When Someone Dies
24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Step 1. Where has it occurred and what to do? -
Step 2. The Coroner -
Step 3. Registering the Death -
01
Step
Where has it occurred and what to do?
If the Death Has Occurred at Home (and Is Expected)
Contact the deceased's GP's surgery and a GP will come and verify the death. A community nurse may also be able to verify the death. You may then contact us to take the deceased into care. If there is no coroner involvement - please see below - the GP will issue a medical certificate of cause of death, which you can collect from the surgery and will need to take with you when you go to register the death.
If the Death Has Occurred at Home (and Is Unexpected)
Dial 999 for an ambulance, and they will guide you through the next steps. As death was unexpected, the police will be called, and they must report the death to the coroner. Once death has been verified, the coroner will call his chosen funeral directors who will take the deceased to the hospital mortuary. We must then await further instructions from the coroner.
If the Death Has Occurred at a Hospice or Nursing Home
If there is no coroner involvement - please see below - a GP or a qualified member of staff will verify the death. They will then contact us to take the deceased into our care. The medical certificate of cause of death will be issued by the GP and the staff at the hospice/nursing home can tell you when it is completed and where to collect it from.
If the Death Has Occurred in Hospital
If there isn't any coroner involvement, the bereavement office will be able to tell you how the medical certificate of cause of death will be issued. When the certificate is ready, they will make an appointment with you, so you can go along and collect it. Each hospital requires certain paperwork to be completed before we are permitted to bring the deceased into our care. We will always advise you accordingly.
If the Death Has Occurred Elsewhere
If the death occurred in an area away from home, the local GP/hospital/coroner will attend to the required paperwork. The registering of the death must be carried out in the district where the death occurred. If the deceased is to be returned home for the funeral to take place, we will organise transportation and all necessary arrangements. This also applies to if the death occurred abroad.
If the Death Occurred Abroad
In certain circumstances, the medical certificate of cause of death cannot be issued by the hospital or GP and the death must be reported to the coroner, usually by the Funeral Director.
02
Step
The Coroner
The Coroner's Involvement
The coroner may decide that death was natural and allow a doctor to issue the medical certificate of cause of death. If not, the coroner may decide a post-mortem examination is needed to determine the cause of death. A death will be reported to the coroner when:
Death Due to Natural Causes
If the post-mortem examination shows that death was due to natural causes, the coroner will send the necessary paperwork directly to the register office. If the coroner decides to hold an inquest, the death cannot be registered until after the inquest has been completed. They will, however, issue you with an interim death certificate that will be accepted by most banks and building societies. The coroner will also issue the funeral director with the necessary forms for the funeral to take place.
Further Details
Once the coroner has made one of the above decisions, he/she will inform you and advise you of the next steps. When the coroner is satisfied that no further examinations are required, he/she will give permission for us to take the deceased into our care.
03
Step
Registering the Death
The death must be registered in the district register office where the death occurred. They use an appointment system, so please arrange this by telephone. The below lists who can register a death:
The Registrar's Requirements
This includes the medical certificate of the cause of death. If the death was reported to the coroner, this will have been sent directly to the registrar. Also, if available, take the following:
The registrar will also require the following information:
The registrar will also require:
The registrar will give you:
This will cause a delay in you receiving the certificates required to go ahead with the funeral arrangements, so this must be considered when planning a date for the funeral.