Who are medical examiners?

Medical examiners are senior doctors, independent of the healthcare professionals who looked after the person who died recently. They have received training to help them:

• advise on whether or not the law requires the coroner to be informed about a death
• advise doctors on how best to certify the cause of death
• identify situations where aspects of healthcare could have been better and make suggestions for improvements in the future.

Medical examiners are assisted by medical examiners officers, who are not doctors but have experience of the healthcare system and have had training for their role.

The medical examiner system is being implemented across England and Wales. This system is now running in our community hospitals. The Medical Examiner Services are independent bodies and while they generally located in acute hospital trusts, they are also reviewing deaths in our community hospitals.

How and when will they contact you?

One of the medical examiners will phone you within a few days of your bereavement, unless the coroner is going to investigate the death. If the coroner is involved, you can expect a call from the Coroner’s Officer instead.

If it is inconvenient to take the call at that time or if you would prefer a different member of your family to take the call, please let us know. Delaying the call may delay the process of registering the death, which should be completed within five days wherever possible.

What will they ask about? What can I say?

The medical examiner will tell you what has been proposed as the cause of death, to go on the death certificate. You will be asked if it is what you expected and if you need any explanation. Causes of death often use medical terminology which can be confusing. Feel free to ask for an explanation.

The law does not allow you to reject a doctor’s opinion on what caused death but you can express your opinion if you disagree. The doctor involved might be persuaded to reconsider if you provide new information. You will be able to discuss the next steps to register the death and obtain the death certificate – this is needed to prove to banks, solicitors etc. that your relative has died.

The medical examiner will then ask you if you have any comments, good or bad, on the healthcare provided to your deceased relative or if you think there is anything that should be investigated further. Your comments will be fed back to the members of staff involved, if the medical examiner thinks it is appropriate to do so. The medical examiner will not be able to guarantee that any action will be taken, but they have a duty to pass on serious or persistent problems to the regional medical examiner or coroner, who will decide what action is appropriate. The conversation with the medical examiner is covered by the usual rules of medical confidentiality but in some circumstances, it may be necessary to pass information to others to improve future care, protect other patients or satisfy the law.

Where can I get further information or support?

If you have questions about the illness or the treatment of your relative, the medical examiner is a senior doctor and may have sufficient knowledge to be able to help you. However, medical examiners are not specialists and they may need to explain how you can seek answers to specialist medical questions.

Please see information for families following a bereavement for further support and information.

For more information and contact details:

• Bereavement and Medical Examiner Services - Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust (mtw.nhs.uk)
• Medical Examiner Service | East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (ekhuft.nhs.uk)