P2-31 Response Accepted

Ambulance policy on crew position with deceased

Recommendation

Every NHS ambulance service should have a policy setting out where ambulance crew members should sit when conveying deceased patients. This should include reference to the risk of abuse of deceased patients, as well as training requirements.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
- The government stated in December 2025 that this recommendation on ambulance seating policies to protect the dignity of deceased persons was accepted in full. Full government response due Summer 2026 (Government Interim Update on Fuller Inquiry Phase 2, DHSC, 16 December 2025).
Sources
How was this evidence gathered?
Evidence searched by Claude (Anthropic) on 10 Apr 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
This recommendation applies across many organisations. The evidence above reflects central policy activity; adoption in individual organisations may vary.
Jurisdiction
England
Response
Accepted
Accepted NHS England
01 Dec 2025

The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) has written to the Department of Health and Social Care setting out the work they are doing to implement recommendations 31-33. This includes discussing with ambulance service leads to ensure all ambulance services review their policies around managing the deceased and introduce a clear policy if there is none. The AACE suggest that policies include specific wording around the care of the deceased and contain detail and guidance around security and dignity in private and public locations.

Progress Timeline
Official Report
01 Dec 2025

Accepted in full. The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) has written to DHSC setting out the work they are doing to implement recommendations 31 to 33. This includes discussing with ambulance service leads to ensure all ambulance services review their policies around managing the deceased and introduce a clear policy if there is none currently. AACE suggests that policies include specific wording around care of the deceased and contain detail and guidance around security and dignity in private or public locations. (Source: Interim update on government progress in responding to the Fuller inquiry phase 2 report, December 2025)

Source
Inquiry Fuller Inquiry
Report Fuller Inquiry Phase 2 Report 15 Jul 2025
View Source
Responsible Bodies
NHS England Primary
Themes & Tags
Patient dignity and privacy Care safeguarding systems Deceased Training Policy Ambulance
Recommendation age 0.9 yr
Last formal update 01 Dec 2025