Digital Autopsy UK are thrilled to announce their next new centre and the first to be based in Manchester. Working in partnership is at the heart of what we do and we are delighted to have secured the support of Bolton Council, the Coroner and Bolton NHS Foundation Trust to deliver this service. The digital autopsy suite will be located at Royal Bolton Hospital to assist the Coroner in establishing causes of death across the Manchester West jurisdiction. It is due to open in July 2024.
HM Senior Coroner for Manchester West, Timothy Brennand said:
“I am delighted to be the first coroner in Greater Manchester, and one of the first nationally, to have secured a change in provision of service to allow us to rely on non-invasive technologies. I am convinced that this service will offer a better, faster and a clinically reliable means for me to obtain the evidence to establish an unequivocal cause of death”
Dr Patrick Waugh, Royal Bolton Hospital said:
“This is a great step forward in this region for the deceased and their families. This places the families concerns and wishes at the centre of Coronial investigations. I hope this joint venture of the Mortuary Services provided by The Bolton Foundation Trust and the technology of Digital Autopsy will create a centre of excellence in the Northwest.”
Bolton Council leader Cllr Nick Peel said: "I suspect that most people are not aware that the Coroners office come under the jurisdiction of the council, rather than the courts or the NHS.
Because of this, we have been in a position to be able to modernise the post-mortem service. Unfortunately, nationally, the number of pathologists is reducing, leading to delays in post mortems being carried out, and the Senior Coroner is concerned that when the winter months arrive there will be an inability to cope with the numbers of deaths requiring a post-mortem.
By investing in this technology, we will be putting this important service in a much better position to help grieving families through an often-distressing time as well as reducing the long waiting times for funerals to take place, which we have seen rise since the Covid-19 epidemic.”
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