From today (Monday 9 September 2024), it is a legal requirement in England and Wales that all deaths in any health setting that are not referred to the coroner in the first instance must be subject to medical examiner scrutiny as part of reforms to the process for certifying and registering deaths in England and Wales.
As part of this change, a suite of new forms went live just after midnight:
- Cremation Form 1 – Application for Cremation of a Body of a Person who has died
- Cremation Form 6 – Certificate of Coroner
- Cremation Form 10 – Authorisation for Cremation of deceased person by a Medical Referee
The requirement for Cremation Form 4 – Medical Certificate has been permanently removed for cases in England and Wales.
The new Cremation Form 10 will need to be signed by a Medical Referee who will continue to authorise cremations during the transitional period.
For deaths where the MCCD was issued before 0:01 on Monday 9 September, the old forms must still be used. The issuing of the MCCD is the deciding factor. Depending on the issuing of the MCCD and the delay between death and the funeral, you may therefore still be using the old forms for a few weeks after 9 September.
NAFD members have been issued with a full pack of guidance and downloadable copies of the forms by email and the NAFD team is on standby to help with any questions you may have.
For further information, please visit: An overview of the death certification reforms – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)