PSP End of Life Care Algorithm - GPSC

(3) If(a) a death occurred without the attendance of a medical practitioner during thelast illness of the deceased, or(b) the medical practitioner who attended the deceased is for any reason unableto complete the medical certificate within 48 hours after the death, the funeraldirector or the medical practitioner, as the case may be, must promptly notifythe coroner.(4) If a cause of death cannot be determined within 48 hours after the death and(a) an autopsy is performed, or(b) an investigation or inquest is commenced under the Coroners Act,and themedical practitioner who performs the autopsy or the coroner whocommences an investigation or inquest under the Coroners Act, as the casemay be, considers that the body is no longer required for the purposes of theautopsy, investigation or inquest, the medical practitioner or the coroner, asthe case may be, may, despite subsection (1), issue and must make availableto the funeral director an interim medical certificate in the form required by thechief executive officer.(5) After the conclusion of the autopsy, investigation or inquest referred to in subsection(4),(a) the medical practitioner who performed the autopsy, or the coroner, mustcomplete and sign the medical certificate referred to in subsection (2) anddeliver it to the chief executive officer, and(b) the coroner must deliver a copy of any report prepared under section 20 (4)(b) or 25 (2) of the Coroners Act to the chief executive officer.Certifying Physician’s Responsibility:If the immediate cause of death entered on line (a) was due to an accident, poisoning, orviolence, Medical Certification must be completed by a coroner.The attending Physician at the time of death is responsible for completion of the MedicalCertificate.In the event the death is an expected or planned home death, a physician familiar withthe deceased (without having pronounced the death) can complete the medicalcertificate of death IF a “Notification of Expected Home Death Form” is completed.If physician pronouncing death is not familiar with the deceased, attempts to obtain themedical history should be undertaken in order to provide the most probablecircumstances leading to death.81 _EOL_PSP_Completing_Medical_Death_Certificate_Death_ v4 2 of 5