Whilst procedures vary throughout the UK, we will be able to advise you accordingly on what steps to take. It is common that people are unsure of what to do following a bereavement and the following information offers some initial guidance:
When someone dies in hospital, hospital staff will arrange for a doctor to issue the Medical Certificate of Death which you will need to collect, along with any belongings, from the hospital. If the funeral is to be a cremation, please advise the hospital staff so they can make arrangements for any additional documentation that is needed. Contact us and we will make further necessary arrangements.
When someone dies at home or in a nursing 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. In some cases you may be asked to collect the certificate from the surgery. In the case of a nursing home death, their staff should liaise with the doctor. Contact us after you have informed the doctor.
When someone dies unexpectedly, the Coroner (England and Wales) or Procurator Fiscal (Scotland) is in the main automatically involved. If the deceased has not been under a doctor's care on a regular basis, the emergency doctor, or any police involved, will inform the relevant Coroner’s office or the Procurator Fiscal. Contact us as soon as possible. We can advise on the procedures involved and liaise with the Coroner’s/Procurator Fiscal’s office.
When someone dies away from home or abroad, please contact us and we can make all the necessary arrangements and guide you through the process
For further information, please contact your local Chelmsford Star Co-operative Funeral Home we are here day or night for help or advice.