The answer to that question depends on where your loved one has passed away. Please see below for more details. We understand this is a lot of information to take in, so please feel free to call us with any questions you may have.
When someone passes away in hospital, there isn't much that can be done straight away, especially if they pass away over a weekend. The hospital will care for the person until the relevant Doctor has signed the necessary paperwork. The ward at the hospital should give you a telephone number for the Bereavement Office. You will need to call them to go over a few details and to confirm which Funeral Director you would like to care for your loved one. When you feel ready, you can call us on 01603 898202 to let us know you would like us to care for your loved one and we can arrange a time to meet either in our office or your home, whichever you feel more comfortable with, to go over a few details and arrange the service.
Once the Doctor has completed their paperwork and sent it to a Medical Examiner*, the Bereavement Office will call us and let us know that they are ready for us to go and collect your loved one and bring them to our Chapel of Rest.
We will go and collect your loved one as soon as we are able to and bring them back to our private woodland Chapel of Rest, where they will be cared for with the utmost dignity and respect until the day of the funeral.
Once they have reviewed the documents completed by the Doctor, the Medical Examiner will call you and discuss the paperwork they've received and will discuss making an appointment to register your loved ones passing with the registrar. When you have your appointment to register, all the paperwork will have been sent digitally from the Medical Examiner to the Registrar and, once you've registered, the Registrar will then send us a digital copy of the forms we need (and your chosen venue if you have chosen a cremation service). The Registrar will also give you an opportunity to purchase a copy of the Death Certificate. You will need at least one copy of this, as it will be needed for official purposes i.e Bank accounts, Inland Revenue etc.
*A Medical Examiner is an independent doctor who reviews the Medical Cause of Death Certificate (MCCD) sent by the Hospital.
More information on registering a loved one's passing can be found at https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/article/42548/Register-a-death
Once the care home has spoken to you to let you know of your loved ones passing, they will then call us once the death has verified, day or night, to collect your loved one and bring them to our private woodland Chapel of Rest where they will be cared for with the utmost respect and dignity until the day of the funeral.
We will call you to arrange a convenient time to meet, when you feel ready, to go over a few details and arrange the service (if they passed during the night, we will wait until office hours to call you). This can be either at our office or your home, whichever you feel more comfortable with.
The GP surgery allocated to the Care Home will complete the necessary paperwork and digitally send it over to the Medical Examiner*. The Medical Examiner will then review the documents. They will call you and discuss the paperwork they received and discuss making an appointment to register your loved ones passing with the Registrar. When you have your appointment to register, all the paperwork will have been sent digitally from the Medical Examiner to the Registrar and, once you've registered, the Registrar will then send us a digital copy of the forms we need (and your chosen venue if you have chosen a cremation service). The Registrar will also give you an opportunity to purchase a copy of the Death Certificate. You will need at least one copy of this, as it will be needed for official purposes i.e Bank accounts, Inland Revenue etc.
*A Medical Examiner is an independent doctor who reviews the Medical Cause of Death Certificate (MCCD) sent by the GP surgery.
More information on registering a loved one's passing can be found at https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/article/42548/Register-a-death
If the person had been unwell and it was an expected
passing, then you will need to telephone their GP surgery (most GP surgeries
have an out of hours line) to get them to verify their passing. If it wasn’t
expected then you will need to call 111 (you can also call this number if your
surgery doesn’t have an out of hours line) and speak to them to guide you
through the next steps, unless otherwise instructed. Once the GP surgery or the
emergency services have verified their passing and told you that you can
contact your chosen Funeral Director, you can then call us any time of the day,
or night, on 01603 898202 and we will come and collect your loved one and bring
them to our private woodland Chapel of Rest where they will be cared for with
the utmost respect and dignity until the day of the funeral.
If it was unexpected the coroner would be notified. For next
steps when the Coroner is involved please click here.
The GP surgery will complete the necessary paperwork and
digitally send it over to the Medical Examiner*. The Medical Examiner will then
review the documents. They will call you and discuss the paperwork they’ve
received and will discuss making an appointment to register your loved ones
passing with the Registrar. When you have your appointment to register, all the
paperwork will have been sent digitally from the Medical Examiner to the Registrar
and, once you’ve registered, the Registrar will then send us a digital copy of
the forms we need (and your chosen venue if you have chosen a cremation
service). The Registrar will also give you an opportunity to purchase a copy of
the Death Certificate. You will need at least one copy of this, as it will be
needed for official purposes i.e Bank account, Inland Revenue etc.
*A Medical Examiner is an independent doctor who reviews
the Medical Cause of Death Certificate (MCCD) sent by the GP surgery.
More information on registering a loved one’s passing can be found at https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/article/42548/Register-a-death
If it was an unexpected passing, then the Coroner's services will be required. If they passed away in hospital your loved one will go directly into the care of the Coroner. In all other circumstances, the Coroner will instruct their allocated Funeral Director who will come and collect the person who has passed on their behalf. They will then be transferred to the hospital and into the Coroner's care. You are under no obligation to use that Funeral Director, if you wish to use our services, you just need to let the Coroner know that we are the Funeral Director who will be caring for your loved one. They will speak to you and keep you informed throughout their process.
If the coroner is involved, we can still go ahead and go over a few details and arrange the service. You can call us on 01603 898202 whenever you feel ready and we can set up an appointment either at our office or in your home, whichever you feel more comfortable with, and go over the arrangements.
What happens next will depend on the outcome of the Coroner's investigations. They will be able to advise on your next steps. When the Coroner is ready they will contact you to let you know that your loved one can now be transferred into our care, they will also call us to let us know we can collect your loved one and bring them to our private woodland Chapel of Rest where they will be cared for with the utmost respect and dignity until the day of the funeral.
If they advise that you can now register the passing of your loved one with the Registrar, you can go ahead and make an appointment with the Registrar's service. The Coroner will send the paperwork digitally to the Registrar. Once you've registered, the Registrar will then send us a digital copy of the forms we need (and your chosen venue if you have chosen a cremation service). The Registrar will also give you an opportunity to purchase a copy of the Death Certificate. You will need at least one copy of this, as it will be needed for official purposes i.e Bank accounts, Inland Revenue etc.
More information on registering a loved one's passing can be found at https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/article/42548/Register-a-death
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