Deputy-Ombudsman Maija Sakslin has issued a decision in a complaint concerning a death that was not notified to the next of kin of the deceased. In the Deputy-Ombudsman’s view, the police did not act appropriately when they did not notify the complainant of the passing away of the complainant's father. The hospital also had an obligation to act in the matter.

The complainant’s father had passed away at the emergency clinic of Satasairaala Hospital in Pori. The hospital did not report the death to the police until seven days later. Because of the delay, the police assumed that the family had already been notified, but did not verify the matter. The complainant had received the information about their father’s death from an external party when more than one month had passed from his death.

Because it was the responsibility of the police to determine the cause of death, the Deputy-Ombudsman considered that the police should have verified whether the notification had been made or taken care of notifying the family themselves. The hospital, on the other hand, was delayed in reporting the death to the police, and the Deputy-Ombudsman found a delay of seven days unreasonable considering the legal requirement that action must be taken without delay. The hospital therefore had a special responsibility to determine whether the deceased had any family and to ensure that the death is notified.

The wellbeing services county of Satakunta and the employees of Satakunta Hospital who submitted a report on the matter have apologised to the complainant. In addition, the wellbeing services county reported in its statement that it has begun corrective measures because of the complaint. The Deputy-Ombudsman therefore considered it a sufficient measure to bring to the attention of the wellbeing services county that she considered their actions erroneous.

Because of the delay in the hospital’s report to the police, the Deputy-Ombudsman found it understandable that the police assumed the next-of-kin had already been notified by the hospital. The Deputy-Ombudsman considered the police statement on the matter positive as it was noted in the statement that the police should in future ensure in cooperation with the hospital that the family of the deceased has been notified of the death, and record this in the notification of the investigation. Based on these, the Deputy-Ombudsman considered that bringing her views to the attention of the Southwestern Finland Police Department was a sufficient measure.
Deputy-Ombudsman Maija Sakslin's decision EOAK/587/2024 has been published on the Parliamentary Ombudsman's website at oikeusasiamies.fi.

Further information is available from Senior Legal Adviser Riitta Burrell, tel. +358 9 432 3342.