South Australian death certificates - is doctor's certification needed?

[GeoffTurner]

Hi all, I wondered if anyone can help me with a South Australian death certificate from 1980 that I have been given. I am used to seeing a doctor's certification (in NSW). This SA certificate gives cause of death (myocardial infarction, arteriosclerosis, hypertension) but is certified by the undertaker, not a doctor. The background is that the man (a cousin) had a heart attack at home and was dead by the time the ambulance got him to the Flinders Medical Centre. Presumably the cause of death was diagnosed post mortem by the doctors at the hospital, but there is nothing to prove this. Some family members think the death might be suspicious since there was no autopsy and he died on 2 Oct 1980 and was cremated on 4 Oct 1980. He had been twice divorced and the woman listed on the certificate as his widow uses his surname, but I am not sure they ever married. It is possible the third "wife" wanted the cremation done quickly to prevent his earlier families getting to Adelaide from Melbourne for the service. But if there was anything untoward happening, it seems the third "wife" might have coloured the assumptions about the cause of death. To me, with my very limited knowledge of South Australian death certificates, it just seems odd that there is no medically qualified person to support the cause of death. The man was 51 years old, not overweight, not a heavy drinker, although I think he was on blood pressure medication. Thanks, Geoff Turner

[Kaybron]

Hi GeoffTurner,

The following site has a flow diagram of Data Flow for Doctor Certified Deaths.  The flow diagram is from the abs.gov site.  The diagram does show that a Funeral Director can fill out forms and send to the Birth, Deaths and Marriages to have the death registered.  The SA Law Handbook, also states that the Funeral Director notifies the Births, Deaths and Marriages after the burial/cremation so that a Death Certificate can be organized.

https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/causes-death/causes-death-australia-doctor-certified-deaths-summary-tables/latest-release

Generally if a person dies without a doctor/medical person present (ie at home) an autopsy is carried out to determine the cause of death.  It does seem odd that there was not an autopsy and the cremation was quickly carried out. 

Regards Kaybron

[Dundee]

A cause of death certificate and a death registration are two different things.  The first is completed by a doctor and then the funeral director can register the death.  States are different in their requirements but I don't think that doctor/midwife information is required to be recorded on birth and death registrations in SA.

This SA certificate gives cause of death (myocardial infarction, arteriosclerosis, hypertension) but is certified by the undertaker, not a doctor.

Does it actually say 'certified by'?  The undertaker/funeral director has to see the cause of death certificate before registering the death so if it does say 'certified by' then I would think they have the authority after having seen the certificate.

Presumably the cause of death was diagnosed post mortem by the doctors at the hospital, but there is nothing to prove this.

There would be, it is just not publically available information.

The chances of someone influencing a doctor in their conclusions relating to a cause of death are pretty much non existant.  Even in 1980 there were many rules and steps to be followed by a doctor before issuing a cause of death certificate.  I think you would probably find that there was more going on with the deceased person's health than anyone else knew about.  If it was a sudden unexplained death then further steps would be taken such as an autopsy and inquest.

Debra 

[GeoffTurner]

The undertaker's representative is the informant. No-one is certifying anything. It struck me that if the widow sent his medications with him to the hospital with the ambulance, the doctor could have deduced a cause of death from that. And as you say, there could have been a cause of death certificate (certified by a doctor) given to the undertaker, and he relied on that to inform the BDM registry.
Thanks for all your help. Geoff

[cando]

A SA Death Certificate is compiled from an entry in the Death Registry.

I have numerous South Australian death certificates including those of my parents. 
None have the name of the attending doctor who certified the death.

It appears this person died in the ambulance and would have been certified deceased by a doctor at FMC. 
The cause of death usually include other diseases of longer standing eg in this case arteriosclerosis and hypertension.

Have you considered that the person was an outpatient of FMC or that his own GP may have been contacted.  If the deceased had consulted a doctor within a short period and his medical history was available, that could have been enough information to support the cause of death.  Sorry I've rambled a bit!!

[GeoffTurner]

Thanks, it all helps. Geoff

[KGarrad]

Certain sections of society practically insist on a burial/cremation within 3 days!

When my mother died, her funeral was delayed for almost 3 weeks, in order to allow for family to get back. 1 from Australia; 1 from Netherlands.
My then in-laws, from Northern Ireland, thought the delay beyond 3 days was "disgusting"!