Report of the Home Office review of death certification / Home Office.

  • Great Britain. Home Office.
Date:
2001
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: Report of the Home Office review of death certification / Home Office. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    2 4.1 4.2 4.3 ay While, therefore, the primary intention of the Review was to identify issues directly relevant to the case involving Harold Shipman, it was also considered appropriate to spread the net more widely in order to address general issues concerning the whole process of death certification. Membership of the Review Team The Review was led by a small team representing the various interested parties. It first met on 3 February 2000 under the chairmanship of the head of the Home Office Animals, Byelaws and Coroners Unit. The group included representatives of the Department of Health, the Office for National Statistics, the National Assembly for Wales, and a co-opted coroner. Although the Review remit is limited to England and Wales, the issues of death certification obviously cross national boundaries. Accordingly, representatives of the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland and Scotland were also invited to join the team leading the Review. The names of the Review Team members are attached to this report at Appendix 1. Purposes of death certification One of the first steps for the review was to agree the purposes for which a death needed to be certified. In the course of the review a number of reasons for carrying out this task was offered by contributors, and the list which follows was felt by the Review Team to capture the most essential elements: ® to confirm that death has occurred 9 to establish the identity of the deceased person 8 to give an indication of the likely cause of death ® to support relatives and others with a valid interest in the medical cause of the death . e to assist in the proper and prompt disposal of the body e to ensure that unnatural deaths, which require further investigation, are properly investigated prior to disposal of the body e to record and identify essential details, such as the doctor in attendance during the last illness, in order that an adequate audit trail can be established for the certification process @ to facilitate the recording of every death in the public records ® to provide statistical information about the cause and circumstances of death