At home or in a care home

If the death occurs at home your family will need to contact the GP that your loved one is registered with to come out and confirm the death. If this isn’t possible, call the NHS helpline on 111.
If the death occurs in a care home, the care home will contact the Next of Kin if they’re not already present. Usually, they will also contact the GP to come out to confirm the death.
Once the GP has confirmed the death, they will share details with the Medical Examiner, as an independent senior Doctor.
If there are any questions about the cause of the death, such as whether it was sudden or unexpected, they will refer the death to the coroner.
When you are ready and you have said goodbye to your loved one, you can choose a local funeral director, and contact them to arrange for your loved one to be taken into their care.
Our team here at Frederick Butcher and Son are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 01909 562365
You may now want to inform family and friends about the death of your loved one. It’s important to surround yourself with a good support network to help you through this difficult time.
Our team at Frederick Butcher and Son will also be on hand to assist with any paperwork. Do not hesitate to give us a call at any time.
Within a few days, the Medical Examiner’s office will contact you by phone to explain what the cause of death will be recorded as, or if the death needs to be referred to the Coroner. You can ask any questions about the cause of death.
A Medical Examiner Officer will call you to tell you that they have sent the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death to the local register office.
You can now contact your local register office to make an appointment to register the death, which usually needs to be done within 5 days.
Find out more about registering the death here.
You can now start to make arrangements for the funeral for your loved one. You can do this before you have registered the death.