Mortuary service
The Public Health Act 1936 gives local authorities power to provide a mortuary for the reception of bodies and the carrying out of post-mortems. The London Borough of Hackney has been providing the HM Coroner for Hackney with a public mortuary for many years. The service is run under the jurisdiction of HM Coroner, according to the HM Coroners Act 1988 and the Coroners Rules 1984.
The Hackney public mortuary is used for the reception and storage of bodies of people who have died in the London Borough of Hackney. The mortuary handles deaths that have been referred to the coroner or deaths where a death certificate cannot be issued.
Our staff are committed to providing a professional, dignified, caring and sympathetic service and are proud of the work they undertake. Our mortuary officers are highly qualified and experienced anatomical pathology technicians.
The officers are responsible for:
- admitting and properly handle cases with dignity and respect
- providing facilities for the dignified viewing of the deceased persons by relatives (usually for identification purposes)
- liaising with relatives or funeral undertakers for the collection of the deceased person and any belongings following release by the HM Coroner
- assisting pathologists in undertaking post-mortems
- facilitating viewings and identification of the deceased
- enabling timely and efficient release of the deceased for burial or cremation
- assisting Her Majesty’s Coroner to deal with cases for faith or religious requirements
- assisting with training of the Police, ambulance staff and medical or forensic students
The mortuary is regulated by the Human Tissue Act 2004. The guidelines of this must be adhered to in all aspects of the operation of the mortuary, including
- carrying out post-mortem examinations
- the storage of organs and tissues of the deceased
- the standard of the premises