Action Mesothelioma: end the insensitive treatment of bereaved families
The British Lung Foundation is campaigning for reform of the coroners’ system so that the bereaved relatives of mesothelioma patients are treated with sensitivity.
Mesothelioma is a terminal chest cancer that develops between 15 and 60 years after exposure to asbestos.
When someone dies from mesothelioma it is classified as ‘an unnatural death’ and it is therefore required that a coroner carries out an inquiry.
However, when a death from mesothelioma occurs outside of coroner's workings, the bereaved are, in some cases, visited by uniformed police in a marked police car, sometimes in the middle of the night. The bereaved are then questioned about the cause of death. People who have experienced this say that they found it extremely distressing and that they felt as if they were under suspicion.
The British Lung Foundation is therefore calling for these inquiries to be carried out in a way that is more sensitive to the needs of the bereaved families.
To get involved in this campaign please email your MP to ask them to support the campaign.
Mesothelioma Charter
The Action Mesothelioma campaign is centred around the Mesothelioma Charter, which calls for better care and treatment, better protection for employees and more funding for research. It was presented to 10 Downing Street on 27 February 2006 with more than 14,000 signatures to mark the launch of the first Action Mesothelioma Day.
To sign the Mesothelioma Charter please click here. Click here for details of other BLF campaigns.
