Guide to if death occurs at home or in hospital
If death occurs at home
Telephone the doctor who will visit to confirm that death has taken place.
Contact a funeral director.
Arrange to collect the doctor’s medical certificate of death (usually from the surgery).
Take this to the Registrar’s Office, (together with the deceased’s medical card and birth certificate, if available) for the area in which the death took place. Alternatively you can register by declaration at any convenient Registrars Office but certificates will not be available as these will have to be posted to you a few days later.
The registrar will normally issue a green coloured certificate for you to give to your funeral director who will look after necessary arrangements for the funeral. The Registrar will also issue a white notification certificate for the DSS. They will also enquire as to the number of certified copies you require for dealing with the deceased finances (a fee is payable for each copy).
If the death occurs in hospital
Contact a funeral director to inform him his services are required.
Collect the certificate from the hospital then follow 4 – 5 as above.
Website
What to do when someone dies: step by step – GOV.UK
Leaflet
Support booklet (PDF)
At A Loss.org
Their vision is that nobody in the UK, suffering a significant loss, should be left floundering or alone. Their aim is to ensure that every bereaved person in the UK can find bereavement support when they need it.
Website
www.ataloss.orgThe Good Grief Trust
The Good Grief Trust exists to help all those suffering grief in the UK. They aim to find the bereaved, acknowledge their grief and provide reassurance, a virtual hand of friendship and ongoing support.
Website
www.thegoodgrieftrust.org
Email
hello@thegoodgrieftrust.orgSt Helens Bereavement Service
Phone
01744 451793
Websites
www.gov.uk/after-a-death
www.ataloss.orgSt Helens Wellbeing
An extensive list of contacts and organisations.
Website
www.sthelenswellbeing.org.uk/services/mental-wellbeing/pages/bereavementMental Health
Five Ways to Wellbeing (Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give) is a set of activities, which helps provide you with the skills to be happier, healthier and better able to cope in everyday life, especially when things aren’t going so well.
Phone
01744 371 111
Website
www.sthelenswellbeing.org.uk
Email
chcp.sthelens@nhs.netWigan Council Bereavement Support
The following agencies and services are available to people looking for support with bereavement.
Website
www.wigan.gov.uk/Bereavement-supportSurvivors Of Bereavement By Suicide
Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide exist to meet the needs and break the isolation experienced by those bereaved by suicide.
Website
www.uksobs.orgDying Matters
Dying Matters is a coalition of individual and organisational members across England and Wales, which aims to help people talk more openly about dying, death and bereavement, and to make plans for the end of life.
Website
www.dyingmatters.org