TEESSIDE’S Coroner’s Service has been honoured with a Mayor’s Award for its outstanding work in clearing the area’s inquest backlog.
Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon presented the award to Acting Senior Coroner Clare Bailey, Assistant Coroner Malcolm Donnelly and their team in a ceremony at Middlesbrough Town Hall.
During 2014 significant progress has been made in modernising the service and dealing with the historic backlog of cases which at its worst stood at over 400.
The most recent figures available show that by the end of the year only 12 backlog cases were yet to be concluded. Additionally the average time taken to conclude an inquest is now around 12 weeks – which is among the best nationally.
Mr Mallon said: “Until recently, for a number of years the Coroner’s Service for the area had been inefficient and ineffective.
“I am pleased to say that the Coroner’s Service has made vast improvements. I think that it is only right I place on public record my thanks and the thanks of the people of the Teesside area for all of the hard work the Coroner’s Service has undertaken in recent months.
“In addition to this I have spoken to a number of families who have suffered bereavement over the past 12 months or so and all, without being prompted, have spoken highly of Clare Bailey and her team and the sensitive and empathetic way the inquest process is conducted.”
Acting Senior Teesside Coroner Clare Bailey said: “I am very proud of what we have been able to achieve. It has all been about team work, and has only been possible thanks to the great staff we have here in the Coroner’s Office whose work has been of great benefit to the people of Teesside.
“I’m also enormously grateful for the support we have had from our partners, in particular from Middlesbrough Council and Cleveland Police.”