Crucial reports into circumstances around people's deaths have been held up from publication - prompting frustration from campaigners.

Staffing issues and the ongoing development of a new website for the chief coroner's office have meant that since May, prevention of future death (PFD) reports have not been published online.

These are reports prepared by coroners that identify shortcomings of organisations that either led to or contributed to a person's death.

They include recommendations of changes for organisations to make and are made available for the public to view online.

But the last of these was published on May 26, almost five months ago.

The delays have frustrated mental health campaigners in Norfolk and Suffolk, who have called for them to be ended.

Eastern Daily Press: Caroline Aldridge wrote a book titled He Died Waiting, following the death of her son TimCaroline Aldridge wrote a book titled He Died Waiting, following the death of her son Tim (Image: Archant 2021)

Caroline Aldridge, of the Campaign to Save Mental Health Services in Norfolk and Suffolk, said: "As a concerned member of the public, I do not think it is good enough that these important documents that should be in the public domain are unavailable.

"PFDs and public scrutiny of these play an important part in the safety of NHS patients.

"It seems a flimsy excuse that this whole system relies on one person."

A spokesman for the Judiciary Service said that publication had been temporarily suspended.

They said: "This is due to a combination of necessity to do so while a new website is being created and the need to recruit a new member of staff in the chief coroner's office to publish the reports.

"The post in the office has now been filled and prevention of future death reports not yet published will be uploaded when the new website is launched.

"In the meantime, individual prevention of future death reports can be obtained from the coroner who produced them."

It is not clear how many of these reports have been written by Norfolk coroners since May.

At recent hearings, senior coroner Jacqueline Lake confirmed that reports would be made into the deaths of mental health patients Eliot Harris and Lewis Begley, whose inquests were held in August and September respectively.

The most recent Norfolk report on the website is into the death of 66-year-old Michael Wysockyj, who died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn after an X-ray initially missed a collapsed lung.