TC852 - Transportation of bodies on behalf of the Coroner for Manchester City Council

The adult public mortuary for Manchester City is provided by the Manchester NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and can be found at the Manchester Royal Infirmary. The pediatric mortuary, provided by MFT is located at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

Currently, all Coroners within the Greater Manchester area operate under one agreed protocol with regard to out-of-hours deaths and the release of the body to the family or undertaker. However, unless the GP can issue a Medical Certificate as to the Cause of Death (MCCD), the death must be treated as a sudden death, and the police will attend.

A previous voluntary rota for transporting bodies for the Coroner resulted in inconsistent service standards and additional costs and delays whilst an available funeral director is located. These delays inevitably caused distress o the relatives of the bereaved who have the right to expect prompt and dignified service.

The purpose of this contract will be to put in place a formal contractual arrangement with specified standards in order to achieve and maintain a consistently high standard of service whilst meeting the Senior Coroner’s requirements in a manner which is sensitive to the needs of bereaved relatives.

Community deaths are managed by Greater Manchester Police who will draw down from this contract to support HM Senior Coroner. The jurisdiction of the Manchester City Coroner mirrors that of the A, B and C Divisions of Greater Manchester Police.

In 2021 there were approximately 960 deceased that needed transporting from their place of death within the community to the public mortuary at MFT at the request of GMP/Coroner.