B

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (CB)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 3 April 2025

Debate

Funerals: Death Certificate Delays

Contribution

My Lords, at the Commission on Palliative and End-of-Life Care, chaired by Professor Sir Mike Richards, we have heard from medical examiners and the bereaved. It is clear that the ability for the bereaved to speak to a medical examiner and go through things in detail is very supportive. However, the delays in notifying the cause of death and transferring the case notes seem to be from the doctor who had seen the patient. The medical examiner cannot start until both those events have happened, and at that point their work begins. So the increasing digitalisation of the health service and of notifications could speed up these processes. Does the Minister agree that the digitalisation proposals from the noble Lord, Lord Darzi, will bring about those changes and simplify the process?

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