The Death Certification Reforms were published in December 2023. From April 2024 it will be a statutory requirement for all deaths to be scrutinised by a medical examiner OR investigated by a coroner. It is important that practices have governance processes in place to manage this new process.
There are two Medical Examiners in Humberside – one for the East Riding and Hull, and another for North and North East Lincolnshire. If you haven’t already contacted the Medical Examiner to assess the implications for your practice, we advise you to do so. If you want to see how this works in practice, you can also pilot the pathway now. Doing so may allow you to assess the impact on your practice and enable you to provide your feedback on the pathway, to the Medical Examiner.
The links below highlight the statutory changes that will be introduced in April:
- Death Certification Reforms Legislation – implications for the medical examiner system online information-sharing event (rcpath.org)
- The Medical Examiners (England) Regulations 2024
- The Medical Certificate of Cause of Death Regulations 2024
- The National Medical Examiner (Additional Functions) Regulations 2024
- An overview of the death certification reforms – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
You can contact the Medical Examiners using the following details:
Hull University Teaching Hospitals
Medical Examiner E-mail: hyp-tr.medicalexaminers@nhs.net
Medical Examiner Telephone: Hull Royal Infirmary – 01482 482157/ 01482 482158
Castle Hill Hospital – 01482 482156
North Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals
Medical Examiner E-mail: nlg-tr.medicalexamineroffice@nhs.net
Medical Examiner Telephone: Dianna Princess of Wales Hospital – 03033 303226
Scunthorpe General Hospital – 03033 303225
There are new guidance documents which relate to the process for the north bank:
HUTH Medical Examiner Process – Community Summary (North Bank)
Medical Examiner Flowchart – GP Surgery (North Bank)
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