£8.3m East London Forensic Centre opens in Walthamstow

The new East London Forensic Centre, in Walthamstow, will avoid the need for invasive post-mortems and allow bodies to be discharged the same day.

The £8.3million facility is the first of its kind in London, housed in the only purpose-built facility south of the Midlands.

It will be free to use for residents across five London boroughs – Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Havering, Newham, and Barking & Dagenham – and in the neighbouring county of Essex. Residents in other boroughs may use the service, but will need to pay.

It opened on July 8 and will be run by Waltham Forest Council, though its services will be available to families across London and the wider area.

The new technology involves a postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) scanner. Morticians will be able to ascertain a cause of death by taking a 22-second X-ray scan of the body, without needing to make any incisions.

Invasive post-mortems involve cutting open the cadaver and removing organs for analysis. They can take up to half an hour.

The grand opening of the new coroner's court and forensic centre (Image: Waltham Forest Council)

The body can be held in a mortuary for up to six weeks following an invasive assessment, which operations manager Jahran Allen-Thompson said could be “harrowing” for families who “may not understand” the process.

He said the new service would be “much more compassionate” and “ensure people’s loved ones don’t have to go through an invasive examination if other, more modern means are available”.

The service has also received requests from families and morticians in Kent and Surrey, to the south of the capital.

Some families oppose invasive post-mortems, and the act is generally forbidden by religions such as Judaism and Islam.

Traditional Jewish funerals occur within 24 hours of a person dying, though many modern services are delayed to allow more people to attend. Muslims aim to bury their dead in the same time frame.

Mohamed Omer, chairman of the National Burial Council, said the new centre would be “game-changing” for Muslim and Jewish communities.

He said: “Previously, we had to travel all the way to Oxford, which was the nearest scanning facility, so having this right on our doorstep for the whole of east London will improve the support we can give to families going through bereavement.”

An external view of East London Forensic Centre (Image: Waltham Forest Council)

Sidney Sinitsky, a Jewish faith leader, called the services “much-needed,” adding: “Non-invasive postmortem scanning has been around for about 20 years and during that time I have arranged over 1,500 scans for the Jewish community and for the bulk of them, we had to travel to Oxford – which is quite a long way.”

Ahsan Khan, the cabinet member for housing and regeneration at Waltham Forest Council, said the “absolutely phenomenal speed” at which the post-mortems are carried out would help religious people who prioritise burying the dead as soon as possible.

Cllr Khan said it would support people at the “toughest times of their lives when they are burying loved ones” and help families “of all religions and none”.

Work on the project began around 2019 and took a total of five years.

Looking ahead, Jahran said: “There’s room for us to explore and utilise more modern technology going forward, such as artificial intelligence.”

Other additions to the centre include separate entrances for staff and visitors, improved parking with disabled parking spaces and bike storage, as well as quiet spaces for people to reflect.

The neighbouring East London Coroner’s Court has also been upgraded. Inquests had to be switched to The Adult College of Barking and Dagenham in Ripple Road, Barking while refurbishment work took place. The court in Walthamstow reopened last year and includes a new courtroom to increase capacity. Inquests will also be digitised to allow family members to attend remotely.