hackney
Email: huh-tr.medicalexaminer@nhs.net
Contact number: 0208 510 7150
When a GP practice is notified of a patient’s death and will be issuing the death certificate then the process is as follows:
- If the death meets the criteria for referral to the coroner, then the referral should be made as per the current process.
- If not, the GP practice will need to complete the ‘Medical Examiner Referral Form’ which has been uploaded to clinical systems through Resource Publisher.
Once complete, this is emailed (e.g. through the AccuRx toolbar) to huh-tr.medicalexaminer@nhs.net
- The ME will then review the referral and review the patients record further if required / or contact the GP practice for more information if required. The ME office will also contact the next of kin to explain the cause of death and to answer any queries or concerns.
- The GP practice will then be contacted by the ME office by return email confirming that a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) can be issued.
For deaths outside Hackney (including in the City of London) please look at the NHSE website which lists all the MEs in London and outside London and what boroughs they cover:
NHS England » Contact details for medical examiner offices in England and Wales
The National ME office has also made two podcasts available.
GPs and medical examiners working together and changes to the death certification process and introduction of the statutory medical examiner system.
The template and referral are on Resource Publisher
The template is called (RP) Medical Examiners Template NEL CEG v1
The referral is called Medical Examiners GP Referral Form CEG v1
Further information here:
NHS England » Information for primary care on extending medical examiner scrutiny to non-coronial deaths in the community