Hospitals request clearance notification
Following a recent Human Tissue Authority inspection (the regulatory organisation for mortuaries), south coast hospitals have requested all funeral directors use a unique identifying source of information when patients are being released into the care of funeral directors. A funeral director must supply identifying information on collection of a deceased patient.
Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “Our bereavement office has made this information available to the persons in the qualifying relationships (relatives/executors) of the deceased to be able to pass onto funeral directors.
“When relatives/executors notify their chosen funeral director, the information can be requested then or from the deceased’s previous repeat prescriptions, medical cards, even letters from the hospital or GPs which contain the NHS number.
“There is now a clearance notification form once the deceased is clear for collection, which is to be supplied to the hospital the funeral directors visit, along with relevant authorities, Coroners releases, etc, have the relevant identification and lets the funeral directors know which hospital to visit as deceased can and are often moved between trust sites for various reasons, such as capacity and freezer use etc.”
Full details, including contact information and the notification form for funeral directors, is available online here.
Tags: clearance, form, hospitals, Human Tissue Authority, NHS, notification