Public Mortuary Service
The Public Health Act 1936 gives local authorities power to
provide a mortuary for the reception of bodies and the carrying out
of post-mortems and the City of London has been providing HM
Coroner for the City of London with a public mortuary for many
years.
The City of London also has contingency plans to deal with
circumstances where the existing mortuary used is unable to cope -
eg a transport accident or terrorist incident resulting in large
numbers of deaths. Responsibility for provision of temporary
mortuary facilities are allocated to the Department of
Environmental Services.
Other mortuary services
- To provide for the dignified and respectful receipt, storage
and examination of deceased persons as requested by the HM
Coroner
- To assist appointed Pathologists with autopsies
- To provide facilities for the dignified viewing of the deceased
persons by relatives (usually for identification purposes)
- To liaise with relatives or funeral undertakers for the
collection of the deceased person and any belongings following
release by the HM Coroner.
- To be an integral part of the London-wide disaster response
plans in conjunction with the
City of London Security and Contingency Planning Group,
City of London
Police and the
London Resilience Forum.
For the City this service is currently contracted to be provided
on behalf of the City of London by the London Borough of Camden at
their St. Pancras Public Mortuary. Any enquiries concerning this
service for The City of London “Square Mile” please contact:
Telephone +44 (0)20 7332 3630
Fax +44 (0)20 7332 1623
Email
publicprotection@cityoflondon.gov.uk
Out of hours +44 (0)20 7606 3030
Any enquiries concerning other London Borough’s with districts
adjacent to the City of London then please see the listing of
Coroners under contacts heading above.