What You Need To Know When Someone Has Passed Away.
The following are different scenarios for when someone has died:
- Passed away at home address or care home after an illness: Inform the district nurses or care provider of the passing so that they can attend and certify the death and produce a ‘Record of Fact of Death’. After this you can call your trusted funeral director of choice who will then take information, attend immediately to the address and convey the deceased to their chapel of rest. The funeral director will then inform the deceased’s GP of the passing. You don’t need to go to the surgery to collect anything, this is all taken care of through emails; The GP will the issue the medical certificate and email all paperwork to the medical examiner who will then contact the next of kin, during this phone call they should also provide you with an appointment to register the death at the relevant registrars office, to enable you to obtain the death certificate and any ‘copies of entry of death’ so that you can shut down any private accounts the deceased has.
- Passed away at hospital: The doctor that took care of your loved one at the hospital or hospice will email all paperwork and certificates to the medical examiner, who will then call you to ask if you are okay with the cause of death etc. They will let you know where you need to go to register the death and also make an appointment. You can advise your chosen trusted funeral director of the passing so that the funeral director can take your loved one into their care from the hospital mortuary.
- Sudden/Unexpected death: You must call for an ambulance. When the paramedics arrive they will acknowledge the situation and call for any further emergency services. If the death appears natural then generally the police do not attend, the ambulance team should then ask the family who their chosen trusted funeral director is and call them. The funeral director will attend immediately and convey the deceased to their chapel of rest. The funeral director will then call the deceased’s GP to advise of the passing. The GP will inform the coroner of the sudden death and decide whether the cause of death is probable enough to issue the medical certificate. However, If the GP is not satisfied with the probability of the cause of death then the deceased may need to undergo a post mortem at a hospital, to which the funeral director will transport the deceased, so that a true cause of death can be determined. Once this has been completed, the funeral director will convey the deceased back to their chapel of rest so that funeral arrangements can then be made.
- Deceased has been found after a long period of time, suspected suicide or RTA: Ambulance must be notified and Police should attend. If the person who has died is in poor condition, or has suspected to have taken their own life, or was involved in a road traffic accident, the police inform the coroner who then use their own team to transport the deceased to the nearest hospital mortuary. A post mortem would be carried out followed possibly by toxicology tests and/or a coroners inquest to determine and finalise the cause of death. The coroner will keep the family informed and eventually issue copies of interim death certificates so that the family can notify any departments of the deceased person’s private accounts. The coroner will also let family know when they will be able to start funeral arrangements with their chosen trusted funeral director.