GP practices have been urged to check they are on the distribution list for the new medical certificates of cause of death (MCCDs) so they can receive them before the certificates become mandatory in September.
The new MCCDs must be used for all deaths from 9 September. From this date, the current MCCD can no longer be used.
The latest NHS England primary care bulletin said that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has started distribution of the new certificates, with deliveries to practices ‘on track to be completed by the end of July’.
The bulletin reminded GP practices to check that they are on the DHSC list so that they receive the MCCDs in good time.
Government guidance issued in June said that the DHSC had worked with local registration services to find out which organisations currently use MCCDs so the new certificates could be sent out.
However, it said the list ‘may be inaccurate or incomplete’ and asked all organisations using the current MCCDs to check they were on the list and that their postal details were correct by 15 July.
The certificates are part of a new system requiring GPs to agree death certificates with a medical examiner.
The statutory system was formally introduced by the Health and Care Act in 2022. The system has been developed in part as a response to the GP Harold Shipman’s murder of his patients and the Lucy Letby case.
The new system was due to start in April 2023, but it was postponed until April 2024 and then again until September 2024.
From 9 September, any GP who has attended the deceased in their lifetime will be eligible to be an attending practitioner, which simplifies the current requirements whereby GPs or clinicians are only eligible if they have attended the patient during their last illness.
The process means GPs have to give access to a deceased patient’s records for the medical examiner to reach agreement on the accuracy of the MCCD, whereas before this extra scrutiny was not required.
New NHS England guidance, published on behalf of the National Medical Examiner for England and Wales, said that the new system had already improved accuracy ahead of its statutory implementation.
The guidance, which will be effective from 9 September, said: ‘There are already signs medical examiners are improving the consistency and appropriateness of referrals to coroners, and we expect their work will improve the quality and accuracy of recorded causes of death, benefitting analysis and research.’
The document sets out standards for medical examiners and provides guidance for implementing them.
Practices that identify a problem with the DHSC distribution list should contact [email protected]
