When A Loved One Dies
When a loved-one dies it is quite normal for the family to contact a local funeral director.
We offer a 24 hour telephone service 365 days of the year to provide advice and comfort at this difficult time. You will deal with a member of the Burgess family who will be able to help and offer you compassion. If a death occurs then please feel free to contact us.
When death occurs at home
In cases such as this, it is advisable to contact the deceased’s doctor in order that he or she may certify the death. If the death has occurred outside the surgery hours of the deceased’s doctor availability, it is usual for another to attend. Once the doctor has attended, the deceased can be taken into our care.
Later that day, or the following day the doctor will issue a medical certificate stating the cause of death. This is usually made available for collection from the doctors surgery. The medical certificate is required in order that the death can be registered.
When death occurs in hospital
If the family are not present at the time of death occurring, the nursing staff will inform them.
The doctor at the hospital who has been treating the deceased prior to death will issue the medical certificate. This is usually then made available for you to collect from the hospital’s bereavement office, where in some instances an appointment may need to be made to do so.
Upon collection of the certificate the hospital representative may ask the family to sign a release form prior to the deceased being released into our care.
When death occurs in a nursing home
You may have been asked at the time your loved one entered the nursing home who your selected funeral director is, if this was the case the nursing home will telephone your funeral director to action the removal of the deceased.
Again, the medical certificate will be issued by the deceased’s own doctor following consultation with the local doctor who attended the deceased.
Where the cause of death can not be clearly ascertained consultation with the local Coroner may again be necessary.
When death occurs abroad or away from home
If the death occurs abroad your best point of contact will be the tour representative, who should be able to guide you through the system adopted by the country you are in.
In any instance we are only a telephone call away and can advise you of how and where to register the death abroad and direct you to the appropriate representative.
If you are away visiting a friend, relatives or are simply holidaying elsewhere in the UK and a death occurs we may ask a family funeral director like ourselves to collect the deceased and take them into their care until such a time as we can travel to them.
This is sometimes necessary due to distance and the need for forms to be completed.
Ultimately we will arrange for the deceased to be repatriated back to the UK and can also organise flights for you and the remaining family if required.
Grief Chat
Most people expect to be very upset or distressed when someone close to them has died. What takes many people by surprise is how strong the emotions can be, how they can change very quickly, and how long they last. People around you may seem to think you should be ‘back to normal’ after a few weeks or months. You might appear to be your usual self to other people, but you know that on the inside, you’re not even sure what normal is anymore.
Everyone grieves in a way that is unique to them and their relationship with the person who has died. Well-intentioned people may say to you, ‘Time is a great healer.’ Sometimes, however, it can seem that life is more difficult as the weeks and months go by.
We know that no-one can understand exactly what your loss feels like to you. But we do understand that it’s sometimes easier to talk to someone outside of your friends and family about grief and the impact of bereavement of your life and this is why we offer the GriefChat service.
GriefChat was created by bereavement experts and by clicking on the GriefChat box below, you can chat directly to a specially trained bereavement counsellor. GriefChat counsellors are experienced in supporting bereaved people and will listen to your story, explore how your grief is affecting you and help you to find any additional support you might need.
GriefChat is a completely free service and is available Monday-Friday,9am-9pm (except Bank Holidays).
GriefChat provides emotional support for bereaved people, access to trained bereavement counsellors and referral into other specialist bereavement services.
Where to next?
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