Experienced: Mary Hassell, has carried out 3,000 inquests since she became a coroner in 2005. Photo: Wales News Service

Published: 9 May, 2013
by ALICE HUTTON

A LEADING coroner with a national reputation for holding hospitals, police and councils to account over preventable deaths has been appointed to the top job at St Pancras Coroner’s Court.

Mary Hassell has been named as the new coroner for Camden, Islington, Hackney and Tower Hamlets.

The trained solicitor, with more than 20 years legal experience, will be the first full-time coroner carrying out inquests at the Camley Street court for more than a year after a turbulent period which saw deputy coroner Suzanne Greenaway step down when it was revealed she did not have the right qualifications to oversee inquests.

She had been hired by her husband, Dr Andrew Reid, the St Pancras coroner, who was later suspended while a conduct investigation took place.

He resigned before it was concluded.

Several inquests had to be reheard.

Acting coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe has, among others, filled in during the search for a replacement for Dr Reid.

Ms Hassell was previously a full-time coroner for Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, in Wales, for eight years and is the first coroner in the UK to be hand-selected for a position by the new chief coroner, Judge Peter Thornton QC, following a rigorous two-week interview process.

Councillor Abdul Hai, Camden’s community safety chief, who sat on the panel that appointed Ms Hassell, welcomed her depth of expertise and said she had “a vast amount of experience” that would serve the residents of Camden.

Figures held by the Ministry of Justice for the past four years place her in the top three out of 61 coroner districts in the country when it comes to making official reports to people or organisations asking for changes to prevent future deaths, known as Rule 43s, of the Coroners’ Rules 1984.

The use by a coroner of Rule 43 is held to be a good indication of their willingness to hold public bodies to account and act independently on behalf of public safety.

Ms Hassell, who has carried out 3,000 inquests since she became a coroner in 2005, issued 58 Rule 43s between July 2008 and September last year, according to the Ministry of Justice, the third highest in the country.

In the same timeframe, Inner North London district, of which St Pancras is part, issued 19.

A spokeswoman for the independent charity, Inquest, told the New Journal that Rule 43 reports “are an important means by which a coroner can draw attention to changes needed to practice and procedure to improve public health and safety and prevent future deaths”.

She added that “although they have their limitations…this is also important for bereaved families, as if a coroner acts openly under Rule 43 it can help to know that their relative’s death may contribute directly to the prevention of future deaths”.

Over the past four years Ms Hassell has asked for reviews into equipment carried by paramedics, whether midwives have access to foreign language interpreters, and to ensure that the HM Prison Cardiff system carries up-to-date medical records for prisoners.

She has instigated reports into the level of care in elderly people’s homes, demanded further CPR training for hospital staff, overhauls of systems to record telephone calls at health centres, and improved communication between doctors and nurses when it comes to urgent lab tests.

Cllr Hai said: “One of the reasons she got the position was her great experience – she has carried out a lot of inquests, including complex ones.”

Cllr Hai said he was keen to meet Ms Hassell to discuss his plans to introduce an out-of-hours service at St Pancras as well as less invasive post-mortems, to help those of Jewish and Muslim faith bury their loved ones quicker.

She is expected to take over her new role in June or July.