Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of assessments undertaken by medical examiners to establish causes of death.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is monitoring the impact of the death certification reforms which came into legal effect on 9 September 2024. Medical examiner offices are staffed at a trust level with oversight and guidance from the National Medical Examiner based in NHS England. The National Medical Examiner publishes standards of performance that medical examiners are expected to meet in exercising their functions. To become a medical examiner, a qualifying medical practitioner should undertake relevant training including e-learning and face to face training and continuing professional development. While the Government has not made its own assessment of the adequacy of assessments undertaken by medical examiners to establish causes of death, the National Medical Examiner must publish an annual report which would include the way in which medical examiners had exercised their functions, including in relation to standards of performance.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the medical examiner process on (a) bereaved relatives and (b) the time it takes for families to arrange funerals.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is monitoring the impact of the death certification reforms which came into legal effect on 9 September 2024. Early data since the introduction of the reforms indicates the median time taken to register a death appeared to have risen by one day, from seven days to eight days prior to Christmas. This figure is for all deaths, as it includes those certified by a doctor and those investigated by a coroner. The average time taken to register increased further over the Christmas weeks, but this was expected given increases are observed during this period every year; the average has subsequently decreased.
The median time taken to register a death varies depending on the type of certification. Deaths certified by a doctor, that comprise approximately 80% of deaths registered each week, have typically had a median time to registration of seven days, though there can be variation at a local level. It’s important to note that the medical examiner system was active on a non-statutory basis before the introduction of the statutory system on 9 September 2024, and this makes direct ‘before’ and ‘after’ comparisons challenging to draw conclusions from.
The introduction of medical examiners is in part about making sure deaths are properly described and improving practice, but the impact on the bereaved is also central. The reforms aim to put the bereaved at centre of the process and the medical examiner office must offer a conversation with representatives of the deceased, so they can ask any questions they have about the death or to raise concerns. Ensuring the system is appropriately resourced and works for all those who interact with it is crucial, and something we will continue to monitor with NHS England.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of GPs undertaking medical examinations on GP workloads.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are determined to 'bulldoze bureaucracy' and cut red tape, ensuring general practitioners (GPs) spend less time filling in forms and more time caring for patients. We recognise it is vital for roles to be satisfying, rewarding and sustainable so that our experienced GPs continue to contribute throughout their career.