What to do when someone dies

The first steps to be taken when a death occurs are often the hardest for people to make.

At D.J. Bewley The Family Funeral Service we have experienced local staff on call at all times:

• To answer the telephone personally.
• To attend to moving a deceased person from the place at which they have died.
• To visit families wishing to make funeral arrangements.

There are key things you must do in the first few days after someone dies. Our advice is always to contact your funeral director first.

• Arrange the funeral, where a funeral director is on hand to help.
• Obtain a medical certificate from a GP or hospital doctor. You’ll need this to register the death.
• Register the death within 5 days (8 days in Scotland). You’ll then get the documents you need for the funeral. Whilst registering, you can usually use the Tell Us Once service to report a death to most government organisations in one go.
• You don’t need to deal with the will, money and property straight away.

When the death occurs in Hospital

Unless present when death occurs, the relatives will be notified by the nursing staff as soon as possible. Sometimes relatives or friends ask to see the deceased in the mortuary chapel. This can usually be arranged direct with the hospital. Arrangements can then be made with the Hospital Patient Affairs office staff to deal with the formalities. These will include collecting the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (issued by a Hospital Doctor) and personal possessions of the deceased. The Hospital may also issue a 'Release Form', which needs to be signed by the next of kin, releasing the deceased into our care. When you are ready you can call us to make the arrangements and collect your loved one from the hospital.

When the death occurs at Home

If the death was expected, as the deceased had been ill for some time, it would be normal to contact their Doctor or the out of hours Doctor who would then visit to certify that death had occurred and determine the cause of death. This may not happen immediately as the Doctor may be in his/her surgery or the death may happen in the middle of the night. The Doctor will issue the relatives a form called the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death. This form contains a list of who can register the death. This form should be available at the surgery within 24 hours of the death.

Once a doctor has attended please contact us and we will be able to provide guidance and support and will, if so desired, attend to remove the deceased to our Private Chapel of Rest. We offer a 24-hour service.