Expected versus Unexpected Death
After a death, the next steps depend on whether it was expected or unexpected.
Expected Death
An expected death occurs when a person dies of natural causes due to an illness they were known to have. If the illness was linked to certain conditions, like asbestos exposure leading to lung disease, it might be treated as an unexpected death and referred to the coroner.
For an expected death, the doctor who cared for the patient during their last illness and saw them within 28 days before death or shortly after, will issue a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD). This certificate allows the funeral director to move the deceased to a place of rest. If the funeral director removes the body before the MCCD is issued and the doctor later decides they can't issue it due to new information, the body might need to be transferred to the coroner, causing complications.
From summer 2024, community medical examiners will review the MCCD and parts of the deceased's medical records to confirm the cause of death. The MCCD cannot be sent to the registrar until the medical examiner agrees, delaying further funeral planning.
Unexpected Death
An unexpected death is when a person was not expected to die, has no obvious cause of death, or died from a notifiable cause (see coroner’s office section). In these cases, the clinician who pronounces death will call the police, who will then contact the local public mortuary at Oldham Royal Hospital to transfer the body. The GP or any other doctor cannot influence the next steps until the coroner's office completes their process and determines the cause of death.
The coroner might discuss the case with the deceased's GP, conduct an inquest, or perform a post-mortem. Not all referrals to the coroner result in a post-mortem; sometimes an MRI scan can be privately funded to determine the cause of death and avoid a post-mortem.