by Joe Walker

Doctors in east Kent pocketed more than £250,000 from grieving families last year for filling in simple forms to release the bodies of loved ones for cremation.

The fees – crudely known as ‘ash cash’ payments in the profession – were made by 1,815 bereaved families to doctors from the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust.

They received the bonus payments on top of their salaries for filling in and checking one of two simple forms.

Every time a body is released for cremation, 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 an independent doctor.

The form filling, which takes about 10 minutes, is usually done during work hours and pockets each doctor a staggering £73.50, leading to accusations they are boosting their earnings while on NHS duty. The fees are charged to the funeral director, who generally passes on the cost to bereaved families.

The figures, which show doctors in east Kent receiving the seventh highest amount in the country at £257,730, were obtained by the Liberal Democrats under the Freedom of Information Act.

The party’s shadow health secretary, Norman Lamb, said: "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."

Guy Voizey, spokesman for Canterbury and Whitstable Liberal Democrats, said: "This practice undermines the principle that the NHS cares for people from cradle to grave. It should be ended as soon as possible."

Jim Murray, a spokesman for the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, said the payments were outside the Trust’s control.

He said: "These are private arrangements made between individual doctors and undertakers and the trust has no involvement in this arrangement. This work is outside the doctors’ trust duties and they are paid directly by the undertakers."