unexpected ('sudden') deaths
Last reviewed 01/2018
- if death occurs in the patient's home, or in a nursing or residential home, it is recommended that there is a visit by the GP with whom the patient is registered, to examine the body and confirm death, although this is not a statutory requirement. The GP should then report the patient's death to the coroner - generally through the local police
- in any other circumstances, the request to attend is likely to have been generated by the police or ambulance service. It is generally wise, and particularly in the case of an 'on-call' doctor, to decline to attend and advise that the services of a retained police surgeon be obtained by the caller