Profile: Coroner Alison Thompson

"It changes your relationships, you value life more and because you know how quickly life can change through accidents, it makes you feel fortunate."

Alison, 52, investigates the sudden deaths of residents of south west London and says: "It is an endlessly fascinating job."

Before taking up the coroner's mantle two years ago, Alison had a varied career. After studying biochemistry at university she worked as an air stewardess in the first 747s for BOAC, at the now defunct Daily Telegraph information bureau taking 80 calls a day about anything from the latest weather forecasts and cricket scores, then for a number of years as a nutritionist in various hospitals.

At 35, it was time for a yet another career change as she decided to study law. She was called to the Bar in 1986 at Middle Temple, working as a criminal and family barrister until 1994. Alison reflects: "I look back now and think it was hard work, continually rushing from court to court, but it was a fantastic foundation for what I am doing now, learning to think on your feet and think precisely."

And she admits that the legal stage was a way of expressing a hidden theatrical streak: "I have always been in conflict between wanting to do something rational and reasoned and the performing arts. I actually wanted to go to drama school." Her dramatic side is now satisfied by street dance and jazz classes at Richmond Adult and Community College, which Alison says are a perfect way to unwind.

After a time Alison, who now lives on the river in Twickenham, began to tire of London and went to Hong Kong to work as a barrister. "That was fantastic because the cases were so different." She then became a magistrate, the equivalent of a judge, and a coroner.

On returning to the UK she discovered that the area's coroner for 32 years, Dr John Burton, was due to retire. What was it about the role that appealed? "The combination of science and law. I have always been interested in science and medicine and it brought things together nicely. And it is in the environment where you are meeting and communicating with lots of people."

The coroner's role is to establish the cause of sudden or unexpected deaths and if it was not due to natural causes, they will hold an inquest to find out who has died, how, when and where.

Despite handling tragedy on a daily basis, Alison says: "People say it is the happiest office they have seen. What we are dealing with attracts people who can rise above it and retain a sense of humour. It is amazing, we also have moments of humour in court. Sometimes families hear things they did not know about their loved one, quite unexpected things can happen.

"You have to judge each case on its merits. Sometimes people don't want to know everything; sometimes they want every tiny detail. You don't have to tell them any more than they ask, although obviously they are going to hear a certain amount."

Attempting to establish some answers for grieving families is the key for Alison. She explains: "We try to make them feel part of it, no rush. Although inquests fulfil a legal facility, the most important part of all is that families understand as much as possible and that everything is explained.

"They can ask as many questions as they want to and you give them a hearing if they have things to say. You want to make sure you have conducted a thorough investigation but the other part is to make sure that families are at ease as much as they can be in the circumstances.

"You see people's regrets come out in court. Sometimes when they are blaming other people they are working through that fact and say that they hadn't done enough you try and say you mustn't blame yourself for this. They say why did we have that argument?' and you have to try and put them at ease about it."

The vast majority of people are satisfied with the verdicts, you get some quite nice letters'', but Alison believes that a change in society's attitude towards death has affected the nature of her work.

She explains: "People are great fault finders, which makes my job more difficult, they are not as accepting of death. There comes a time when it will happen to all of us and it's not always someone's fault. I'm not saying that there is never fault, but people are very keen to point the finger of blame. Sometimes it is legitimate but sometimes it is automatic.

"Because of the fact that people don't have such spiritual convictions anymore, they see life in material terms, we don't have the religious dimension and they find it more difficult to come to terms with death. People don't focus on grief and bereavement. Sometimes the initial anger wears off, but often rather than quiet grieving, remembering people in happy times, they can't seem to be able to let go, accept loss and grieve."

Another important aspect of the coroner's work is to establish if anything in the case should lead to changes to prevent the same thing happening again. They can't recommend or demand changes, but can report the facts of the case to someone with power. For example, there have been improvements since a case at Feltham Young Offender Institution where she criticised communication between departments.

Heathrow Airport falls within Alison's catchment, which she says means she covers some interesting cases. She says that they will soon get back the remains of victims of the 1957 Andes air crash, who have been identified through laborious DNA analysis.

Others that stand out: "The people who come in on planes, for example the person who fell out onto the Sainsbury's car park. We had one in Hillingdon, two boys, and the most poignant thing is that they were both in T-shirts, having no idea at all of how cold it would get and they had a lunchbox with sandwiches in."

Alison has been involved with some of the biggest atrocities involving British citizens. She was the coroner who flew to both New York and Bali following the terrorist attacks and worked with police to deal with issues of identification and repatriation of the deceased.

Out of the 202 victims of the Bali bombing, 26 were British. "I can remember flying in there not knowing what I was going to see and I was quite anxious about it, but what always strikes you with these sorts of things is the amazing people dealing with it. It was still pretty chaotic, there were still bodies outside in the open air, as there was nowhere to take them to."

The most important issue is ensuring that victims are correctly identified. "One victim was identified by two different families and they were both wrong." The victims had to be identified through dental records and DNA.

"The bodies are not released until everyone is sure. It has to be right. The most difficult thing is to say to families desperate to take their loved ones home we have to wait' because it has to be done properly."

Which cases affect her the most? "Of course children, but I have a particularly strong feeling about the elderly. I don't think they are cared for enough in the hospital setting as they should be, especially if they have no family. I think they get very shabby treatment. They are so vulnerable and can't speak for themselves. They get taken into A & E with a broken hip and they are so susceptible to infection, they could catch pneumonia and die as a consequence.

"Hospitals are not the environment for these people, I feel very strongly about the deal that they get. I am not saying that anyone is wilfully trying to mistreat them, they just don't end up getting the attention they deserve. The individuals' hearts are in the right place, but the system lets them down. The environment is wrong for them.

"I will look carefully at the deaths of the elderly to see if there are any issues of neglect or whether anything more could have been done.

"We are doing something for that person whether they have got family to speak for them or not, even if no-one is going to ask us about it. We owe them a duty."

So does witnessing all these deaths make her more cautious in her own life?

"People do some barmy things, for example the people I see who jump off Richmond Bridge, they have no idea of the dangers of that. I won't go in cable cars or in helicopters, I worry when my partner goes up a ladder or uses pressure hoses, it makes you realise that so many accidents happen in the home.

"But I have got a mechanism for switching off, I don't tend to take it home with me. If I did, I don't think you could do my job. You have to be compassionate but don't let it affect you personally.

"If I ever get up and think I don't want to go to work today, I think of the families getting ready to come to court and what an important day it is for them and know I have to do my best for them."