What to do when somebody dies
What to do when someone dies?
We can be contacted 24 hours a day to provide advice and assistance when someone dies. If the death occurs in hospital, the hospital staff will contact the next of kin and make arrangements for the doctor to sign the Medical Certificate of cause of death. The hospital will usually have a ‘Patient’s Affairs Office’ or ‘Bereavement Support Office’ who you will need to contact in this regard. They will advise on when the certificate will be completed and will also hold any last effects and property if you haven’t already collected it from the hospital ward itself.
If the death occurs at home, you should first contact the deceased’s GP. The GP’s surgery will discuss with you whether it is necessary for a doctor to attend at the place of death to see the body. You may then contact the funeral director who will make arrangements to attend at the place of death so that the deceased may be removed to our Chapel of Rest. If the death has occurred outside of surgery hours, contact the out of hours service on 111. An appropriately qualified healthcare professional needs to verify the death. A doctor also needs to certify the death by completing a medical certificate of cause of death.
If the death occurs in a nursing home, the nursing staff will usually make these initial arrangements for you.
This ‘Death Certificate’ is necessary for you to comply with the legal obligation to register the death with the local Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
In England and Wales, the doctor shares the medical certificate of cause of death with a Medical Examiner. Their office will contact you by telephone to discuss the cause of death. Once the Medical Examiner’s Office has confirmed you can register, the medical certificate of cause of death will be sent electronically to the registrar. Please then contact the Registrar’s Office to make an appointment.
If, for any reason the doctor is unable by law to issue the certificate, the
death may be reported to HM Coroner. The Coroner will determine if the doctor is permitted to issue or if the coroner needs to assume jurisdiction. (See section on deaths referred to HM Coroner)
Registration Procedure
You must register the death within 5 days of being contacted by the
Medical Examiner. This includes weekends and bank holidays.
The Registrar’s Office will tell you what you need to do when you contact them.
The Registrar’s Office may also want to see the person’s:
· birth certificate
· Council Tax bill
· driving licence
· marriage or civil partnership certificate
· NHS medical card
· passport
· proof of address (such as a utility bill)
Ask the Registrar’s Office what to do if you do not have them.
If H.M. Coroner has assumed jurisdiction, no death certificate will be issued by a doctor.
The Coroner will send an equivalent certificate direct to the Registrar so that you can register the death.
Who should register?
If the person died in a house or hospital, the death can be registered by:
· A relative in the first instance. If this is not possible then
· Someone present at the death;
· An occupant of the house/official from the hospital, if that is where the death occurred;
· The person making the arrangements with the Funeral Directors.
Deaths taking place anywhere else can be registered by:
· A relative in the first instance. If this is not possible then
· Someone present at the death;
· The person who found the body;
· The person in charge of the body;
· The person making the arrangements with the Funeral Directors.
What information will I be asked for?
You should be prepared to provide the Registrar with the following information:
· the person’s full name at the time of death
· any names previously used, eg maiden name
· the person’s date and place of birth
· their last address
· their occupation
· the full name, date of birth and occupation of a surviving or late spouse or civil partner
· whether they were getting a State Pension or any other benefits
What documents will I receive?
The Death Certificate:
You will receive one certified copy of the entry in the death register and will also have the opportunity to buy one or more additional certificates, which are often required for a range of administrative purposes such as banks, building societies and insurance policies.
Certificate for burial or cremation:
When you register a death, you’ll get a certificate for burial orcremation (the ‘green form’).
This gives you permission for a burial or to apply for a cremation. and should be passed to the
Funeral Director without delay.
In cases where a death has been reported to HM Coroner and the funeral is a cremation no such green certificate will be issued, as the coroner himself will send direct to the Funeral Director a certificate authorizing the cremation to proceed.
Where are the Registrar’s Offices?
The two nearest offices of the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages of West Sussex can be found at:
Bognor Regis Registrar, Chichester Registrar,
Bognor Regis Library, Record Office,
69 London Road, 3 Orchard Street,
Bognor Regis, Chichester,
PO21 1DE. PO19 1DD.
To make an appointment for West Sussex registration services you can use the online booking service at www.westsussex.gov.uk/registration or by telephone 01243 642122.
Deaths Referred to H.M. Coroner
The Coroner is a doctor or a lawyer responsible for investigating deaths in certain circumstances, particularly when the death is sudden, unexpected or unexplained. The Coroner’s duty is to establish the cause of death where a doctor is unable to certify this.
A death might be reported to the Coroner for various reasons, for example if the doctor is not certain as to the cause of death, if someone died unexpectedly, if the death followed recent surgery or if the death was due to an industrial disease etc. (This list is not exhaustive.)
If the Coroner decides he needs to assume jurisdiction it may well be necessary for a post mortem examination to take place at a hospital to ascertain the cause of death. Relatives will be kept informed of thesituation by a Coroner’s Officer and will be advised about theregistration of death and the making of the funeral arrangements.
