Independent Medical Examiner
The Department should now institute the office of Independent Medical Examiner to scrutinise those hospital deaths not referred to the Coroner.
- An Independent Medical Examiner service has been piloted in NI hospitals but it is not statutory and has not been fully rolled out.
- Northern Ireland is excluded from the medical examiner provisions of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, which apply in England and Wales.
How was this evidence gathered?
Response
Accepted
Response
AcceptedPrototypes to determine the most appropriate way to operate such a service are progressing. Learning will inform proposals for an IME service in Northern Ireland.
Published Evidence
Published assessments of progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Source type badge indicates whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.
Independent Medical Examiner service piloted in NI hospitals but not statutory and not fully rolled out. NI is excluded from England/Wales statutory provisions.
View detailed findings
England and Wales made their medical examiner system statutory from September 2024 (all deaths must be reviewed by either a medical examiner or coroner). NI is explicitly excluded from these provisions. NI has been running a pilot but full rollout would require legislative change which requires a functioning Executive. The IHRD Workstream 2 Death Certification Implementation Working Group has an IME Subgroup, but full statutory implementation remains pending.