**Big Delays in Gwent Coroners’ Service Due to High Inquest Demand**
Ever wondered why inquests are taking so long in Gwent? Newport City Council has shed some light on the issue. Recent legal tweaks have led to a whopping increase in case volume at the Gwent Coroners’ Service, causing delays in over 70% of inquests. Before you get too worried, let’s break it down.
Since April, only about 27% of new cases have been scheduled within six months, a far cry from the impressive 90% hit rate of the last three years. So, what’s changed? A new law now mandates that a statutory medical examiner reviews deaths, deciding if they should go to the coroner—a process previously more straightforward.
Coroners typically look into unexplained, unnatural, or custody-related deaths. This new approach has flooded the system with complex cases, and the service is feeling the strain.
To tackle this, they’ve brought in two part-time assistant coroners—though getting them trained and on board took a bit of time. Newport Council’s Mike Wallbank is optimistic, saying, “I would expect to see an improvement soon.”
While it might seem like the service is having a ‘bad year’, the real headache is the surge in complex referrals, not a shortfall in staffing. Wallbank clarifies there’s no negligence involved, just the changing nature of the cases. He pointed out that, with medical examiners spotting potential issues, coroners now need to dig deeper into each case.
So, while the road back to those stellar past figures seems long, there’s hope on the horizon. Stay tuned, and let’s see how the additional hands help clear the backlog. 📈💼
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