What Do I Do First?
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So we can give you the best advice that is personal to you and your loved one, the information we have provided below is specific to the place your loved one has passed.
Following a death in hospital
If your loved one has passed away in hospital, a qualified medical practitioner will confirm the death.
The doctor who last cared for your loved one will issue a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death.
This will either be provided to you by the bereavement office or will be sent directly to the local registry office.
If the Doctor is unable to confidently determine the cause of death, they will refer the death to the Coroner.
Following a death in a nursing or care home
If your loved one has passed away in a nursing or care home, a qualified medical practitioner will confirm the death.
You can call Lilies at any time, and we will call the nursing or care home to arrange bringing your loved one into our care. We are available day and night; you can be assured your loved one will be cared for with love and dignity.
The nursing or care home or Lilies will inform your loved one’s GP of their death and arrange for all necessary certificates to be completed. If the Doctor is unable to confidently determine the cause of death, they will refer the death to the coroner.
Following a death in a Hospice
If your loved one has passed away in a hospice, a qualified medical practitioner will confirm the death.
You can call Lilies at any time, and we will call the hospice to arrange bringing your loved one into our care.
We are available day and night; you can be assured your loved one will be cared for with love and dignity.
The Hospice will usually have a resident doctor who will issue a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death.
This will either be provided to you by the hospice staff or will be sent directly to the local registry office.
If the Doctor is unable to confidently determine the cause of death, they will refer the death to the coroner.
Following a sudden death
If your loved one has passed away unexpectedly you need to contact the emergency services.
An ambulance will be sent to confirm the death, the paramedics may request for the Police to attend depending on the circumstances of the death.
It is protocol for the Coroner to be informed when it is a sudden death.
Once the ambulance staff have given permission, we can bring your loved one into our care.
You can call Lilies at any time, and we will transfer your loved one into our care.
We are available day and night; you can be assured your loved one will be cared for with love and dignity.
Involvement of H. M. Coroner
The coroner’s role is to help determine a cause of death. There are many reasons why a loved one’s death will be referred to the coroners, if you are unsure why the coroner is involved, please do not hesitate to call us.
Once the coroner has completed all the investigations necessary to release your loved one into our care, we can then confirm a date for your loved one’s funeral. As these investigations can usually take a few days, if you wanted to come in to see us to start funeral arrangements, you are more than welcome to.
Registering a Death
You need to register the death within 5 days.
Once the doctor who completed the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death has sent it to the local registry office or given it back to you, you need to then call the local registry office to register the death.
Following registering your loved ones death, the registry office will send the Death Certificate(s) to you and will send the order for cremation or burial certificate to us (this certificate is commonly referred to as the ‘green cert/form’ as it is green).
Who should register the death
A relative should register the death.
If a relative cannot register the death, you can do it if you:
- were there at the time of death
- are an administrator from the hospital (if the person died in hospital)
- are in charge of making funeral arrangements
What you need to do
The register office will tell you what you need to do when you contact them.
The register office may also want to see the person’s:
- birth certificate
- Council Tax bill
- driving licence
- marriage or civil partnership certificate
- NHS medical card
- passport
- proof of address (eg utility bill)
Ask the register office what to do if you do not have them.
You’ll need to tell the registrar:
- the person’s full name at the time of death
- any names previously used, eg maiden name
- the person’s date and place of birth
- their last address
- their occupation
- the full name, date of birth and occupation of a surviving or late spouse or civil partner
- whether they were getting a State Pension or any other benefits
Arranging Your Loved One’s Funeral
We understand this can be a difficult time, for some it is the end of a time of suffering, for some it has come way too soon. No matter what your personal situation is, we will put the kettle on, sit down with you and discuss the perfect final journey for your loved one.
You can come in to see us at one of our funeral homes, we can discuss everything over the phone or we can come to your home. What ever makes you feel most comfortable, this is the path we will take.
During the funeral arrangements we will talk through your personal requests, and we can guide you on areas you may not be too sure of.
We will cover every element of your loved ones service, from music and coffins through to the journey you want to take to the service and where you would like to go afterwards. We will look after every element and try to take away as much stress from you as possible, we want to make this time as easy as possible for you and your family.
Everything we discuss and arrange will be written in your personal funeral arrangement folder; this will be yours to keep. It will have all the elements and costs involved; it will also have all the details on how to pay but we will cover this when talking through the costs.
So many families can’t believe how easy we make it for them, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call.