---
title: "Jersey’s inquest department is at breaking point, coroner warns"
url: https://www.nsfw.info/jersey-inquest-department-breaking-point-coroner-warns/
published: 2026-11-09T11:30:46+00:00
modified: 2026-11-09T11:30:46+00:00
author: "Chief Editor"
categories: ["Government"]
image: https://www.nsfw.info/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/jersey-inquest-department-breaking-point-coroner-warns-1024x572.webp
summary: "Jersey's Viscount warns the inquests department is at maximum capacity, with 60-plus cases to carry forward and major new pressures from the rheumatology scanda"
publisher: NSFW (https://www.nsfw.info)
---

# Jersey’s inquest department is at breaking point, coroner warns

**In brief:** Jersey’s Viscount has warned that the department handling inquests and jury trials is operating at maximum capacity and cannot absorb further budget cuts. A backlog of at least 60 inquest cases is expected to carry into next year, with additional pressure looming from the rheumatology treatment scandal and the Haut du Mont explosion aftermath.

## A Department Stretched to Its Limits

The Viscount’s Department, which oversees inquests into sudden or unexplained deaths as well as jury trials, is running at “maximum capacity in most areas,” according to Viscount Mark Harris. In a submission to the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel, Advocate Harris made clear that further budget reductions would be “unfeasible” without a direct impact on services.

The workload figures tell their own story. The department completed 100 inquests in 2025, compared with just 51 in 2021. A further 72 have already been completed so far this year. Advocate Harris attributed the surge to greater complexity: “The greater complexity of deaths in Jersey in recent years means that a larger number require detailed investigation and oversight, resulting in longer inquests with more taking place over several days.”

At least 60 inquest cases are expected to be carried forward into next year, and that figure excludes two significant additional pressures still on the horizon.

## Rheumatology Scandal and Haut du Mont Add to the Burden

The department faces two exceptional and weighty additions to its caseload. The first concerns the review of rheumatology treatment at Jersey’s hospital. An employment tribunal ruling, published earlier this week, found that former senior rheumatology consultant Dr Michael Richardson was fairly dismissed. That ruling also revealed that relatives of 33 deceased rheumatology patients had received letters informing them of “catastrophic” harm. All 33 cases have been referred to the Viscount’s Department, which will independently determine whether formal inquests are required in each instance.

The second concerns the Haut du Mont gas explosion of 10 December 2022, which killed ten islanders. The department co-ordinated disaster victim identification and the mass-fatality emergency response in the immediate aftermath, while the subsequent criminal trial involved Jersey’s largest-ever jury empanelment. Inquests linked to Haut du Mont cannot be scheduled until criminal proceedings have concluded.

A part-time Assistant Viscount and Coroner, appointed in August last year, has proved “crucial” in managing the rising workload, Advocate Harris noted.

## Budget Pressures and the Road Ahead

The Treasury Minister had asked Advocate Harris to identify a proposed saving of £40,000 for 2027. He has done so, but drawn a firm line: any further cuts to the core budget while maintaining the current level of service would simply not be possible.

Additional funding proposed in the Budget would provide an extra court officer, a court services officer, and cover expenses associated with more jury trials. That last point matters because new violence against women and girls legislation is expected to generate an increase in criminal cases, placing further demands on a jury selection process currently administered by the department’s small Coroner and Court Services Team. The department presently has just two dedicated court officers.

Advocate Harris was measured but direct in his assessment: “The department is working to maximum capacity in most areas and if there were to be significant changes that affected the workload of the department, there is a clear risk that additional resource would be required.”

## The NSFW Perspective

There is something quietly alarming about a department responsible for investigating unexplained deaths, co-ordinating mass-fatality responses and empanelling juries being asked to find savings while simultaneously facing the largest expansion of its caseload in recent memory. The Viscount has been admirably candid with the Scrutiny Panel, which is exactly how it should work. Whether the Government of Jersey listens is, of course, another matter entirely.

The rheumatology situation in particular deserves close attention. Thirty-three families have been told their loved ones may have suffered catastrophic harm. Those families deserve timely, thorough inquests, not ones delayed because the department is stretched thin and hunting for £40,000 down the back of the sofa. Some things are simply not the right place to look for savings, and the machinery of justice is one of them.

*Source: [Jersey Evening Post](https://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2026/11/09/inquests-and-juries-department-working-at-maximum-capacity-warns-coroner)*