The Crown Office has been accused of failing vulnerable families who have faced desperate waits to find out how their loved ones died suddenly.
New figures show the number of investigations resolved speedily has fallen due to a row over toxicology services.
Labour MSP Monica Lennon said: “I have seen the pain this has caused families affected by sudden and unexplained deaths.
“Staff have been let down and families have been failed, yet no one is taking responsibility. It’s not good enough.”
If a death requires further investigation, the Crown Office aims to conduct the probe and advise the next of kin of the result within twelve weeks of the death being reported to the procurator fiscal.
Many of these deaths require a post mortem examination, part of which includes a toxicology analysis.
However, a row in 2019 between the Crown Office and Glasgow University, which carried out the toxicology tests, led to a huge backlog of cases.
The Daily Record reported last year that nearly 3500 grieving families had endured delays in finding out how their loved ones had died. Lord Advocate James Wolffe was urged to consider his position over the row.
We told of how Jen Jackson-Robertson was in the dark over how her 23 year old nephew Callum died.
She said at the time: “The backlog isn’t just a pile of paperwork and lab samples. These are people’s lives, and families have been badly let down by these long delays before the coronavirus crisis.”
According to Crown Office figures, loved ones were notified of the outcome within twelve weeks in 89% of cases in 2018/19.
The latest set of numbers, for 2019/20, shows that the figure had slumped to 70%.
Lennon said: “There should be an independent investigation into the contract fiasco and a cast-iron guarantee that nothing like this will happen again.”
A spokesperson for the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service said:
“COPFS and staff at the University of Glasgow have made significant progress in tackling the backlog of toxicological analysis despite the challenges imposed by the pandemic.
“We appreciate the impact of the delay and it is currently anticipated that there will be improved reporting in the next period.”
