When someone dies

If your loved one dies at home expectedly, the healthcare professional involved should be contacted in order to verify your loved one’s passing. Once this has been competed, we are able to bring your loved one into our care. Should you wish to spend time with your loved one, we can arrange to bring them into our care whenever you are ready for us to do so, no matter the time of day or night.

The healthcare professional should inform your loved one’s GP who will then contact the Medical Examiner’s office to propose what should be recorded on the Medical certificate as the cause of death. The Medical Examiner’s officer will then contact you to ask if you agree with the GP. If you do, the GP will complete the medical certificate, the Medical Examiner’s officer will also sign the certificate and forward this to the registry office in the area where your loved one passed. At this point , you will receive a second call from the Medical Examiner’s office to say you can make an appointment to register your loved one’s passing.

When someone dies in a hospital, hospice, nursing or residential care home, the staff present will advise you. If death occurs in a nursing or residential home, it is usual for us to be asked to bring the person who has died into our care once the death has been verified by a medical professional and you are ready for us to do so.

If the person who has died is in hospital or a hospice, they will be taken to the mortuary after they have died. Once you have made contact with us, we will contact the hospital or hospice on your behalf to advise we are taking care of your loved one.

The GP who took care of your loved one will then contact the Medical Examiner's office to propose what should be recorded on the Medical certificate as the cause of death. The Medical Examiner's officer will then contact you to ask if you agree with the GP. If you do, the GP will complete the medical certificate, the Medical Examiner's officer will also sign the certificate and forward this to the registry office in the area where your loved one passed. At this point, you will receive a second call from the Medical Examiner's office to say you can make an appointment to register your loved one's passing.

When someone has died suddenly or unexpectedly or if they have died during, or shortly after an operation, the Coroner will need to be involved. It is the Coroner’s responsibility to establish the cause of death. The coroner works in your interests and will keep you informed throughout. We will liaise with the coroner’s officer and if needed, help you to understand their involvement.

Even if the coroner is involved, we would still encourage you to contact us as soon as possible so that we can begin to support you. Particularly when someone has died suddenly, you may have given very little thought as to what sort of funeral would best reflect the life of the person who has died.

Even though we may not initially be able to put any of your wishes into action, by understanding what you want we can then move forward once the coroner has given us permission to do so.

Even in circumstances where someone has died suddenly and unexpectedly we believe that, with the right support, the funeral planning process can help friends and family to begin to come to terms with their loss.

When a child or baby dies it is a very difficult and emotional time for everyone. Ordinarily, there are many healthcare professionals involved who will offer emotional and practical guidance.

Depending on the child’s age and where they have died, there are a range of funeral options available. With the right support you can start to consider what is best for you, your child, your friends and family.

You may wish to spend some time with your child after they have died and we can support you to do so. You may want us to be with you, or you may wish to be alone but whatever decision you do make we’ll support you throughout.

There are also many memorial options available, such as footprints and handprints, fingerprints art or jewellery, personalised teddy bears, memory books and portraits. We have information available on all of these and can tell you more about these when the time is right.