Decision details

RESOLVED:

1.    That Cabinet approves the proposal to deliver a digital post-mortem service in Surrey. 

2.    That Cabinet grants delegated authority to the Deputy Chief Executive & Executive Director for Resourcesto approve the transfer of £1.15m capital pipeline to budget to successfully deliver a Digital Post-Mortem Service in Surrey, following endorsement by Capital Programme Panel and subject to the annual revenue impact, including borrowing costs, being no more than £90k, as per the current Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS). 

3.    That Cabinet notes the intention to commission a third-party provider to deliver a digital post-mortem scanning service, the costs of which will be met from the service revenue budget.

4.    That Cabinet agrees to delegate approval of the necessary steps to deliver this proposal up to +/- 10% of the budgetary tolerance level, including procurement route to market, any contract award decision and any other legal documentation required to facilitate the approvals within this report, to the Deputy Chief Executive & Executive Director for Resources in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Fire & Rescue and Resilience.

Reasons for Decisions:

The current model of post-mortem provision for the Surrey Coroner’s Service is not sustainable due to increasing costs and ongoing challenges in providing a high-quality service for the deceased and bereaved families. There is currently no digital post-mortem capability in Surrey. This technology is used for only a small number of deceased (predominately faith and child deaths) who must be transported out of county.? Other areas with digital post-mortem capability report that approximately 70-75% of all post-mortems can be done digitally. Investing in digital capability and the necessary infrastructure needed will minimise current risks in service delivery and enable efficiencies in the longer term through a significant reduction in invasive post-mortems.

(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Communities, Environment and Highways Select Committee)