The Medical Examiner (ME) service is part of a national initiative that has been developed to scrutinise all deaths that do not require referral to His Majesty's Coroner. Our CHFT ME Team has been in place since 2020, and the service has developed significantly since then.

This means they’re in a great place ahead of national changes in September.

We have a team of Four Medical Examiner Officers (MEOs) supporting 11 MEs to provide a service that covers CHFT and deaths in the local communities of Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield.

Until now, the team has been delivering the service in a non-statutory format. This will change on Monday 9 September when we enter the statutory phase. This will mean that, by law, all deaths will need to be scrutinised by a Medical Examiner.

In practice, this means that no Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD, informally referred to in the hospital as "death certificate") will be accepted by the registrars unless it has been signed off on by an ME who has scrutinised the case.

The Medical Examiner is:

•    Independent, has no prior knowledge of the patient.
•    Experienced, senior doctor.     
•    Able to review clinical records including any diagnostic information.
•    Able to communicate effectively and interact with the bereaved. 
•    Trained by the Royal College of Pathologists.

They also ensure:

•    Appropriate referrals to the coroner.
•    Accuracy and consistency of the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD). 
•    Early detection of clinical governance concerns.

The ME service is not accountable to the hospital trust but is accountable to their professional regulatory body and the regional and national ME service. 

More information on the full ME Team can be found on their intranet page. More information on the September changes will be shared soon.

Pictured left to right are: Medical Examiner Office Service Manager, Liz Pepper, Medical Examiner Lead, Tim Jackson and Lead Medical Examiner’s Office, Louise Ashton.