When someone dies, an appropriately trained Registered Nurse can verify the death, to confirm that the person has died. A medical practitioner (doctor) is required to certify death.
- No, registered nurses cannot certify a death.
- Only qualified medical practitioners (doctors) can certify a death.
*Registered nurses can confirm or verify a death after appropriate training and competency assessment, in line with their organisation's policies and procedures.
See below additional information about verification and certification of death.
What is verification of death?
Confirmation or verification of death is defined as deciding whether a person is deceased (known as 'formal verification of death')
Who can verify a death?
A registered nurse can undertake confirmation or verification of death. However, you must check your employer's policies to determine local agreements about the circumstances in which this can be done.
What is certification of death?
When a patient dies, doctors do not have a statutory duty to establish the fact of death but do need to certify the medical cause of death.
Anyone, such as a family member, can declare a person dead and note the date and time of death. The doctor's responsibility is to certify the cause of death by issuing a medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD).
A doctor who attended the patient in their last illness should certify the death. This is not legally defined but is generally taken to be a doctor who cared for the patient in the previous 14 days of their life.
Who can certify a death?
In the UK, only a medical doctor can certify the death and complete a 'medical certificate of cause of death'.
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