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MPs are set to demand that GPs check the bodies of nursing home residents when they die for signs of abuse or neglect, writes Derren Hayes.

The Health Select Committee will call for a tightening of the law on the procedures for GPs issuing death certificates after hearing evidence at the recent inquiry into elder abuse, which had echoes of the Harold Shipman case.

Senior members of the committee told Community Care they were appalled to discover that GPs are not required to see the body of someone who has died in a nursing home before issuing a death certificate.

In the Shipman case, the former GP and mass-murderer was able to avoid detection after killing patients partly because he was in sole charge of issuing the death certificates.

Although checks are being introduced to tackle this, the committee will highlight the specific need for greater checks in care homes because of the particularly vulnerable nature of many of the residents in these settings.

One senior member of the committee said: “The law is being tightened in the wake of the Shipman case, but it needs to be looked at in this particular instance to make sure that no loopholes are left open.”

The report is not due to be published until late March, but committee member and Liberal Democrat MP Paul Burstow said he would be “very surprised” if the change wasn’t included as a recommendation.

During the inquiry, committee chairperson David Hinchliffe said: “In some instances, where people have been expected to die, questions have been raised as to whether the death actually related to the longer term problem or to some incident that occurred prior to the death.”

Community care minister Stephen Ladyman also admitted during his evidence to the inquiry that he was “a bit surprised and concerned” at the current guidance.

GP organisations remain sceptical about the proposed change as they believe it is very difficult to say categorically whether marks on a dead person’s body have been caused by abuse.