Coroners Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 1) Notice 2023 (Commencement) Notice and Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance (Amendment of Second Schedule) Notice 2023 (Commencement) Notice gazetted
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The Government gazetted today (April 5) that the Coroners Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 1) Notice 2023 (Cap. 504 Notice) and the Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance (Amendment of Second Schedule) Notice 2023 (Cap. 174 Notice) would come into effect starting June 3 to facilitate the choice of dying in place for terminally ill patients in residential care homes (RCHs).
Gazetted today were the Coroners Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 1) Notice 2023 (Commencement) Notice and Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance (Amendment of Second Schedule) Notice 2023 (Commencement) Notice. The two Notices appointed June 3 as the date on which the provisions stipulated in Cap. 504 Notice and Cap. 174 Notice shall be effective. Starting from that date, if a resident who passed away in an RCH was diagnosed as having a terminal illness when he or she was alive and was attended to by a registered medical practitioner within 14 days before passing away, and his or her certificate of cause of death states that he or she died of a natural cause, such a death case will no longer be considered as a reportable death to the Coroners Court.
To tie in with the relevant amended legislation, the Social Welfare Department will promulgate guidelines for residential care homes for persons with disabilities and residential care homes for elderly persons that are not nursing homes, and as well as provide training such as end-of-life care for RCH staff to assist them in implementing the dying-in-place arrangements.
The two Notices in relation to the commencement date will be laid before the Legislative Council in accordance with the negative vetting process next Wednesday (April 10).