What is a Post Mortem Examination? A post mortem examination is an examination of a body after death. person’s An examination for a baby or child would be carried out by a consultant pathologist often at or Birmingham Birmingham Children’s Hospital Women’s Hospital if the child is a small baby or at the mortuary close to the Coroner’s Office. The purpose of the post mortem examination is to gain further information about the cause of death. There are two types of post mortem examination: Consented This is an examination, which can be either requested by – the parents or by the Consultant caring for the child, in order to child’s find more information about the illness, when the cause of death child’s is already known. This can only be done with the full parents’ permission and the parents have choices about the extent of the examination on what happens to any tissue samples. This is an examination ordered by HM Coroner, when the Coroner’s – cause of death is unknown or the death is unexpected, and as child’s such becomes a legal requirement, so the parents consent is not required. Parents will have choices about what can happen to any tissues taken during this examination once the purposes are Coroner’s complete. An examination after death can do the following: Help to confirm the cause of death Show other diseases or conditions that may have been present but may not have been obvious at the time Assess the effectiveness of treatment and medication given, such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy for cancer In some cases it may help with the planning of future pregnancies Help to answer questions about potential health problems that may run in the family Help to answer questions that the parents may have in the future By law the Coroner can order a post mortem examination to be undertaken. There are 3 main reasons why the Coroner may do this. They are: If the death was sudden and unexpected child’s The doctor caring for the child is unable to provide a cause death
What is a Post Mortem Examination? A post mortem examination is an examination of a person’s body after death. An examination for a baby or child would be carried out by a consultant pathologist often at Birmingham Children’s Hospital or Birmingham Women’s Hospital if the child is a small baby or at the mortuary close to the Coroner’s Office. The purpose of the post mortem examination is to gain further information about the cause of death. There are two types of post mortem examination: Consented – This is an examination, which can be either requested by the child’s parents or by the Consultant caring for the child, in order to find more information about the child’s illness, when the cause of death is already known. This can only be done with the parents’ full permission and the parents have choices about the extent of the examination on what happens to any tissue samples. Coroner’s – This is an examination ordered by HM Coroner, when the cause of death is unknown or the child’s death is unexpected, and as such becomes a legal requirement, so the parents consent is not required. Parents will have choices about what can happen to any tissues taken during this examination once the Coroner’s purposes are complete. An examination after death can do the following: Help to confirm the cause of death Show other diseases or conditions that may have been present but may not have been obvious at the time Assess the effectiveness of treatment and medication given, such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy for cancer In some cases it may help with the planning of future pregnancies Help to answer questions about potential health problems that may run in the family Help to answer questions that the parents may have in the future By law the Coroner can order a post mortem examination to be undertaken. There are 3 main reasons why the Coroner may do this. They are: If the child’s death was sudden and unexpected The doctor caring for the child is unable to provide a cause death
ExRes-West-Midlands-Toolkit-Section-4-Prompts-for-Care-at-a-Childs-End-of-Life.docx