Fuller Inquiry: new mortuary standards are on the horizon for funeral directors

Many funeral directors across the UK will have been giving thought to their mortuary management processes in the past week, with the publication of the final report of the Fuller Inquiry.

To recap, the Inquiry was set up in response to a mortuary abuse scandal at hospitals in Kent. But its scope covered all mortuary settings – from NHS and third sector to private operations like those run by funeral directors.

An interim report by the Inquiry last October focused on the funeral profession, making a series of sweeping recommendations aimed at preventing wrongdoing. These included:

Wide-ranging: regulations will govern all mortuary providers

In the final report, which came out on Tuesday, July 15, the Inquiry’s Chair Sir Jonathan Michael recommended that the UK government set up an independent statutory regulatory regime, headed by a Chief Inspector, for those who store and care for deceased people.

This would ensure that the security and dignity of deceased people are protected, in whichever institutions or locations they are cared for, examined or stored.

Sir Jonathan also said the Human Tissue Authority should be required to work under the auspices of this new regime, or its remit should be formally expanded to follow the statutory regime’s requirements.

However, before this is set up, the government should immediately appoint a Commissioner for the Dignity of the Deceased who would issue universal guidance that applies to all those who store and care for deceased people, factoring in security and dignity.

Taking responsibility: staff will need to be qualified, premises up to scratch

Additionally, the Human Tissue Act 2004 should be amended, so that organisations holding a mortuary licence are responsible for ensuring that:

The body responsible for mortuary licensing – be it the Human Tissue Authority or a new inspectorate – should require organisations it licenses to ensure that any individual who provides care to deceased people is suitably qualified, experienced and supervised.

This will involve setting minimum standards on the qualifications likely to be considered sufficient to demonstrate ‘suitability’ for particular roles or levels of responsibility. Failure to ensure that suitable individuals are employed would be subject to regulatory enforcement.

You’re not alone: the key to compliance is teamwork across the profession

For funeral directors, the final Fuller Inquiry report, which spans some 350 pages, provides serious food for thought. Its ramifications will be felt for years to come, and some may fear the impact new rules might have on their business.

This is entirely understandable, given the pace of change in recent years with the implementation of regulations by the Competition and Markets Authority and Financial Conduct Authority.

Thankfully, there are many dedicated people working hard to ensure new regulations are proportionate and that funeral directors have the tools they need to make compliance easy. We are thinking here of the sector’s trade associations, SAIF and the NAFD, and suppliers who offer the full gamut of solutions from software to mortuary equipment.

But there is also much business owners can do themselves to mitigate the impact of regulation when it arrives. Here are five simple steps you can take today in your mortuary: