What happens, and things you might need to think about, after someone dies.
Please see the tabs below with the associated information
Call us on 01502 500050 for more details
If you haven’t already done so, call one of the following to advise of the death:
• The usual GP of the deceased (during surgery hours)
• Out of hours Doctor on call (out of surgery hours)
• Your District Nurse or Terminal Care Nurse
Once the death has been confirmed by any of the above, please call us to arrange for your loved one to be brought into our care.
Your loved one will be brought into our care, they will remain with us until the day of the funeral, you will be more than welcome to visit them in our Chapel.
When someone dies in hospital (where the death was expected).
An appointment will need to be made with the Hospital Bereavement office who will collect the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (issued by the Hospital Doctor) and any personal possessions of the deceased on your behalf and pass these onto you. You may have to sign a Release Form releasing the deceased into our care.
The deceased will then be kept at the hospital until we have permission to collect them and bring them back to our Chapel of Rest.
If an expected death happens away from the deceased own home the procedure in this case will be the same as the information shown in ‘following the loss of someone at home’ however, the Doctor local to the area will carry out the formalities.
If it is wished for the deceased to be brought back to their own area for the funeral, following the above formalities, all the arrangements for this can be taken care of by ourselves.
If the usual GP cannot determine the cause of death or the death was sudden or unexpected, the death will be reported to the Coroner in the following situations:
• The deceased was not attended by a doctor during their last illness or the Doctor has not seen the deceased within the 14 days before death.
• The death was violent or unnatural or occurred under suspicious circumstances.
• The cause of death is not known or is uncertain
• The death occurred while the deceased was undergoing an operation or did not recover from the anaesthetic
• The death was caused by an industrial disease
• The death occurred in Police custody
Once a death has been reported to the Coroner, the Coroner will arrange for your loved one to be transferred from the place of death to the local hospital. This is usually carried out by a contracted funeral director but does not mean you have to use this funeral director to carry out the arrangements. The Coroner will not charge you for this transfer.
The Coroner may wish to perform a post-mortem examination of the body. Family consent for this examination is not required. The post-mortem usually takes place at the hospital local to where your loved one has passed away.