Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there have been any changes to the categories of those with authority to sign a death certificate due to arrangements put in place for the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 21 April the Government published guidance for doctors completing Medical Certificates of Cause of Death (MCCDs) in England and Wales which advised that, in an emergency period, any doctor can complete the MCCD, when it is impractical for the attending doctor to do so. This may, for example, be when the attending doctor is self-isolating, unwell, or has pressure to attend patients. In these circumstances, it may be practical to allow a medical examiner or recently retired doctor returning to work to complete the MCCD. There is no clear legal definition of ‘attended’, but it is generally accepted to mean a doctor who has cared for the patient during the illness that led to death and so is familiar with the patient’s medical history, investigations and treatment.