Communio leads a consortium together with Te Whatu Ora, Pathology Associates Limited and Southern Community Laboratories, to deliver end-to-end coronial support services to the Ministry of Justice. This model lets us offer an effective service that encompasses collecting and holding the tūpāpaku/deceased person, providing viewing services, and conducting post mortems if needed. Above all, we aim to make the process less stressful for those going through it, and meeting the cultural needs of the tūpāpaku/deceased person and their loved ones.
Whānau/families can never be prepared for the loss of a baby, but together we can make sure that fewer whānau/families have to face this. The in-depth, nationwide SUDI (Sudden Unexplained Death of an Infant) service gathers information about baby sleep practices, antenatal and postnatal health and the home environment on behalf of the Coroner, to help understand the impact of factors such as co-sleeping.
During a post mortem, the pathologist may test some tissue samples that can help tell them how the person died. These samples might include minute pieces of organs like the liver or lungs, or fluids like blood. The tūpāpaku’s/deceased person’s loved ones ask the Coroner for the samples, and we facilitate their return. On behalf of Te Whatu Ora, when patients request, we return the tissues of living people who have a had a procedure to remove part or all of an organ, for example.