Reporting sudden deaths

Deaths in the following circumstances must be reported to the police

• Sudden or unexpected deaths
• Deaths in custody or as an in-patient in a mental health establishment or children’s home, even if the death was expected 

The police will then report the death to the Coroner. 

The Superintendent Registrar will also report a death to the Coroner if she receives an application to register a death and she thinks the death should have been reported to the coroner. 

A doctor may check with the Coroner whether it might be necessary to report a death when they are considering whether they can confirm the cause of death on a Medical Certificate of Fact and Cause of Death.

When a death is reported to the Coroner, enquiries may be made to check whether the cause of death can be determined quickly. If it is clear that the death was due to natural causes, then a post-mortem and an inquest may not be required.