{"id":916,"date":"2026-10-05T13:48:37","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T12:48:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.gov.scot\/funeral-industry\/?p=916"},"modified":"2026-10-05T13:49:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T12:49:29","slug":"death-certification-review-service-annual-report-and-updated-statutory-guidance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gov.scot\/funeral-industry\/2026\/10\/05\/death-certification-review-service-annual-report-and-updated-statutory-guidance\/","title":{"rendered":"Death Certification Review Service: Annual Report and Updated Statutory Guidance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Death Certification Review Service: Annual Report and Updated Statutory Guidance<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Death Certification Review Service (DCRS) published its 2025\/26 annual report on 29 September 2026, which provides an overview of the service&#8217;s activity and performance.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The report demonstrates that DCRS continues to perform effectively, helping to improve the quality and accuracy of death certification in Scotland while maintaining public confidence in the system.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Updated DCRS statutory guidance has also been published. The guidance has been revised to reflect changes introduced by the Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Act 2026, alongside a wider refresh to improve clarity and reflect current practice.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The revised guidance supports those involved in the death certification review process, including medical reviewers, medical reviewer assistants, healthcare professionals and others with responsibilities under the system.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Read the publications:<\/p>\n<p>Death Certification Review Service Annual Report 2025-26 &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthcareimprovementscotland.scot\/publications\/death-certification-review-service-annual-report-2025-2026-september-2026\/\">Death Certification Review Service \u2013 Annual report 2025-2026: September 2026 \u2013 Healthcare Improvement Scotland<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Death Certification Review Service Statutory Guidance &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.scot\/publications\/certification-death-scotland-act-2011-statutory-guidance-2\/\">Certification of Death (Scotland) Act 2011: statutory guidance &#8211; gov.scot<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Death Certification Review Service: Annual Report and Updated Statutory Guidance The Death Certification Review Service (DCRS) published its 2025\/26 annual report on 29 September 2026, which provides an overview of the service&#8217;s activity and performance. &nbsp; The report demonstrates that DCRS continues to perform effectively, helping to improve the quality and accuracy of death certification&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":581,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - 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