Ambulance policy on crew position with deceased
Fuller Inquiry · Fuller Inquiry Phase 2 Report · Issued 15 July 2025 · Addressed to: NHS England
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
Every NHS ambulance service should have a policy setting out where ambulance crew members should sit when conveying deceased patients. This should include reference to the risk of abuse of deceased patients, as well as training requirements.
Fuller Inquiry, Fuller Inquiry Phase 2 Report · 15 Jul 2025 Source PDF →
Response — verbatim from government
●NHS England
The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) has written to the Department of Health and Social Care setting out the work they are doing to implement recommendations 31-33. This includes discussing with ambulance service leads to ensure all ambulance services review their policies around managing the deceased and introduce a clear policy if there is none. The AACE suggest that policies include specific wording around the care of the deceased and contain detail and guidance around security and dignity in private and public locations.
NHS England · 1 Dec 2025
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 1 Dec 2025 Accepted in full. The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) has written to DHSC setting out the work they are doing to implement recommendations 31 to 33. This includes discussing with ambulance service leads to ensure all ambulance services review their policies around managing the deceased and introduce a clear policy if there is none currently. AACE suggests that policies include specific wording around care of the deceased and contain detail and guidance around security and dignity in private or public locations. (Source: Interim update on government progress in responding to the Fuller inquiry phase 2 report, December 2025)
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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.
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