Post-mortem examinations
A post-mortem is a medical examination of a person’s body after death to find out the cause of death. Typically, this will involve an external and internal examination on the body.
You cannot attend the post-mortem yourself, but you can ask a doctor to attend for you. Please be mindful that the doctor may charge you for this. Speak to your Coroner's Officer as they may need to make arrangements with the mortuary.
The specialist doctor who conducts the post-mortem will write a report for the Coroner. You can ask the Coroner’s Office for a copy.
Sometimes samples of blood or body tissue including organs might be kept after the body has been released if further tests and investigations are needed. You will be given options to decide what happens to the tissue that has been taken.
How the deceased person will be transported to and from the post-mortem
The Coroner Service will arrange transport to the hospital for the post-mortem examination and covers the cost for this.
Your chosen funeral director will collect the body from the hospital mortuary, but you will need to pay for this.
If you disagree with the result of a post-mortem
If you disagree with the post-mortem report, you should first discuss this with your Coroner’s Officer.
Arranging your own post-mortem
If you want to arrange your own post-mortem after the coroner has released the body to your chosen funeral director or undertaker, you will have to pay for this yourself.