Medical Examiners and Death Certification

Debate between Lord Low of Dalston and Lord O'Shaughnessy

Wednesday 18th October 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Low of Dalston]

To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to report the outcome of the consultation on the introduction of medical examiners and reforms to death certification launched in March 2016; and whether they still intend to introduce those reforms in 2018.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord O'Shaughnessy) (Con)]

My Lords, since the election the Secretary of State for Health has reaffirmed his commitment to introduce medical examiners to provide a system of effective medical scrutiny applicable to all deaths that do not require a coroner’s investigation. The Government’s response to the consultation will be published shortly and the system will be introduced no later than April 2019. Pilot sites are already offering the bereaved an opportunity to raise concerns while improving patient safety through mortality data.

[Lord Low of Dalston (CB)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. While welcoming the Government’s commitment to introduce the medical examiners scheme by April 2019, the president of the Royal College of Pathologists said in March that,

“it is vital to ensure that implementation is properly planned. There is still much work to be done in adapting the current system and recruiting and training medical examiners and officers”.

Given all the delay to which the introduction of the scheme has been subject already, are the Government satisfied that it will be ready in time?

[Lord O'Shaughnessy]

The noble Lord is quite right to highlight this point. There have been calls for medical examiners since the Shipman inquiry; those were also endorsed following the inquiry into Mid-Staffordshire. Our intention is to ensure that, with planning time, the system can be introduced by April 2019, which is why the consultation and the regulations needed to underpin the planning for the system will be produced in short order.