- Latest available (Revised)
- Point in Time (26/03/2020)
- Original (As made)
Version Superseded: 25/03/2022
Point in time view as at 26/03/2020.
There are outstanding changes not yet made by the legislation.gov.uk editorial team to The Notification of Deaths Regulations 2019. Any changes that have already been made by the team appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Changes and effects yet to be applied by the editorial team are only applicable when viewing the latest version or prospective version of legislation. They are therefore not accessible when viewing legislation as at a specific point in time. To view the ‘Changes to Legislation’ information for this provision return to the latest version view using the options provided in the ‘What Version’ box above.
Statutory Instruments
Medical Profession, England And Wales
Coroners, England And Wales
Made
10th July 2019
Laid before Parliament
15th July 2019
Coming into force
1st October 2019
The Lord Chancellor makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 18(1) of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 M1.
In accordance with section 18(2) of that Act, the Lord Chancellor has consulted the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Chief Coroner.
Marginal Citations
M12009 c. 25; section 18 was amended by S.I. 2018/378.
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Notification of Deaths Regulations 2019 and come into force on 1st October 2019.
(2) In these Regulations, “relevant senior coroner” means the senior coroner appointed for the coroner area M2 in which the body of the deceased person lies.
Commencement Information
I1Reg. 1 in force at 1.10.2019, see reg. 1(1)
Marginal Citations
M2For the meaning of “coroner area”, see section 48 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.
2.—(1) A registered medical practitioner must notify the relevant senior coroner of a person's death if—
(a)the registered medical practitioner comes to know of the death on or after the coming into force of these Regulations; and
(b)at least one of the circumstances described in regulation 3(1) applies.
(2) But the duty in paragraph (1) does not apply if the registered medical practitioner reasonably believes that the relevant senior coroner has already been notified of the death under these Regulations.
Commencement Information
I2Reg. 2 in force at 1.10.2019, see reg. 1(1)
3.—(1) The circumstances are—
(a)the registered medical practitioner suspects that that the person's death was due to—
(i)poisoning, including by an otherwise benign substance;
(ii)exposure to or contact with a toxic substance;
(iii)the use of a medicinal product, controlled drug or psychoactive substance;
(iv)violence;
(v)trauma or injury;
(vi)self-harm;
(vii)neglect, including self-neglect;
(viii)the person undergoing a treatment or procedure of a medical or similar nature; or
(ix)an injury or disease attributable to any employment held by the person during the person's lifetime;
(b)the registered medical practitioner suspects that the person's death was unnatural but does not fall within any of the circumstances listed in sub-paragraph (a);
(c)the registered medical practitioner—
(i)is an attending medical practitioner required to sign a certificate of cause of death in relation to the deceased person; but
(ii)despite taking reasonable steps to determine the cause of death, considers that the cause of death is unknown;
(d)the registered medical practitioner suspects that the person died while in custody or otherwise in state detention M3;
(e)the registered medical practitioner reasonably believes that there is no attending medical practitioner required to sign a certificate of cause of death in relation to the deceased person;
(f)the registered medical practitioner reasonably believes that—
(i)an attending medical practitioner is required to sign a certificate of cause of death in relation to the deceased person; but
(ii)the attending medical practitioner is not available within a reasonable time of the person's death to sign the certificate of cause of death;
(g)the registered medical practitioner, after taking reasonable steps to ascertain the identity of the deceased person, is unable to do so.
(2) In this regulation—
“attending medical practitioner” means a registered medical practitioner required under section 22(1) of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 to sign a certificate of cause of death in relation to a deceased person;
“certificate of the cause of death” means the certificate required to be signed by a registered medical practitioner under section 22(1) of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953;
“controlled drug” has the same meaning as in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 M4;
“employment” means any employment, whether paid or unpaid, including—
work under a contract for services or as an office holder; and
work experience provided pursuant to a training course or in the course of training for employment;
“medicinal product” has the same meaning given by regulation 2 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 M5;
“psychoactive substance” has the same meaning as in the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 M6.
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C13(1)(e)(f) restricted (temp.) (26.3.2020) by Coronavirus Act 2020 (c. 7), s. 87(2), Sch. 13 para. 7 (with ss. 88-90, Sch. 13 para. 8); S.I. 2020/361, reg. 2(a) (which affecting provision expires (25.3.2022) by virtue of Coronavirus Act 2020 (c. 7), s. 89 (with s. 90))
Commencement Information
I3Reg. 3 in force at 1.10.2019, see reg. 1(1)
Marginal Citations
M3For the definition of “state detention”, see section 48 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.
4.—(1) A registered medical practitioner who must notify a relevant senior coroner of a person's death under regulation 2(1) must do so as soon as is reasonably practicable after the duty arises.
(2) If at that time there are exceptional circumstances to justify doing so, the registered medical practitioner may notify a relevant senior coroner orally, otherwise the registered medical practitioner must notify the relevant senior coroner in writing.
(3) When notifying a relevant senior coroner, a registered medical practitioner must provide such of the following information as is known to the registered medical practitioner—
(a)the registered medical practitioner's—
(i)full name;
(ii)postal address;
(iii)telephone number; and
(iv)email address;
(b)the deceased person's—
(i)full name;
(ii)date of birth;
(iii)sex;
(iv)address or usual place of residence;
(v)occupation;
(c)the name and address of—
(i)the deceased person's next of kin; or
(ii)where there is no next of kin, the person responsible for the body of the deceased person;
(d)the circumstances in regulation 3(1) which apply to the death;
(e)the place of death;
(f)the date and time of death;
(g)where the deceased person was under the age of 18, the name and address of—
(i)a parent of the deceased person; or
(ii)another person who had parental responsibility for the deceased person;
(h)the name of any consultant medical practitioner who attended the deceased person during the period beginning with the fourteenth day before death and ending with the person's death.
(4) When notifying a relevant senior coroner, a registered medical practitioner, in addition to providing the information specified in paragraph (3)—
(a)must provide any further information the registered medical practitioner considers to be relevant; and
(b)may provide any other information.
(5) A registered medical practitioner who notifies a relevant senior coroner orally under paragraph (2) must, as soon as reasonably practicable afterwards, confirm in writing to the relevant senior coroner the information given orally.
(6) In this regulation, “consultant medical practitioner” means a registered medical practitioner who is listed in the Specialist Register of the General Medical Council.
Commencement Information
I4Reg. 4 in force at 1.10.2019, see reg. 1(1)
Signed by authority of the Lord Chancellor
Edward Argar
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Ministry of Justice
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations impose a duty on registered medical practitioners to notify a senior coroner of a person's death under certain circumstances. The senior coroner to be notified is the senior coroner appointed for the area in which the body of the deceased person lies (the “relevant senior coroner”).
Regulation 2 provides that the duty applies where the registered medical practitioner comes to know of the death on or after the coming into force of these Regulations and at least one of the circumstances set out in regulation 3 applies in relation to the death.
But the duty does not apply if the registered medical practitioner reasonably believes that the relevant senior coroner has already been notified of the death under these Regulations.
Regulation 3 describes the circumstances referred to in regulation 2.
Regulation 4 sets out the requirements which apply when notifying the relevant senior coroner. This regulation provides when the coroner must be notified, how the coroner may be notified and what information must be given to the relevant senior coroner.
An impact assessment has not been produced for these Regulations as no impact, or no significant impact, on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen.
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Explanatory Memorandum sets out a brief statement of the purpose of a Statutory Instrument and provides information about its policy objective and policy implications. They aim to make the Statutory Instrument accessible to readers who are not legally qualified and accompany any Statutory Instrument or Draft Statutory Instrument laid before Parliament from June 2004 onwards.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: