All registered SMC doctors can certify cause of death

MOH's reply

The Straits Times, 15 Sep 2018

All registered SMC doctors can certify cause of death

We thank Mr Lim Fah Kiong for his letter (Reconsider policy for certifying cause of death of those in home care; Sept 10).

We empathise with the families who go through difficult circumstances when they lose a loved one.

All doctors registered with the Singapore Medical Council (SMC), including those providing home care, can certify the cause of death and issue a Certificate of the Cause of Death, if the doctor is able to determine the cause of the death, and there is no need to further refer the case to the coroner.

To ease the burden on the bereaved, families may wish to consider making early arrangements, such as getting a memo from the patient's primary physician detailing the necessary medical information and pre-identifying a doctor who can certify death.

Lim Siok Peng (Ms)
Director, Corporate Communications Division
Ministry of Health

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Forum Letter

The Straits Times, 10 Sep 2018

Reconsider policy for certifying cause of death of those in home care

n addition to the efforts to help Singaporeans with their healthcare expenses, it would be helpful if the Ministry of Health reconsiders certain medical policies that have an adverse psychological impact on caregivers who are looking after their loved ones at home (Chas to be extended to all S'poreans with chronic ailments; and 'Merdeka Generation' to get healthcare help; both published on Aug 20).

Home-care doctors are not permitted to certify the cause of death when their patients die, even though they are aware of the patient's medical history.

A caregiver is given a list of private doctors who can issue a Certificate of Cause of Death to contact. Caregivers can also approach the family doctor who had been attending to the deceased. Many caregivers do not have family doctors because they rely on home-care doctors for medical care.

When a loved one dies, the caregiver may also be so devastated that he may not be in the right frame of mind to keep calling the private doctors on the list to find one who is available.

Lim Fah Kiong