Grieving families call for action to address the 'mental torture' of funeral delays in Sunderland and South Tyneside

The families who contacted us have have supported calls from local funeral directors for action to be taken to speed up the process by which the bodies of loved ones are registered as deceased, enabling them to be released for burial or cremation.

Funeral directors had raised the issue about the “unacceptable” near four fold increase in the time taken for deaths to be registered and bodies released compared to the same period last year (2024).

Funeral directors at T&G Direct Funeral Services on Hylton Road in Sunderland and Jayne Prior Funeral Directors, who have branches in Sunderland and Hebburn, said the “long delays” have arisen since the introduction of the death certification reform legislation which came into effect on September 9 (2024).

The new legislation means the confirmation and cause of a death now needs to be scrutinised and confirmed by a medical examiner, except where the coroner is involved.

Previously (before September 9) death certificates could be issued by a family’s or hospital’s GP - depending on where the deceased died - which incurred a fee for the family to pay for the signing of relevant paperwork.

South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust “host” Sunderland and South Tyneside medical examiners and agree the current times being taken are “not acceptable” and have apologised to families.

Jayne Prior funeral director Gary Hetherington, 62, said: “On average it used to take around five days for the death to be certified and the body to be released and this is now taking between two and three weeks.

“We can’t arrange the funeral until the death has been officially registered and this is leading to long delays for the families in us being able to arrange services.”

Nigel Marston, who is a managing partner at the Sunderland and Hebburn branches, added: “One family had to wait six weeks for the death to be registered and the body to be released. The length of these delays are totally unacceptable for the families.”

Following publication of the article, families have contacted us outlining the upsetting delays they have experienced since the introduction of the new system.

Kim Jones said: “We as a family experienced this at Christmas. We not only lost a very much loved mother and grandmother, we had to wait for medical examiners to authorise a death certificate.

“She’d been seen by her GP every week for three weeks and two days before her death, which was expected.

“Then the wait for certificate was upsetting. After looking after her for over two years with Alzheimer’s, not being able to see her, we as a family felt we’d abandoned her.

“It was devastating for us all .The new system doesn’t work.”

Carol Clark said: “Something is not right with this new system, at a time when you are grieving. My sister died in February and we had to wait four weeks for the funeral.”

It was a sentiment shared by Vicky Young Friar who said: “I experienced this situation for my dad’s funeral. This system doesn’t work and causes so much more stress and upset.”

Hazel Stephenson added: “It's shocking. I complained and was assured more resources and medical examiners, including an admin team would be funded, but that doesn't seem to have happened.

“The distress for families is immense at such a sad time. I realise why his process is in place but it should be resourced with a flexible workforce that can cover absences. It's not acceptable.”

A number of families who contacted us are in the midst of waiting for the death of their loved ones to be registered to allow them to arrange their funerals.

Kayleigh Hope said: “We as a family are dealing with this now and I think it’s absolutely disgusting that families are put through the mental torture. The system is a shambles and causes unnecessary stress and further upset.”

Amy Stobbs added: “My dad passed away on April 2 and we still don’t have a death certificate. It’s making things much harder.”

One of the people to face the longest delay was Jenifer Purdy who said she had to wait “six weeks before my sister’s funeral in March”.

Elaine Harvey added: “It was a five week wait for us. Ridiculous to have to wait this long.”

The new additional layer of scrutiny has been introduced as one of the outcomes of the Shipman Inquiry which was set up to investigate the circumstances surrounding the murders of over 200 patients by their GP, Dr. Harold Shipman.

Whilst upset with the delays being caused, some of those who contacted us were in support of the extra layer of scrutiny.

Elizabeth Storey said: “To be honest, my mam died the night law changed and now, thanks to the medical examiner an inquest is taking place. Although very upsetting for us all, it's only right that those who made mistakes in her care are held responsible.”

Responding to the delays since the introduction of the new system, Dr Shaz Wahid, Executive Medical Director at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, said: “On behalf of the Medical Examiner Office for our Trust area, we are very sorry for the delays which we know local families are facing.

“This is not acceptable and adding further upset and distress at an already difficult time. The delays follow some changes in the law which came into effect last September.

“These added to the Medical Examiner workload and unforeseen absence in the Medical Examiner workforce also contributed.

"The Trust, along with the Regional Medical Examiner, has supported a review of systems and processes in the office that has improved matters and the planned recruitment of more Medical Examiners will also help to speed up matters.

“As a Trust we are also supporting the Medical Examiner Office by providing family liaison staff to help keep families informed about their loved ones."

The Trust also said that significant improvements have already been made to the service.