The Coroner

The Coroner is an independent judicial officer who enquires into deaths which are of a sudden or of an unknown cause.

Sometimes it may be necessary for hospital doctors to refer a hospital death to the Coroner; typically if the death occurred within 24 hours of admission or surgery or if the cause of death is unknown or was related to an industrial disease. Doctors caring for your loved one will contact the Coroner’s Office for guidance in these cases.

After this discussion, the Coroner may authorise a Medical Certificate of Death to be issued by the hospital doctor or the Coroner may order a post mortem to establish the precise cause of death. The Hospital Bereavement Service or hospital doctors will advise you if a Coroner’s post mortem examination is necessary and will give any guidance you require. The post mortem will be undertaken promptly and you can begin to make funeral arrangements while waiting for it to take place.

The hospital is licensed by the Human Tissue Authority to undertake post mortem examinations and adheres to the conditions of the Human Tissue Act (2004). All post mortem examinations are undertaken by consultant pathologists trained to Royal College of Pathology standards.

The Coroner's office will advise you about how to register the death after the post mortem and obtain the paperwork that you will need for the undertakers. The Coroner and Coroner's Officer can be contacted on the following telephone numbers: 01935 402312 or 0117 973 4259

More details about the work of the Coroner can be found by following the link on the right.