Bereaved loved ones will be put at the heart of the coroner system, Justice Minister Simon Hughes said today as he launched a new guide for people who have to become involved with inquests.
The new ‘Guide to Coroner Services’ explains simply to bereaved people how the inquest process works, what they should expect to experience, what standards of service they should receive from those involved, how to find help and what to do if they were not satisfied by the service.
The guide is the latest stage of Government’s drive to modernise the coroner system and make sure that bereaved families can receive the same standards of service from all 96 coroners in England and Wales, bringing an end to past inconsistencies. It follows the introduction last year of new national standards and the appointment of the first ever Chief Coroner, Judge Peter Thornton QC, to oversee the new system and drive improvement.
Copies of the guide are available here
Since losing our son Jonathan to suicide in May 2011, we have done quite a lot of fundraising. We have held boot sales, stalls at fetes, skydives and many, many raffles.
In 2005 we tragically lost Fee – beloved wife and mother, when she took her own life. The shock and loss was enormous and it wasn’t until 2009 when we discovered Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide. This charity has helped all three of us, in different ways, in coming to terms with such a painful loss. It is a loss that you never get over, but their involvement in our lives has helped us to move on but not forget.