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New Medical Examiner Process Causing Delays
Funeral directors say new legislation requiring senior doctors in England and Wales to independently scrutinise every death is leading to long delays for some families.
The death certification reforms came into effect on 9 September 2024, and are designed to provide better safeguards against medical negligence.
All deaths are now reviewed independently, either by a medical examiner or a coroner, before a death certificate is issued.
Some funeral directors in Derbyshire have told the BBC it means a longer wait for the certificate, saying the delay results in “difficult conversations” with bereaved families who want to see their loved ones.
Impact on families
“As a funeral director, we can’t carry out a funeral without the certificate, we need a piece of paper from the registrars,” said Helen Wathall, managing director of G Wathall and Son Funeral Directors in Derby.
“So whilst the death is unverified, we care for the deceased and look after them, but we’re not, for example, allowed to embalm anyone because the death has not been verified.
“By the time the certification arrives, sometimes it’s too late for us to do that, and the impact then is on the family, who may not be able to see their loved one and get peace from that.”
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