Bradford East MP, Imran Hussain, has demanded in Parliament that the Health Secretary retains measures that have sped up the registration of deaths, including bank holiday and weekend cover.

Under the changes that were made by the Government two years ago, a greater number of qualified individuals are able to register the death of an individual which enabled bank holiday and weekend cover, whilst GPs and hospitals can email Medical Certificate of Cause of Deaths (MCCD) rather than relatives having to collect it from a Register Office, streamlining the process and decreasing the length of time that it takes for bodies to be released from mortuaries and buried.

However, the legislation that enacted these changes expired towards the end of last month, with the system now reverting back to the one that was in place before it. As a result, Imran has been left deeply concerned that the positive lessons that have been learnt and the improvements that have been brought in over the last two years for families across Bradford who have experienced a loss will now be lost for many others.

Imran therefore followed up on letters sent last August to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care with a speech in Parliament last week to urge the Government to ensure that there is a continuation of some of the measures which have been in place, and to press Ministers to guarantee that there will be no return to the slow, outdated and insensitive practices that were previously in place.

Speaking on his call for the Government to look at retaining measures to speed up the registration of deaths, Imran said:

“The death of a loved one is a deeply upsetting event, and those who are responsible for managing the affairs of a loved one will always ensure that they are granted as much dignity in death as possible. That is why the changes brought in by the Government two years ago enabling bodies to be released from mortuaries and buried much more quickly were widely welcomed by families across Bradford.

“However, despite the greater dignity that it affords to the deceased and the increased comfort that is provided to their families by allowing them to bury their loved ones as soon as possible, many of the changes were sadly reversed last month by the Government.

“After ensuring pioneering non-invasive post-mortems for families in the Bradford District at no cost, I have continued to campaign to improve the processes around the registration of deaths. Ministers need to listen to the immense benefits that the measures which have been in place over the last two years have provided to families in places like Bradford, and act to ensure that we do not lose these benefits for good.”

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