After someone has died you may feel in a state of shock and disbelief. It is not unusual when one is feeling like this to find that it is hard to remember everything that needs to be done. We hope that this information will help you through the practicalities over the next few days.
What you need to know in times of bereavement
Our services to you start when you contact us, whether by telephone or calling in personally, and will often extend far beyond the day of the funeral. On initial contact we will ask for preliminary details and will arrange the conveyance of the deceased to our private chapel.
We will then arrange to call at a time and place to suit the family, to make arrangements with you that meet the needs and requirements of those concerned. There are some practical things that need to be attended to immediately. It may be helpful for you to invite a relative or a friend to accompany you as you carry out the following important tasks.
Registering a death
In normal cases the death has to be registered within 5 days after the confirmation from the Medical Examiner or the Coroner has been received by the Registrar.
New Statutory death certificate Process
The new statutory death certification process came into effect on 9 September 2024. Under this system, all deaths in England and Wales are independently scrutinised, either by a relevant coroner or by a Medical Examiner (ME). An ME is a senior medical doctor who provides independent scrutiny of all non-coronial deaths.
Another key change relates to the role of the ME: An ME is a senior medical practitioner who provides independent scrutiny of the cause of death proposed by the registered attending practitioner. MEs are supported by Medical Examiner Officers (MEOs), and their independent scrutiny includes a review of medical records, an interaction with the registered attending practitioner completing the Medical Certificate of the Cause of death(MCCD), and offering representatives of the deceased person the opportunity to ask questions and raise any concerns.
1. A registered medical practitioner will propose a cause of death which will be independently scrutinised by an ME after reviewing relevant medical records.
2. The ME will offer the bereaved an opportunity to ask questions and raise concerns.
3. Once the registered medical practitioner and the ME have made their declarations and the cause of death is finalised, and if there is no requirement to notify the relevant coroner, the MCCD is sent to the registrar’s office; this notification will also start the 5-day target to register the death. It will not be possible for a death to be registered in non-coronial cases without the ME approving the MCCD. The registration informant, who is the person who provides the information regarding the deceased person, other than the cause of death, to the registrar, is simultaneously notified so that they can contact the register office in order to get the death registered.
4. The informant contacts the register office and the arrangements are made to register the death.
5. Where requested, the registrar produces one or more certified copies of the death entry in the register also known as a Death Certificate for the representative of the deceased person to purchase.
