Following an increase in the death rate among people forced into poverty, the government has announced plans to take the responsibility of declaring people dead out of doctors' hands, and give it to an independent team of assessors. The new procedure will give doctors more time to not sign people off long term sick, and should help to keep mortality figures down at an acceptable figures.
'The new requirements for being declared dead will now be much tighter so we can make sure only those who are genuinely deceased are allowed time off work' a spokesman from the department of health told us as he explained the process. 'Anyone applying for a death certificate will be required to attend an appointment with one of our assessors, who will carry out a 2 hour assessment to verify the ability to live.'
Appointments will need to be made 4 weeks in advance, and only after successful completion of the assessment will a declaration of death be made. As expected, there has been criticism from many quarters, but the spokesman moved to reassure the doubters by announcing 'monthly follow up meetings'.
