Concerns among the Sheffield Muslim community around death certification reforms

The death certification reforms – the first in 50 years in England and Wales – are planned from next Monday (September 9) but there are fears it could lead to delays with burials.

According to the regulations laid before the parliament this April, “the new death certification reforms require an independent review to be carried out for all deaths in England and Wales, without exception”.

A paper published on a government website said that this will either be provided by independent scrutiny by a medical examiner or by an investigation by a coroner.

From September, a medical practitioner will be eligible to be an attending practitioner and complete a medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD), if they have attended the deceased in their lifetime.

The main change is that attending practitioners must share the MCCD and proposed cause of death with a medical examiner, who will scrutinise these before submission to the registrar.

However, these changes made some a little bit worried about what’s next.

Muhammad Ali, from the Sheffield Federation of Mosques, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that he had concerns about the potential “unnecessary” delays in burials the reforms may bring.

The tradition in the Muslim community is to bury the deceased as soon as possible – sometimes even on the day of the passing, he said.

He said the services that were provided by the coroner’s office and the bereavement services for many years were “absolutely wonderful” and they accommodated everyone’s needs regardless of faith.

However, he added this new law will bring in a new tier, adding medical examiners into the mix before signing off.

He said: “If there are not enough medical examiners in place, this is going to end up causing problems in the sense that the speedy burials the Muslims enjoyed over the years will end up delayed.”

Mr Ali said if delays were to happen, people who visit the deceased family from all across the country may need to hang around longer which could cause issues with accommodation and more.

Mr Ali said they would like to keep working together with the “five-star services in South Yorkshire” so they can continue to have a great relationship, enjoy the services and be able to bury friends and family in a dignified manner.

Cllr Shaffaq Mohammed, Liberal Democrats’ group leader at Sheffield City Council, said with the new law there is going to be an “extra layer”.

He asked: “Do we have enough people signed up to be medical examiners both in the hospital and out in the community?”

He added there was a lack of awareness of these changes and more needs to be done to spread the word about it.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told the LDRS: “The impact of medical examiner scrutiny delaying funerals has been an important consideration when designing these reforms, and we have consulted closely with faith groups including the Gardens of Peace Muslim cemetery.

“There is provision within the new system to minimise the potential of delays to burial while maintaining the integrity of the medical examiner system.

“Rapid release can be requested to prioritise cases that require urgent attention, including in accordance with faith groups’ burial customs, and the new measures will be proportionate so as not to impose undue delays on the bereaved.”

What is a medical examiner?

By definition – provided by the published paper on the government website -, a medical examiner is a senior medical practitioner who is contracted for a number of sessions a week to provide independent scrutiny of causes of death, outside of their usual clinical duties.

They are trained in the legal and clinical elements of death certification processes and will not have been involved in caring for the patient.

Medical examiners have a number of responsibilities:

- They provide independent scrutiny of the causes of death.

- Give bereaved people the opportunity to ask questions.

- Review medical records.

The document added: “Once the relevant attending practitioner and the medical examiner have completed their declarations of certification and scrutiny, and the cause of death is confirmed, the MCCD will be sent to the registrar by the medical examiner rather than the attending practitioner.

“The representative of the deceased will be notified at the same time that they can now contact the registrar to arrange the registration of the death.”