by Joe Walker

Doctors in east Kent pocketed
nearly £260,000 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
£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."

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: "These are
private arrangements made between individual doctors and
undertakers and the trust has no involvement in this
arrangement."