Following a patient’s death, the cause of death for MCCD should be discussed with the patient’s Consultant or Senior Registrar.

The doctor completing the MCCD should complete a succinct IDL stating the cause of death as documented, as well as any other relevant information, if needed. On completion of the IDL Form and Discharge Medicines review, use the Pharmacy Review Not Required option from Ad Hoc Tasks to indicate that Pharmacy dispensing is not required. The IDL pathway can then be completed as normal.

In cases where discussions with the Procurator Fiscal’s office leads to delay in issuing a certificate, the IDL should be completed once the MCCD has been agreed. However, ensure that an accurate date of death is recorded.

In the very rare cases where a post mortem examination will be performed (hospital or Fiscal), complete the IDL stating that a post mortem will be done with a brief record of events, rather than delaying until the examination has been completed / cause of death established.