Clinicians and the coronial system: ability of clinicians to recognise reportable deaths.

OBJECTIVE To assess the ability of clinicians to recognise deaths which require referral to the coroner. DESIGN Postal questionnaire consisting of 16 fictitious case histories, 14 of which contained a clear indication for referral to the coroner. SETTING Large teaching hospital. Coroner's office. SUBJECTS 200 clinicians from general medical and surgical firms and senior staff of the local coroner's office (two coroner's officers and the two deputy coroners). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Number of correct assessments on questionnaire. RESULTS The mean recognition score for the clinicians was 9.11 (range 3-14) with no difference between the clinical grades. All of the coroner's senior staff recorded maximum recognition scores of 16. CONCLUSIONS The study highlights several features of the coronial system which are poorly understood by clinicians and provides the basis for an initiative to improve the medicolegal education of all clinicians.