Mason Institute Webinar Series - Death Investigations in Scotland: Examining Deaths in Care Homes During the Covid-19 Pandemic

This presentation presents an overview of the reporting of sudden, unexpected, unexplained or accidental deaths in Scotland. There is a focus on the unique role in this area of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) and the operation of the Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc. (Scotland) Act 2016. In particular, consideration is given to the role of COPFS in discharging the State’s responsibility under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights in undertaking an effective system of investigation into deaths. Thereafter, an examination is provided of the operation of the fatal accident inquiry system in the context of the incidence of deaths in care homes during the Covid-19 pandemic. It will set out the background to the policy that discharged patients to care homes and the scale of the problem of the deaths that then arose. It will then explore where the process of inquiry into these deaths currently stands and consider the remit of inquiries in both England and Scotland. Thereafter, consideration is given to whether death investigation and inquiry processes are effective in bringing about societal change, and the extent to which the current system serves that purpose.   

About the Speaker 

Gillian Mawdsley is a practising Scottish qualified solicitor. She is a Lecturer and tutor at the Open University, Edinburgh and Strathclyde Universities. She has a longstanding interest in the medico-legal aspects, as well as policy, in relation to death investigations including as a Fiscal Depute in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) Deaths Unit in Scotland. Her most recent book is Sudden Deaths and Fatal Accident Inquiries in Scotland: Law, Policy and Practice (Bloomsbury, 2023).

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