Independent Medical Examiner
Hyponatraemia Inquiry · Report of the Inquiry into Hyponatraemia-related Deaths · Issued 31 January 2018 · Addressed to: Department of Health NI
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
The Department should now institute the office of Independent Medical Examiner to scrutinise those hospital deaths not referred to the Coroner.
Hyponatraemia Inquiry, Report of the Inquiry into Hyponatraemia-related Deaths · 31 Jan 2018 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- An Independent Medical Examiner service has been piloted in NI hospitals but it is not statutory and has not been fully rolled out.
- Northern Ireland is excluded from the medical examiner provisions of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, which apply in England and Wales.
How was this evidence gathered?
Response — verbatim from government
●Department of Health NI
Prototypes to determine the most appropriate way to operate such a service are progressing. Learning will inform proposals for an IME service in Northern Ireland.
Department of Health NI · 1 Mar 2018 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 6 Feb 2026 · Department of Health NI Independent Medical Examiner service piloted in NI hospitals but not statutory and not fully rolled out. NI is excluded from England/Wales statutory provisions. View source → Reasonable Progress
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.