News

GRO is today publishing guidance to the Registration Service on managing deaths in a flu pandemic:

August 2008
The measures outlined in this document are the outcome of consultation among national policy holders, representatives of local government, registration officers, coroners and the funeral industry. This document aims to assist local authorities and registration officers in making plans for dealing with additional deaths arising from an influenza pandemic.

• First, it a provides a brief outline of the roles and responsibilities of local authorities in planning for an emergency and offers a short description of the processes available during a pandemic to introduce different ways of working.

• Second, it describes the ways in which registration processes may be changed at different stages of a flu pandemic to cope with pressure points in the system. Changes to linked services for the certification and investigation of deaths are outlined.

Local Registration Service Pandemic flu Guidance

As part of a national framework for responding to an influenza pandemic, Department of Health has published guidance for the health service containing many of the same proposals - Pandemic Influenza: Guidance on managing death certification and cremation certification