Please accept our deepest condolences following the death of your relative or friend. The process for registering a death has changed on the 9th September 2024. Please review the information below to help explain the new process and service.
South Warwickshire Medical Examiner Service
Direct Line: 01926 495321 ext. 8141, 8140, 8165
Email: medical.examiner@swft.nhs.uk
Information for relatives and friends
Please accept our deepest condolences following the death of your relative or friend.
The medical examiner service is currently being implemented across the NHS with the aim of improving death certification and ensuring that bereaved families are given a voice. By introducing this new service, the NHS aims to provide a dedicated service for the bereaved and an opportunity for them to ask questions and raise any concerns around the care that their friend or relative received. The service will also provide greater safeguards for the public by ensuring proper scrutiny of all deaths not referred to the coroner, ensure the appropriate referral of deaths to the coroner, improve the quality of death certification and improve the quality of mortality data.
Who are the Medical Examiners?
Medical Examiners are senior doctors who will not have been involved in the care of the person who has passed away. Their role is to provide an independent review of the death and ensure that the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) clearly reflects the cause of death and been accurately completed. The Medical Examiner, or their officer, will discuss the cause of death with the bereaved person’s next of kin and endeavour to answer any questions about the cause of death or the care provided.
How this might affect you
Clarendon Lodge Medical Practice has implemented the medical examiner service and this means that any deaths that are not referred to the Coroner will be reviewed by the medical examiner service. Following the completion of the MCCD by the GP, this will be passed to the medical examiner service with an overview of the patient’s medical history. This will normally be within 2 working days of the patient’s death. Once the Medical Examiner has completed their review and is happy with the cause of death you should then expect a phone call from the Medical Examiner or their officer to discuss the cause of death and to endeavour to answer any questions that you may have. Once you have had this conversation, the MCCD will be scanned to the Registrar’s office who will contact you to make an appointment to formally register the death.
Contact us
If you wish to discuss the medical examiner service or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Our opening hours are Monday to Friday, 08.30 to 17.00.
Please contact us on:
Email: medical.examiner@swft.nhs.uk
Phone: 01926 495321 ext: 8141, 8140 or 8165