SC23191 Coroner Removals and Transfer Service
Main contract details
Coroners investigate deaths that have been reported to them if they have reason to think that:
The death was violent or unnatural;
The cause of death is unknown; or
The deceased died while in prison, police custody or another type of state detention.
When a death is reported to the Coroner, he or she:
establishes whether an investigation is required;
if yes, investigates to establish the identity of the person who has died; how, when, and where they died, and any information to register the death;
and uses information discovered during the investigation to assist in the prevention of other deaths where possible.
Coroners Removals
The coroner may decide that a suitable practitioner (normally a pathologist) is required to examine the deceased and carry out a post-mortem examination to discover the cause of death. In this scenario, the deceased needs to be transported from where it is lying to a designated mortuary for further enquiries to be made (to hold a post-mortem if required). The movement of the deceased to the mortuary constitutes a “Coroners Removal”.
In the cases where a post-mortem has been deemed necessary, the deceased needs to be transferred from the location of death to one of the designated post-mortem facilities below;
QEQM Hospital, Margate
William Harvey Hospital, Ashford
Medway Maritime Hospital, Gillingham
Tunbridge Wells Hospital, Pembury
Darenth Valley Hospital, Dartford
Coroners Transfer
In some cases, it is necessary to transfer the deceased from a designated mortuary to another designated mortuary. These transfers can occur locally as a transfer between mortuaries within Kent and Medway but can occur outside of Kent. This is due to the specific expertise that different mortuaries possess (E.g. London mortuary specialises in child deaths, Brighton mortuary specialises in infectious cases etc.) Cases like these where the deceased is transferred between mortuaries are more commonly known as a “Coroners Transfer”.
This procurement is seeking suppliers to deliver both a Coroner Removals and a Coroners Transfer service across the four Kent coroner areas. These areas are divided based on a lotting strategy for both services (a final lotting breakdown will be provided alongside ITT documents).
The providers are required to perform the services:
24 hours a day, 365 days of the year;
For a coroner’s removal to be at the place of death within 1 hour (75 minutes in Dover CSEK and Sevenoaks) of being directed to attend by Kent County Constabulary;
For a transfer, to have completed it within 48 hours of being directed to do so by a Coroner’s Officer;
Key dates
Expression of interest window
From 02/04/2024 17:00 to 16/04/2024 17:00
New to ProContract?
If you are not currently registered on the ProContract procurement portal, you can complete a simple registration process by clicking the following link - Register free
Contact details
Maidstone
Kent
ME14 1XX
United Kingdom