Implementation of the Certification of Death (Scotland) Act 2011 - Consultation on the Expedited "not staying registration" Procedure

5. Not staying registration (Expedited Procedure): Key Principles

5.1 It is expected that in the vast majority of cases the standard review procedure will be appropriate and one to three day extension to the registration procedure will not add any significant delay to the funeral arrangements. The "not staying registration" (expedited) procedure should be available in specific circumstances where there is a clear rationale for a funeral to proceed within a quicker timescale.

Question 1: Do you agree that the "not staying registration" (expedited) procedure should only apply in situations where there is a clear rationale for a funeral to proceed within a specific timescale?

5.2 In practice, at the point of registration, and once an MCCD has been selected for review, it will be a matter for the informant to request that the registration not be stayed, if they have any concerns that the review will have an adverse impact due to a delay in the funeral. The registrar will have responsibility to make the informant aware that the procedure not to stay registration exists, but will not be expected to recommend or suggest the procedure. Question 2: Do you agree that the role of the registrar is to make informants aware, in response to a request, of the "not staying registration" (expedited) procedure?

5.3 If the informant wishes to request the registration not to be stayed, they will make the request to the registrar. The 2011 Act requires the registrar to include in the referral to the Medical Reviewer a statement by the informant which they believe justifies registering the death before the review is complete (not staying registration). In order to streamline this process and to ensure consistency in requests to the Medical Reviewer it would seem appropriate that a standard form is in place for an informant to easily set out the reason for requesting the "not staying registration" (expedited) procedure.

Question 3: Do you agree that there would be value in having a form for informants to complete in circumstances where the "not staying registration" (expedited) procedure is requested?

5.4 Once a request has been made and the proposed form (Question 3 above) has been completed, the registrar will pass the request to the Medical Reviewer. The Medical Reviewer will make a decision as to whether or not to allow registration to continue based on the information available in the form, from the MCCD and from any other sources he/she considers appropriate.

5.6 The registrar must pass on any request they receive to the Medical Reviewer, and, as set down in legislation, it is for the Medical Reviewer alone to determine whether or not to allow a registration to go ahead before the review is complete. The expectation is that contact will be made with the Medical Reviewer directly, by telephone, followed by sending a scanned copy of the MCCD and the proposed form (Question 3 above), to seek a decision on whether or not the registration can proceed before the review is complete.

5.7 The 2011 Act allows the MR to require further information and allows them to make any enquiries they consider appropriate. It is expected that the decision as to whether or not to stay registration should be made within a few hours and within that same working day.

5.8 If the Medical Reviewer agrees to allow the registration to proceed before the review is complete, this will mean that the body can be released and the funeral can proceed while the review takes place in the background. In practice this means that the registrar will complete the registration and issue the formal extract of death (Form 14), which is the legal form required before any funeral can take place. As stated elsewhere, it is expected that the option of not staying registration will be used rarely, and will be the exception.

Question 4: Do you agree that these proposed timescales will ensure the system will meet the needs of informants in those circumstances where there is a clear rationale for the funeral to proceed within a specific timescale?