bereavement

If a death occurs at home

1. During surgery hours, contact us at the surgery, outside of surgery hours, contact 111 - a medical doctor will need to attend to verify the death has occurred.

2. Contact your chosen funeral director, they will liaise with you to respectfully accommodate the deceased whilst funeral arrangements are made.

3. The GP will arrange to send a Medical Certificate of the Cause of Death (MCCD) to the Medical Examiner’s office, who will investigate the death and verify the suggested cause of death.

4. The Medical Examiner will call you to confirm the cause of death, and once agreed, they will send the MCCD back to the GP for signing.

5. The GP will sign and return the MCCD to the Medical examiner, who will countersign and send the MCCD directly to the relevant registry office, and will notify you that this has been done.

6. Once you have been notified, you can contact the registry office to arrange collection of relevant documents and proceed with funeral arrangements (please note a fee is payable for each copy of certification).

7. The advised timeframe for this process is 2 working days, unless an urgent faith burial is requested.

If a death occurs in the hospital

1. The hospital staff will liaise with the Medical Examiner to report the death as above.

2. You will still need to contact your funeral director to arrange next steps.

3. The Medical Examiner will contact you as above regarding the documentation.