Certification of Death (Scotland) Act 2011

8 Review of medical certificates of cause of death

(1) A medical reviewer must review any medical certificate of cause of death—

(a) referred under section 24A of the 1965 Act, or

(b) in respect of which an application has been made under section 4(1) (other than one which has been rejected as vexatious under section 4(3)).

(2) In conducting a review, the medical reviewer may—

(a) examine the health records of the deceased person to whom the certificate relates,

(b) seek the views of the medical practitioner who attested the certificate,

(c) make enquiries of any other person who the medical reviewer considers may have information about the health of the deceased person (for example, a member of the deceased person’s family, a carer or a nurse),

(d) make such other enquiries and examine such other things as the medical reviewer considers appropriate.

(3) Following a review under subsection (1) the medical reviewer must come to a view on whether the certificate is in order.

(4) For the purposes of this Act, a certificate is in order where a medical reviewer is satisfied, on the basis of the evidence available to the medical reviewer, that—

(a) the cause (or causes) of death mentioned represents a reasonable conclusion as to the likely cause (or causes) of death, and

(b) the other information contained in the certificate is correct.

(5) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations make further provision about the review of certificates including, in particular, action to be taken by medical reviewers when conducting a review or by senior medical reviewers when conducting a further review.