How does the Medical Examiner procedure work

You will have had first contact by the Medical Examiner Officers (MEO’s) by the time you read this, but the procedure is the Medical Examiner service will be informed of your loved one’s death by the GP. The Medical Examiner Officers (MEO’s) will call you to make the first contact. This will include basic admin details, email address, who is the confirmed nominated representative/ person, name of chosen funeral director, whether a cremation or burial and importantly whether you have any concerns or worries over the care/death.

The GP/attending doctor will complete a summary form of the death and time leading up to it and offer a proposed cause of death.

The Medical Examiner will then scrutinise the death using notes or other relevant medical contacts for information regarding the case. They will then confer with the summary form received to see if there are any differences in the cause of death and if necessary will contact the GP/attending doctor to discuss this.

Once the cause of death is ascertained, the MEO will contact you to discuss and confirm this. If all is acceptable, the GP/attending doctor will be requested to complete the MCCD and cremation paper if applicable. When completed, the GP/Hospice etc will call to let you know and send a copy of the MCCD to the register office ready for when you carry out the formal registration of death. A copy of the MCCD can be sent to you if requested. The cremation paper will be sent direct to your chosen funeral director if you have engaged one at this time.

*Please note the timings for this are controlled by the availability of the GP/attending doctor to complete the initial summary form and the consequent MCCD and not the Medical Examiner Service*