Chamber and committees

COPFS has spent £19,485.37 on locum forensic pathologists since April 2024.

Where forensic service providers in Scotland have instructed the use of a forensic pathology locum pathologist to provide assistance, for example to cover sick leave, the costs are not known but there has been no additional cost to COPFS.

The proposed reforms are intended to increase the quality of applications which are submitted to Scottish Ministers. Doing so, will in turn, allow for faster processing times.

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Three forensic pathologists have left positions in Aberdeen in the last five years. One pathologist took up a post with the Home Office in England. Two pathologists transferred to other positions in Scotland where they continue to conduct Crown-instructed examinations.

NHS Grampian provides the postmortem toxicology service for Aberdeen, Grampian and the Highlands and Islands. The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) provides the service for the rest of Scotland. SPA also currently processes priority cases for the whole of Scotland.

The current average turnaround time for post mortem toxicology results for non-priority cases referred to NHS Grampian in 2024 is 15.5 days, calculated from the date the samples arrive at the laboratory.

The current average turnaround time for post mortem toxicology results for cases referred to SPA in 2024, is 28 days for priority cases and 30.8 days for non-priority cases.

These figures are within the target agreed between COPFS and the toxicology providers.

Capacity within Aberdeen mortuary is not an issue and there are no current plans to increase the capacity for conducting post mortem examinations in Aberdeen.

A new mortuary facility in Aberdeen that will co-locate the Aberdeen City Mortuary and Aberdeen Royal Infirmary Mortuary business is due to open in 2025. This will provide improved facilities for staff and families who are required to engage in the post mortem process.

Any case that requires the post mortem examination to be conducted by two Forensic Pathologists is currently referred from Aberdeen to Edinburgh by COPFS. The majority of these are potential homicide cases.

The cost of forensic pathology is met from within the COPFS annual budget allocation from the Scottish Government which does not extend to five years.

NHS Grampian and other key stakeholders are working on establishing a forensic pathology service based in Aberdeen and COPFS is supporting that process. In addition, the opening of a new Aberdeen mortuary in 2025 will improve the experience of mortuary staff and bereaved families who engage with pathology services in Aberdeen.

COPFS recorded an increase of more than 40% in the number of deaths reported compared to pre-pandemic figures.

However, I am not aware of any significant impact on the availability or scheduling of post mortem examinations in Aberdeen.