When Death Occurs
At Bespoke Funeral Care we have caring, compassionate staff on call at all times of the day or night to help when you need us most.
If the death occurs in a hospital
The hospital will contact the next of kin and make arrangements for a Doctor to sign the Medical Certificate stating the cause of death. The certificate and any personal belongings of the deceased should be collected from the hospital bereavement department. You can call us at any time, day or night, and we will make all arrangements with the hospital to bring your loved one into our care.
If the death occurs at home
When the death at home is expected, the first person to contact is the Doctor who has been caring for your loved one. When the Doctor has attended they will then complete a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death. You can then call our friendly and compassionate team, day or night. and we will come to your home and bring your loved one into our care. We will always provide you with an estimated arrival time at your home, and we will always telephone you when we are close by.
If the death occurs at a nursing home, hospice or residential home
If your loved one passes away expectedly then the nursing staff will ask for the details of your chosen Funeral Director who will liaise with us directly and we will arrange to bring your loved one into our care.
At Bespoke Funeral Care, First for Care means we will always keep you informed of when your loved one is safe in our Chapel of Rest and through every step of the way we will be there for you whenever you need us.
If the death is unexpected
If the Doctor in attendance cannot state the cause of death, he or she will inform Her Majesty’s Coroner who will arrange to examine the deceased. Your initial contact in the event of an unexpected death or suspicious death, should be with the Police.
We are always here to support you if you need us at anytime. If you would prefer our team at Bespoke Funeral Care to take your loved one to the Coroner’s Chapel of Rest, please inform the Police Officer in attendance and we can then liaise with the Police for this to happen. In the majority of cases, death will be attributed to natural causes and therefore there will be no need for a post-mortem. The Coroner will forward the Death Certificate to the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages to enable you to register the death.
As soon as you are informed from the Coroner that your loved one can be taken to the funeral directors, contact us and we can then arrange for your loved one to be brought into our care.
In all cases
A death must be registered by law within five days of death unless there is a delay with the Doctor or Coroner withholding or failing to provide a medical certificate of the cause of death. Usually, the death is registered in the area where the death occurred.
Once you have the Medical Certificate from the Doctor an appointment should be made to register the death. We can help you find your nearest Register Office in which you should register the death by speaking with us and we will guide you through this process.
The Registrar will then issue you a Certificate for Burial or Cremation, often referred to as the “Green Form”. This form should be handed to your Funeral Director. A White Certificate is issued and this can be used in any liaison with the Department for Work and Pensions. The Registrar will also, on request, issue copies of the Registrar’s entry (your form of the death certificate) which is required for Banks, Building Societies, Insurance Companies, etc.
The following people can register a death and collect the Death Certificate:
- A relative
- Someone who was with the person when they died
- Someone who lives at the address where the person died
- Someone who is arranging the funeral, but not the funeral director