Why are they changing the laws that frame the coroners system? Theconsensus is that the current system is inefficient, unaccountable andarchaic. Two reports are of particular significance: a Home Officereview on death certification and investigation; and the inquiry intothe activities of former GP Harold Shipman, who may have killed morethan 250 mostly elderly patients - both published in 2003. The Shipmancase in particular showed how one individual could take advantage of thevarious loopholes in the current system.
Just what do coroners do? They are independent judicial officers whoseek to establish a medical cause for deaths that are violent orunnatural, are sudden or of unknown cause, or take place in detention.If uncertainties about the cause of death remain, an inquest may takeplace. These different categories of death can cover many differentsituations including prison suicide, child murder, an accidentalfatality, or death from a major incident like the London bombs.
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