When someone dies at home or in a nursing home

When someone dies at home, the first contact should be with the deceased's doctor who, if satisfied with the cause of death will issue the Medical Certificate of Death. You may be asked to collect the certificate from the surgery during normal working hours. In the case of a nursing home death, the staff should liaise with the doctor on your behalf.

Once the doctor has been notified and attended, you or the nursing home staff should make contact with us. We will immediately make arrangements to visit the premises where the death occurred and convey the deceased to our chapel of rest awaiting further instructions from yourselves.

Please note that the doctor will usually only issue the Medical Certificate of Death if he has seen his patient within the last 14 days prior to death, otherwise it may be referred to the Coroner (see 'when someone dies unexpectedly'.)

When someone dies in hospital

When someone dies in hospital, the hospital will arrange for the Medical Certificate of Death to be issued. You will need to make arrangements with the hospital bereavement officer to collect the certificate and any other belongings. If the funeral is to be a cremation, then please advise the hospital staff to enable them to make arrangements for any additional documentation that is needed. Once in possession of the Medical Certificate of Death, you should make an appointment to register the death with the registrar.

When someone dies abroad

The death of a relative or friend is always distressing but if it happens abroad the distress can be made worse by practical problems. In most instances travel insurance will cover the cost of repatriation to the UK. Please contact us and we will make all the necessary arrangements on your behalf.

When someone dies unexpectedly

Should someone die unexpectedly or has not been under a doctor's care on a regular basis, it is normal for the Coroner (England and Wales) or Procurator Fiscal (Scotland) to be involved in the issuing of the necessary certification. Once the Coroner has undertaken all necessary procedures to establish cause of death, the relevant certificate will be issued and the funeral arrangements can take place.