Letter: Why an 'ash cash form' costs 60 pounds
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Your support makes all the difference.Sir: With reference to the letter from J. McKenzie Foulds, titled 'How can a doctor's signature cost pounds 60?', I suspect that the pounds 60 refers not to the death certificate, but rather to the cremation certificate. Doctors have a statutory obligation to complete a death certificate whenever a patient dies and there is no fee involved.
The cremation certificate (or the 'ash cash form', as it is known to most junior doctors) is a comprehensive two-part form, completed by two independent doctors. It is necessary before a body can be released for cremation. The fee is not fixed by the doctors.
Yours faithfully,
A. PHILLIPSON
Ormskirk, Lancashire
11 March
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