Fuller Inquiry: New Mortuary Standards Are On The Horizon For Funeral Directors

Many funeral directors across the UK will have been giving thought to their mortuary management processes in the past week, with the publication of the final report of the Fuller Inquiry.

To recap, the Inquiry was set up in response to a mortuary abuse scandal at hospitals in Kent. But its scope covered all mortuary settings - from NHS and third sector to private operations like those run by funeral directors.

An interim report by the Inquiry last October focused on the funeral profession, making a series of sweeping recommendations aimed at preventing wrongdoing. These included:

● The creation of an independent statutory regulatory regime for funeral directors in England “as a matter of urgency in order to safeguard the security and dignity of the deceased”.

● A licensing scheme, mandatory standards against which funeral directors should be inspected regularly, and enforcement powers.

● Certain mandatory information to be given to customers by funeral directors to provide transparency about the care of the deceased, including information on measures to protect their security and dignity, and what should be expected of funeral directors’ services.

Wide-ranging: regulations will govern all mortuary providers

In the final report, which was released on Tuesday, July 15, the Inquiry’s Chair, Sir Jonathan Michael, recommended that the UK government set up an independent statutory regulatory regime, headed by a Chief Inspector, for those who store and care for deceased people.

This would ensure that the security and dignity of deceased people are protected, in whichever institutions or locations they are cared for, examined or stored.

Sir Jonathan also said the Human Tissue Authority should be required to work under the auspices of this new regime or have its remit formally expanded to follow the statutory regime’s requirements.

However, before this is set up, the government should immediately appoint a Commissioner for the Dignity of the Deceased who would issue universal guidance that applies to all those who store and care for deceased people, factoring in security and dignity.

Taking responsibility: staff will need to be qualified, premises up to scratch

Additionally, the Human Tissue Act 2004 should be amended so that organisations holding a mortuary licence are responsible for ensuring that:

● There is a suitable Designated Individual in place at their establishment.
● Suitable premises are provided and maintained.
● Suitable individuals are employed.
● All relevant legal and regulatory duties pertaining to the licence are met.

The body responsible for mortuary licensing - be it the Human Tissue Authority or a new inspectorate - should require organisations it licenses to ensure that any individual who provides care to deceased people is suitably qualified, experienced and supervised.

This will involve setting minimum standards on the qualifications likely to be considered sufficient to demonstrate ‘suitability’ for particular roles or levels of responsibility. Failure to ensure that suitable individuals are employed would be subject to regulatory enforcement.

For funeral directors, the final Fuller Inquiry report, which spans some 350 pages, provides serious food for thought. Its ramifications will be felt for years to come, and some may fear the impact new rules might have on their business.

This is entirely understandable, given the pace of change in recent years with the implementation of regulations by the Competition and Markets Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority.

Thankfully, there are many dedicated people working hard to ensure new regulations are proportionate and that funeral directors have the tools they need to make compliance easy. We are thinking here of the sector’s trade associations, SAIF and the NAFD, and suppliers who offer the full gamut of solutions from software to mortuary equipment.

But there is also much that business owners can do themselves to mitigate the impact of regulation when it arrives. Here are five simple steps you can take today in your mortuary:

1. If you are a member of a relevant trade association, check that your mortuary processes comply with its code of practice.

2. Review the Fuller Inquiry recommendations and create a plan to implement certain elements, such as designating a person responsible for mortuary security and standards.

3. Review the paperwork regarding the care of the deceased to identify risk areas, such as mortuary access and custodianship of personal items belonging to the deceased.

4. Test building security for weak spots. For example, do non-mortuary staff have to pass through mortuary areas to access other parts of your premises?

5. Engage partner organisations, such as the local NHS and hospices, with a view to co-creating deceased care journeys that will be compliant or close to compliant when regulation does eventually arrive.

While implementation of the Fuller Inquiry’s recommendations might be some time away, it’s possible that an interim regime could be established quite soon. But by taking a proactive stance on mortuary management, your funeral business will be able to respond rather than react to any new compliance regime governing the care of the deceased.

The team at Funeral Manager is already developing strategies to enhance mortuary processes, keeping compliance in mind. We are happy to chat with any funeral director who might have questions about this new regulation that will soon affect the profession.

To discuss this blog, or to arrange a chat with Funeral Manager or Funeral Notices, please complete the form below.

If you missed the previous blog by Will Ward, Funeral Manager, you may read it here 👉 Sustainable growth: How to future-proof your funeral business.

Don't forget to Follow funeral-notices.co.uk on social media to see when new articles are published:

Facebook
X
Instagram
LinkedIn