Hospitals earned almost £15m last year in so called ‘ash cash’ payments made by grieving families, figures released today by the Liberal Democrats have revealed. The payment is made to doctors to sign a form releasing a body for cremation.

Commenting Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, Norman Lamb said:

“This is a well established practice but you really can’t justify taking money off grieving relatives when this involves nothing beyond most doctors normal working hours.

“People are at their most vulnerable after the death of a loved one and the last thing they need is these extra charges.

“The NHS is meant to care for people from the cradle to grave but these charges undermine that principle. 

“The Government must take action to put an end to this practice as soon as possible as it simply cannot be justified.”

Before a deceased person can be cremated, two certificates stating the cause of death have to be signed, one by the doctor who attended the deceased before death, and the other by a doctor of at least five years’ standing (link to Government guidance here).

The Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust took £87,266 in 2008-2009. Responding to the news, Prospective Lib Dem MP Nick Radford said:

"It seems wrong to charge grieving families just to release the body of their loved one. No doubt this extra cash will be helpful to doctors, who work hard and well deserve their salaries – but surely even they would agree that this is an insensitive practice?"

Normally the undertaker arranges for the certificates to be signed and pays a fee (often known as ‘ash cash’) to the two doctors. The amount of the fee is then included in the charge which the undertaker makes to the deceased person’s estate. £73.50 is paid for each cremation form they sign. The fees are paid by the funeral director (who will almost invariably pass the cost on to the relatives) Further information can be found on the BMAs website.