The number of coroner autopsies carried out every year in England and Wales could be reduced by over 60% – or 80,000 dissections – if a system of post-mortem examinations used in Scotland was adopted, say the authors of a paper published in the January issue of the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.
The authors, led by Professor Derrick Pounder, of the Centre for Forensic and Legal Medicine at the University of Dundee, say that external examinations are a more cost-effective and less intrusive system for identifying cause of death. “Currently the autopsy rate for England and Wales is 22% (110,000 coronial autopsies for 500,000 deaths per annum), yet there is a general lack of evidence about the utility of, and justification for, such a level of activity, which is between double and triple the rate in other jurisdictions,” say the authors. “While the autopsy is an important tool in modern death investigation, an almost automatic recourse to it is inappropriate. External examinations are not only cost-effective but also a necessary element in any death investigative system which wishes to strike an appropriate balance between intrusion by the state and the rights of the bereaved.” Pathologist, Professor Pounder leads on the forensic autopsy service provided by the University of Dundee to Tayside region. From 1988 a programme was initiated to maximise use of external examinations in Tayside. This has meant that today the rate of autopsies is 6%. If implemented in England and Wales this would reduce the number of autopsies from 110,000 to 30,000 per annum.
