What to Do When Someone Dies

When a death occurs in a hospice, hospital or nursing home and was expected

When a person dies in a hospice or hospital or nursing home and was expected, the attending doctor will issue the Medical Cause of Death Certificate. The relatives will also be informed. Once this certificate has been issued, you are free to contact us to arrange our services. We will then arrange for your loved one to be conveyed to our chapel of rest.

When a death occurs in a hospice, hospital or nursing home and was unexpected

If the death was unexpected the relatives will be notified and the Coroner will be informed by the doctor. If the death was due to natural causes, then the Medical Cause of Death Certificate will be issued. You are then free to contact us to arrange our services.

In cases where the death was not due to natural causes, the deceased will be conveyed into the care of the Coroner and an inquest will be ordered. In these circumstances, interim certificates may be issued to allow the service to take place. However, in more serious cases this may not be possible until the inquest has reached a verdict on the cause of death.

When a death occurs at home and was expected

When a death occurs at home and was expected you will first need to call your doctor. The attending doctor will issue the Medical Cause of Death Certificate and you can call us to arrange our services.

When a death occurs at home and was unexpected

If the death happened at home and was unexpected, then you must call the emergency services. The police, ambulance services and a doctor will arrive at the scene. In cases where the death was due to natural causes, the doctor will issue the Medical Cause of Death Certificate and you can call us to arrange our services.

In cases when the death was not due to natural causes, the Coroner will be contacted and the deceased will be placed under their care and an inquest will be ordered. When this happens, interim certificates may be issued that will allow the service to take place. In more serious cases, however, this may not be possible. The Medical Cause of Death Certificate will be issued once the inquest has reached a verdict.

What happens when a Coroner is called?

The Coroner’s role is to establish the cause of death in serious or uncertain circumstances. If they find that the death was due to natural causes then you are free to contact us to arrange our services. If the death occurred due to unnatural causes, then the deceased will be conveyed into the care of the Coroner. The Coroner will then order an investigation to establish the cause of death.

The inquest process can take some time. In some cases, interim certificates can be issued so that you are able to arrange a funeral service. However, if the death happened under suspicious circumstances, then the Medical Cause of Death Certificate will not be issued until the inquest has reached a verdict.

How to register a death

If the person died in Wales, England or Northern Ireland, you need to register the death within 5 working days. In Scotland, this timescale increases to 8 working days.

When the Coroner is involved, it may not be possible to register the death within this timeframe, but don’t worry as these are exceptional circumstances. However, it may be worthwhile informing the registry office of the situation.

Getting the Green Form for burial or cremation

When you register the death with the local registry office, they will give you a certificate that authorises a burial or cremation. This certificate is known as the Green Form. Once you have this, please ensure it is passed to us so that we can finalise the funeral arrangements.