What to do When Someone Dies

For most of us, this is a path we seldom walk. We are here to give advice and as much clarity as possible at all stages. If you are unsure what to do, please call us. We are available to talk 24 hours a day and can help you make sure you are on the right track. If you have a funeral plan with us or with another provider, there are no immediate steps you have to take but please inform us at the earliest opportunity.

Passing at hospital

If a loved one has passed while in hospital, you may or may not have been present when the death occurred. In either case, the deceased will later be removed to the hospital mortuary. A medical death certificate (Form 11) must be drawn up and issued by the ward or unit doctor.

The hospital will forward this certificate to the local registrar who will contact the next of kin, usually within 4-5 working days to complete the formal registration over the phone. Only once the registration is complete will we bring your loved one into our care, as there can be further investigations right up until the point this stage is complete.

Most will call the funeral director as soon as a death has occurred, we recommend you do this at your earliest convenience so we can address your priorities and answer any questions you may have.

Passing at home

In the event of an expected death at home you must call your GP or NHS 24 in the first instance, in the case of a sudden death you should call 999 to address the need for police or paramedics to attend. Under certain circumstances you may have an arrangement to contact the district nurse team.

A medical professional, or in the case of a sudden death, the police will verify the death. When you are ready, we will take the your loved one into our care. Following the verification of death and departure from the home, a doctor must issue the medical death certificate (Form 11).

If the doctor decides against issuing death certificate, they can, under certain circumstances, involve the police and the death may become a matter for the procurator fiscal. We are here at all times to go over all stages of this process, please get in touch if you would like to discuss what stage you are dealing with.

Passing in care

When a death occurs in either a nursing home or hospice, the attendant staff will usually contact the undertaker once the verification of death has been completed. This verification will be issued by a nurse or paramedic, but in rare cases a full medical death certificate (Form 11) may be issued by an on site doctor. In most cases the death certificate will be issued by the GP following their receipt of the verification from the care facility.

You may have known in advance that the death was imminent and as such may have considered what should happen next. Most care facilities do not have a mortuary on site and will call us on your behalf. You are welcome, of course, to stay with your loved one or leave the facility before we arrive.

At this point, we will liaise with the care staff and exchange paperwork before making the journey to our funeral home.

While we hope these step by step guides are helpful, we understand that dealing with loss at the time is a very different experience.
We are available 24 hours a day to offer advice or simply talk to you whenever you need.