The last path

“The dead never complained about the doctor”

A deceased person may only be prepared for their final journey once they have been cleared by a doctor (symbolic image)

(Bild: Wolfgang Spitzbart)

Dying is a community matter! Until the Mortuary Act was amended and the GP emergency service, which was alerted to deaths around the clock, came to an end, this was not noticed. However, once the GPs could only be persuaded to travel to coroner's inquests with difficulty, the local chiefs realized that they were responsible.

"In the past, all the local doctors drove to deaths. Whether that was completely legal is debatable. But the deceased never complained about which doctor came and whether this doctor was also responsible in the municipality in question. We now want to clarify this once and for all", says Wolfgang Ziegler, spokesman for GPs in Upper Austria.

The change in the law now allows for greater flexibility in mortuary examinations and is intended to shorten waiting times after deaths.

Christine Haberlander, LH-Vize und zuständige Landesrätin

Bild: Wenzel Markus

In Tyrol, there was already a dispute with an insurance company that refused to recognize a death certificate because it had been issued by an incompetent doctor.

Fee raised
Raising the coroner's fee to 210 euros or 400 euros at night and at weekends is intended to increase motivation among the medical profession. In addition, mayors are called upon to sign lists of responsible doctors and create legal certainty.