of Cause of Death

Medical Examiner Service and Medical Certificate of Cause of Death

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust now provide a Medical Examiner Service, which is a National system for reviewing deaths that occur in hospital. The Medical Examiner is a senior doctor working in the Trust, who is independent and not involved in the patients care. With the assistance of trained Bereavement & Medical Examiner Officers, they will review all deaths within the hospital in order to establish a cause of death prior to the issuing of the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD). During your initial contact with the Bereavement & Medical Examiner Office, you will be given the opportunity to discuss the care and treatment your loved one has received. This is a chance for you to give positive feedback, ask any questions you may have regarding any aspect of their hospital admission and express any concerns you may have. Advice will be given to you as to how such concerns can be taken forward.

The service does endeavour to provide you with the MCCD as soon as possible, however sometimes this can take a little longer due to the availability of the doctor responsible for your loved ones care and in some cases the Medical Examiner or the treating doctor may need to speak to the Coroner before we can issue the MCCD. In either case, we will inform you of any delays which may occur. There is further information on Coroners referrals on Page 8. If the MCCD is able to be issued, we will explain to you what the next steps you need to take are.