Weekly Meeting - Scott Ridell - The role of the Coroner's Office

I've driven past the Coroner's Court in Barnwood many times and never given it much thought. From now on I will take a bit more notice.

The building has been there since November 2011 when it became one of the first dedicated Coroners Court buildings in the country, a result of a forward thinking County Council.

The Coroner's duty is in establishing a cause of death which can be obvious and expected in many cases and all that is needed is a doctor's certificate but in some cases can be unexplained, which is where the Coroner comes in.

The district Coroner, who must be legally qualified, can order a post mortem examination which, until the current building was commissioned, was done at various hospital mortuaries around the County.

This is followed by an Inquest which is a formal legal procedure to establish a cause of death. In cases of foul play where a perpetrator is identified and prosecuted it is not always necessary to hold an inquest a the trial counts as one.

Scott and Terry came across as sensitive and caring coroner's officers well used to dealing with the general public in times of stress albeit with a dark sense of humour that you perhaps need to deal with the job itself!

Neil Normington