Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to cases where death from covid-19 is linked to an underlying health condition, whether both conditions as causes of death are recorded on death certificates.

In response to the provisions in the Coronavirus Act 2020 in relation to death certification, the General Register Office/Home Office and the Office for National Statistics published revised guidance to medical practitioners completing medical certificates cause of death (MCCD) for a period of emergency. Medical practitioners are expected to state the cause of death to the best of their knowledge and belief. This guidance confirms that COVID-19 is an acceptable direct or underlying cause of death for the purposes of completing the MCCD.

The MCCD is set out in two parts, in accordance with World Health Organization recommendations in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. Starting with the immediate, direct cause of death in part one, going back through the sequence of events or conditions that led to death on subsequent lines, until reaching the one that started the fatal sequence. Part two of the certificate should include any other diseases, injuries, conditions, or events that contributed to the death, but were not part of the direct sequence.