Decision details

To award contracts to Funeral Service Providers for the removal and transfer of deceased persons to hospital mortuaries pending further investigation by the Coroner, or for a post mortem to take place to establish the cause of death.

Background Information:

The removal of bodies is a business-critical function, a statutory responsibility and, importantly should it fail it has a high risk of reputational damage to KCC, Medway Council and the Kent and Medway Senior Coroners.

The Coroner may decide that a suitable practitioner is required (normally a Pathologist) to examine the body and carry out a post mortem examination to help find the cause of death. In such cases the body needs to be transported from where it is lying to a designated mortuary pending further enquiries being made, or to hold a post mortem examination. This movement of the body constitutes a ‘Coroner’s removal’.

In some cases, it is necessary to transfer the deceased from a designated mortuary to another designated mortuary either within Kent and Medway or outside Kent to more specialised mortuaries for example to London (child deaths) or Brighton (infectious cases). These are more commonly known as a ‘Coroner’s Transfer’.

The providers are required to perform the following services:

·         24 hours a day, 365 days of the year;

·         For a coroner’s removal to be at the place of death within 1 hour of being directed to attend by Kent County Constabulary;

·         For a transfer, to have completed it within 48 hours of being directed to do so by a Coroner’s Officer;

·         Bodies that require removal include deaths in the community and in hospitals without a designated post mortem facility and including open spaces, difficult locations, houses, care homes, public highway, railway or water.

Historically Coroner’s removals have been completed by firms of funeral directors who have the necessary vehicles, staff and professional expertise to provide the service. Nationally, in a very few instances the service is provided in-house by local authorities which have their own public mortuary but that is not the case in Kent and Medway.

The current contracts expire on the 22^nd May 2019 and following a competitive tendering process we are able to award new contracts from the 23^rd May 2019.  These will be for 3 years and include the option to extend by two 12-month terms up to a maximum of 5 years in total.

As Cabinet Member for Communities & Regulatory Services, I agree to:

• award contracts for coroners’ body removals and body transfers for the period 23 May 2019 to 22 May 2022 with the option to extend the contracts for two further one-year terms to 22 May 2023 and 22 May 2024; and

• delegate authority to the Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services to conclude the contracts for coroners’ body removals and body transfers for the Kent and Medway coroner areas for the period 23 May 2019 to 22 May 2022 with the option to extend the contracts for two further one year terms to 22 May 2023 and 22 May 2024.