Medical Examiners are all senior doctors, acting independently of the place where your relative died. They will not have been involved in their care at any time.

Their job is to look at the circumstances of a person’s death, review the relevant medical records, and discuss the cause or causes of death with the doctor who is preparing the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (also known as the Attending Practitioner or AP).

If necessary, the Medical Examiner Office will make a referral to HM Coroner, who will then make a decision whether or not to investigate the death.

A Medical Examiner or Medical Examiner Officer will contact you once the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death has been prepared by the doctor and scrutinised by the Medical Examiner.

This call will give you an opportunity to ask questions or raise any concerns about the causes of death, or about the care the person received before their death. They can also explain what medical language means and make it easier to understand.

The Medical Examiner Office works closely with the deceased’s doctor to issue the MCCD. This is either a doctor in the place where the person has died, such as a hospital or hospice, or a GP if the person has died in the community, such as at home or in a nursing home. The Medical Examiner and the doctor must be satisfied that the circumstances and cause of death are reflected properly on the MCCD, and must inform the coroner if appropriate.

It is completely normal for the whole process to take several working days, so please do not be concerned if you do not hear from us straight away.

You can still engage the services of a funeral director at this time.

The Medical Examiner and their Officers are there to listen to your questions and concerns, provide answers where they can, or advise you on who to contact if they are unable to assist. They can instruct the healthcare provider to look further into any concerns raised to improve the care of patients in the future.

Medical Examiners will not investigate further themselves, as they must complete their work within set time limits for the death certification process.

HM Coroners have a legal duty to investigate certain deaths, including where the death was unnatural or violent or where the cause of death remains unknown.

When a coroner starts an investigation into a death, the coroner and not the Medical Examiner will investigate the death (though the Medical Examiner may still provide expert medical advice to the coroner).

The Medical Examiner Service will explain what is written on the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death and why and check if you have any questions or concerns. They will also discuss the Medical Examiner’s review and ask if there are any concerns or questions you have about the care the person received before their death.

This is the best time for you to ask any questions you have about the death and to speak about anything that concerns you.

A discussion with the Medical Examiner Service provides you with an opportunity to have an open and honest conversation with someone who was not involved in providing care to the person who died, and ask anything about the care that you are not clear about or you have concerns about. It could be as simple as helping you to understand more about the treatment and causes of death or to understand the medical language used, or there may be something about the care which did not feel right or ideal. This is an opportunity to ask questions and raise concerns.

The Medical Examiner will provide an independent view of the causes of death and the care provided. Medical Examiners and their Officers will discuss your thoughts, questions and concerns, and if they find issues with care that need further investigation Medical Examiners will refer these to someone who can do this. This might be the healthcare provider (e.g. hospital or GP surgery) or HM Coroner.

As well as answering your questions, this can help to improve care for patients, families and carers in future.

Yes, of course. You can inform the Medical Examiner if you would like them to speak to another member of your family or a friend instead.

We understand this is likely to be a difficult time for many people and speaking to someone from the Medical Examiner’s Office is completely your choice.

If you are not sure, you can contact the Medical Examiner Office using the appropriate telephone number below, or by emailing nbn-tr.medicalexaminers@nhs.net.

Please feel free to ask the team for more information before deciding if you want to go ahead – they are trained to help people during these difficult family times and will be very understanding. Medical Examiners and their Officers are independent and we would encourage you to speak to them if you feel able to. They will help to explain things to you and are specially trained to answer your questions.

If Medical Examiners find any potential issues, they will be able to raise these with people responsible for the care of the person who died, or refer the issues to someone who can investigate further. Speaking with the Medical Examiners and their Officers can also help improve the care provided by the NHS and by carers to other people in future.

Medical Examiners will make every effort to avoid any delays and work with families and carers of the person who died to meet the legal requirements for registering deaths. Medical Examiners and their Officers are sensitive to family and cultural needs and aim to be as flexible as possible, for example where relatives need access to the body, or release of the body quickly for religious requirements.

If you disagree with the Medical Examiner’s conclusion, you are encouraged to inform the Medical Examiner or Medical Examiner Officer. They will listen to your concerns and can arrange a second independent review by a different Medical Examiner. If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome the service may refer the case to the coroner for a further independent consideration.

If you have a complaint, compliment or feedback about the service you can contact the team on nbn-tr.medicalexaminer@nhs.net.

Opening hours

• Southmead Hospital Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
• Bristol Royal Infirmary Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
• Weston General Hospital Monday to Thursday, 9am to 4pm
• Frenchay (deaths outside of hospital) Monday to Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm

Please note that these are normal hours of operation and may be subject to change.

Medical Examiner Offices in hospitals

For further information about the Medical Examiner Offices in hospitals, please use the links below:

Medical Examiner Office: North Bristol NHS Trust

Medical Examiners Office: University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust