Licensing system for embalmers urged

PROFESSIONAL EMBALMERS and funeral undertakers have urged the Government to introduce a national licensing system for funeral practice and embalming, after a report sharply criticised embalming practices in Irish hospitals.

Joanne Cooney, president of the Irish division of the British Institute of Embalmers (BIE) said the institute and the Irish Association of Funeral Undertakers (IAFD) have been urging the Government to introduce a statutory system and to adopt the institute’s system of qualification. “We want to have standards set,” she said.

An independent audit of postmortem practices at 35 hospitals and five universities found outside personnel were performing embalming procedures on hospital premises “in many cases without supervision or any checks on their qualifications or indemnity or public liability insurance”.

The audit also found that in some Irish hospitals embalming practice may be “ethically, financially and legally questionable.

It noted that embalming is “an invasive procedure performed on a body to preserve it after death, with the consent of the family” is “not regulated or even overseen in any way. In some establishments dignity and respect is not a priority and there are some practices that are inappropriate and improper.”

It said embalming should only be done by qualified embalmers.

The inquiry found that there is “little internal governance” and the “current level and standard of practice in most cases is not acceptable, in others practice is unsupervised”. Four hospitals however – St Vincent’s hospital, Dublin, Navan hospital, Tallaght and Temple Street – “always supervise embalmers and check their qualifications”.

Ms Cooney said most funeral undertakers have their own premises and institute-qualified embalmers are properly certified. She added that while “there are unqualified embalmers a lot of them are very good”.

The IAFD has established a certificate in funeral practice in conjunction with Fetac, but the Government should adopt the BIE system of embalming and introduce statutory licensing, she said.