Police are investigating the case of a GP who borrowed a penknife to cut a pacemaker from the chest of an 81-year-old patient who had just died in her own home.

It is alleged that he used the penknife after asking the woman's daughter for a carving knife and then rejecting it.

The south Manchester coroner, John Pollard, ordered the inquiry after being notified by an undertaker who was shocked to discover an unstitched two-and-a-half inch wound when he arrived to collect the body of Edna Everson, who had died at her bungalow in Bramhall, Greater Manchester, after a long illness.

Dr Arepalli Krishnamurthy had been called to the house to certify Mrs Everson's death.

Last night Stockport health authority described the actions of Dr Krishnamurthy, 56, as "unexpected and inappropriate".

"There is no dispute about the facts of the matter," said Peter Milnes, the authority's chief executive. "Dr Krishnamurthy was interviewed as a matter of urgency and the incident is now being reviewed by the health authority's GP panel and a report is expected next week."

Dr Krishnamurthy, known as Dr Murthy, is not treating patients at present and a locum is working at his surgery in Stockport.

Mrs Everson's daughter Jennifer, 55, who cared for her mother until her death last month, said the doctor had behaved insensitively.

"He marched in and asked for a knife to take the pacemaker out," she told the Manchester Evening News. "I presumed that was normal procedure. He didn't explain why he was doing it."

Dr Krishnamurthy borrowed the penknife from Mrs Everson's neighbour, Geoffrey Conley.

"[The doctor] simply made an incision and took it out," he said. "It took between 10 and 30 seconds. He turned round and put the pacemaker in my hand. I put it on the chest of drawers."

Pacemakers are routinely removed from bodies to avoid the risk of explosion during cremation. But the procedure is usually carried out by undertakers.

"This is not a situation which any of our companies has come across before," said a spokesman for the group to which the funeral firm belongs. "Once the documentation is completed, pacemakers are removed as part of the embalming process."

A spokeswoman for the British Medical Association said it would be very unusual for a pacemaker to be removed soon after death in a patient's home."There needs to be respect for patients and their families," she added.

Det Chief Inspector Kenny Caldwell of Stockport CID said: "We have been directed by the coroner to make inquiries into the incident on his behalf. We are doing so. The full details will be reported back to the coroner and the health authority."

Dr Krishnamurthy was not available for comment yesterday. At his surgery he was said to be on leave.