The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 places a duty on Coroners to investigate deaths that are referred to them if they have reason to think that:
· The death was violent or unnatural;
· The cause of death is unknown; or
· The deceased died while in prison, police custody or another form of state detention e.g. where a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard Order (DoLS) is in place
In some cases the Coroner will order a PM to establish the cause of death. In these cases, bodies are taken to a pre-designated mortuary. In 2016 of 1,973 deaths referred to the Senior Coroner for North West Kent, 750 required a PM (38% of deaths referred).
On behalf of the Senior Coroner, KCC ensures there is adequate storage capacity for Coroner’s bodies and that the Coroner has access to PM facilities. KCC does not have its own public mortuary facility and so like many other coroner areas across England and Wales it has always used local NHS hospitals which have the necessary facilities for this purpose as there are no private sector providers of PM facilities anywhere in England and Wales.
Currently, post mortems for the Mid Kent & Medway coroner area are carried out by Medway NHS Trust at Medway Maritime Hospital. The last contract expired on the 31st March 2017 and a new four year contract has been agreed for the period 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2021.
Decision type: Non-key
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Division affected: Maidstone Central; Maidstone North East; Maidstone Rural East; Maidstone Rural North; Maidstone Rural South; Maidstone Rural West; Maidstone South; Maidstone South East; Malling Central; Malling North East; Malling Rural East; Sheppey; Sittingbourne North; Sittingbourne South; Swale West;
Notice of proposed decision first published: 19/06/2017
Anticipated restriction: Part exempt - View reasons
Explanation of anticipated restriction:
The report will include commercially sensitive information.
Decision due: Not before 12th Jul 2017 by Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services
Reason: In order that the proposed decision can be published for a minimum of 28 days, in accordance with statutory requirements
Lead member: Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services
Lead director: Katie Stewart
Department: Growth, Environment & Transport
Contact: Giles Adey, Head of Registration & Coroners Tel: 07740 186032 Email: giles.adey@kent.gov.uk Tel: 01622 221003.
Consultation process
The proposed decision was considered by the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee on 15 June 2017 and was endorsed.
Consultation has been undertaken with:
· Legal Services
· Strategic Sourcing and Procurement
· Head of Coroner Service
Financial implications: The financial terms of the proposed contract have now been negotiated and are set out in the exempt report accompanying the cabinet member decision.
Legal implications: None.
Equalities implications: None.