De lijkschouw bij plotselinge dood

Objectives A survey regarding the opinion of general practitioners (GPs) regarding their role in relation to the new Burial Act in cases of sudden death in adults and persons under age of 18. Of the 250 GPs contacted, 217 (86.8%) participated in the study.

Results Of the respondents, 41% did not feel confident in performing a post-mortem examination or felt unable to do so. As for recognition and interpretation of injuries during the post-mortem examination, 75% of the GPs did not feel sufficiently confident or equipped. Over the last five years, 81% of the GPs had not been called on to carry out a post-mortem examination on persons under the age of 18. In cases of unexpected sudden death in adults only 20% of the GPs failed to show support for the idea of a mandatory forensic post-mortem examination. More than 80% of the participants supported the idea of a forensic post-mortem examination of deceased persons under age of 18; 63% because they felt insufficiently skilled, 59% because they did not wish to make such a difficult decision, and 43% because they regarded themselves as better equipped as GPs to provide support to the relatives. Of the GPs who responded, 11% admitted to issuing a death certificate although they doubted whether the death had been natural.

Conclusion Many GPs indicated that their knowledge of forensic matters such as post-mortem examination, violence and assessment of injuries is inadequate. Only with an adequate notification procedure will it be possible to obtain greater clarity regarding the exact cause of death of children and whether mistreatment has played a role.