Medical Examiner Service

You are being asked by an independent, specially trained person – the medical examiner or a medical examiner officer – about anything that may be worrying you about how the person who died was cared for. You may simply want to better understand why the person died, including by having medical terminology explained, or you may want to raise something about the care which did not feel right or ideal. This is your opportunity to ask questions and raise concerns.

Medical examiners and medical examiner officers will discuss your feedback, questions and concerns. If they consider any issues with care need further investigation, they will refer these to someone who can do this work.

As well as answering your questions, talking to a medical examiner helps the NHS provide better care for other patients and carers in future; for example, by identifying ways in which patient and family care could be improved.

Yes, of course. The bereavement officer or medical examiner team may contact you to ask who you would like them to talk to instead, or you can let the ward team know if you would like someone other than you to be the first point of contact. The medical examiner or their office will usually phone you before the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death is completed – but we can arrange another way of contacting you if you let us know what you prefer.

The medical examiner or medical examiner officer will explain what is written on the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death and why, and check if you have any questions or concerns. They will also discuss the medical examiner’s review and ask if you have any concerns or questions about the care the person received before their death. This is the best time for you to ask any questions and raise anything that concerns you.

The medical examiner and medical examiner officer are here to listen to your concerns and answer your questions and, if necessary, contact someone who can investigate further. Medical examiners will not investigate further themselves, as they must complete their work in the time before the death has to be registered by law.

Medical examiners make every effort to avoid any delays and work with families and carers of the person who died to ensure they can register the death without delay. It is not necessary for medical examiner review to be carried out before a body is released from hospital, and in certain circumstances (where referral to the coroner is not required) out-of-hours release of the body can be facilitated by the hospital. Medical examiner scrutiny is required before registration of the death can occur. Medical examiners and medical examiner officers will try to be flexible, and if early registration of death is required, patients, families, or their representatives need to discuss this with the doctors looking after the patient before the death. The doctors can then contact the Medical Examiner Office during office hours to see if it will be possible for the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death to be approved by a medical examiner, should the person die over a weekend or Bank Holiday.

If you are not satisfied with the medical examiner’s advice, please first discuss this with staff in the medical examiner’s office, and if you are still not satisfied, you can also contact the PALS department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on 0191 4456129, 0800 9530667 or [email protected]