An Expected Death

An expected death at home
When someone is expected to pass away at home it is very likely that the family/next of kin will have the support of Family Doctors, Nurses or Home Carers. These caring dedicated professionals will be of great support and assistance before during and after death. If it so happens that no doctor or nurses are with you when death occurs, you should have been advised to contact the surgery. The deceased person can be removed from the place of death provided one of the following has taken place:

•  The deceased person’s GP was in attendance during or shortly after death and gives permission for the person to be removed to the Funeral Directors chapel of rest
• An out-of-hours duty doctor was in attendance during or shortly after death and gives permission for the person to be removed to the Funeral Directors chapel of rest
• A Suitably qualified nurse if present during or shortly after death is legally authorised to verify that death has occurred and can allow the person to be removed from the house

In most instances the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death will be prepared at the doctor’s surgery for you to collect at a convenient time. Please note that you cannot register a death without the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death and the majority of Registrars require you to make an appointment.

All members of our team are experienced and fully conversant with the necessary legalities and regulations relating to confirmation and verification of death so if you have any difficulties contacting the surgery do not hesitate to telephone us. When it comes to the removal of the deceased from their home to our chapel of rest it is important to consider the following because this aspect of our work must and will be handled with great dignity and care.

When would you like us to attend?
You may want us to be on hand as quickly as possible or you may prefer to wait a little while. There is no set time limit and everyone’s circumstances are different.

It is very important to mention here that as a 24 hour business you need not have any concerns about what time of day or night you contact us. We work in this profession out of choice and many years of experience has taught us that the early hours of the morning can be an even more difficult time for family members who have had a bereavement and this is when we can be of greater help.

How do we carry out the removal of the deceased?
Most Funeral Directors including ourselves use a Private Ambulance. On arrival at the house necessary introductions will be made and when you feel the time is right we will remove the deceased to the ambulance and from there to our chapel of rest. Sometimes family members find the procedure of removing a loved one from a home they may have lived in for many years understandably very painful and traumatic. We assure you that you won’t be rushed and we will take great care of the deceased both within the home and once back at our chapel of rest.

When taking our leave.
Dependant on your wishes we would take one or two necessary personal details and would generally discuss when you would like to make the funeral arrangements and endeavour to reassure you if there is any thing in particular that you have concerns about. Usually at this stage families want peace of mind of knowing that their loved one is going to be taken to our chapel of rest and afforded all the necessary dignity and respect.

You have our absolute assurance that this will be the case

An expected death in a residential care home or private nursing home
This is very like an expected death at home, because most care homes do not have mortuary/chapel of rest facilities so it is necessary for the deceased to be removed to a Funeral Director’s at the earliest convenience. Nursing staff usually make contact with the Funeral Director that the family have requested once a GP has attended or nurse verification has taken place. If you wish to spend some time with your loved one before the Funeral Director attends this is not usually a problem for the nursing home. The family doctor will issue the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death at his/her earliest convenience ready for the family/next of kin to collect. This will in most cases be from the Doctors Surgery.

An expected death in a hospital
Unlike a death at home or in a nursing/residential care home the greater majority of hospitals have mortuary facilities so once the deceased body has been afforded the necessary attention (i.e. cleaned, washed and dressed) and family members have paid their initial last respects (if they wish to do so) the hospital staff will transfer the deceased to the mortuary/chapel of rest. Families are then advised to make contact with the hospital bereavement office to collect the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death and any personal effects. At many hospitals it is only possible to collect these items during usual office hours so at weekends you won’t get the necessary documents until the first working day thereafter. Please bear in mind that the weekends can seem a very long period of time in these circumstances so even though you cannot register the Death you can or may contact the Funeral Director in the meantime to discuss the funeral arrangements.

An expected death in a hospice
The pattern and procedure of what to do is very much like an expected death in a hospital. There will be slight differences from one hospice to another but nursing staff and doctors will guide you through the process of collecting necessary paperwork, personal effects and viewing the deceased in the Chapel of Rest.

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