When someone dies at home you should call their Doctor (G.P) who will verify the death.  Once the death has been verified, by the GP, a district nurse, or out of hours doctor.  You can then contact us so that we can bring your loved one into our care.

Once the doctor has attended. If you would like your loved one to remain at home for a little while please advise us as soon as possible, and we will give you guidance on this.

We would advise that you speak to the surgery when they are open to ensure they are aware of the death.

The practice will then refer the death to the Medical Examiner.  This is a senior doctor who has not been involved in the care.

They will then review the medical notes and will ring you to

• explain the cause of death
• answer any questions you have about this, or the healthcare provided to the person before they died

This is voluntary and you do not have to speak to them.

Having done this the medical examiners office will refer back to the GP practice to issue the MCCD (Medical Certificate) and will also advise you that you can make an appointment to register the death.

It some cases the Medical Examiner may refer the death to the coroner.

A member of staff from the Medical Examiner’s Office will call you on the morning of the next working day once they have been informed of your loved one’s death. They will advise you of the next steps and ask for the following information:

Your full contact details as next of kin

Whether you have made any decisions relating to Funeral arrangements

The name of the Funeral Director that you have appointed – by providing the name of your appointed Funeral Director, this gives staff consent to release your loved one into our care.

The Medical Examiner is a senior doctor who was not involved in the care of the deceased patient. They will review the Hospital notes to ensure that they understand the circumstances of the patient’s death.

They will also be able to discuss any concerns that you have regarding the care provided and speak to medical staff involved in the care of your loved one and will facilitate the completion of the statutory paperwork. They are available to explain the cause of death and provide information on timescale of the completion of the statutory paperwork

You should register the death within 5 days of being informed by the Medical Examiner’s office that you can make an appointment.  You may still contact us or come to see us beforehand if you would like to discuss the funeral arrangements.

When you register, the registrar will email us a green form to allow the cremation or burial to take place.

Once the death has been verified one of the medical team will notify us that we can attend to bring the deceased into our care.

The death will be referred to the Medical Examiner.  This is a senior doctor who has not been involved in the care.

They will then review the medical notes and will ring you to

• explain the cause of death
• answer any questions you have about this, or the healthcare provided to the person before they died

This is voluntary and you do not have to speak to them.

Having done this they will refer back to the GP practice to issue the MCCD (Medical Certificate) they will also advise you that you can make an appointment to register the death.

It some cases the Medical Examiner may refer the death to the coroner.

When someone has died unexpectedly or the doctor is not certain of the cause of death, the case will often be referred to the Coroner’s Office. The Coroner will make arrangements for a funeral director to collect your loved one.

You are under no obligation to use this funeral director and can use a funeral director of your choice.  It is still a good idea to contact us at an early stage as we will be able to liaise with the Coroner’s Office for you and start to discuss arrangements for the funeral.