Whether it was sudden, expected after an illness or from natural causes, it can feel overwhelming when having to balance the emotions being experienced on the death of a loved one with the need to make practical funeral arrangements.
Kingston Registration, Nationality and Bereavement Service is a Member of the Charter for the Bereaved and provides the Boroughs crematorium and cemeteries:
"We respect the needs of the bereaved through the provision of a dignified burial, cremation and memorial service offering as much choice as possible. We can also help you to make your own arrangements. We can help you understand the process involved in arranging a funeral, burial, cremation or memorial and explain the services offered at our two cemeteries. For further information or clarification, contact our professional and dedicated team who are able to offer sympathetic help to you or in liaison with your chosen funeral director."
If the death was expected, perhaps due to a terminal illness, you should contact the deceased's GP or nearest doctor. If it happened during the night, you do not need to contact the doctor until the following morning unless you want to do so. Note the time of death. PAUSE – take as much time as you need to do whatever you need to do. It's not a time to “do the right thing”
You must wait until a health professional has visited before you move someone or remove any medical equipment
If the cause of death is known and from natural causes the doctor will issue the documents to allow you to register the death. Please refer to our guide to Registering a death
If a doctor has confirmed an expected death you may call a funeral director of your own choice when you are ready to do so. Funeral directors provide a service any time of day or night to move the deceased to a funeral home. You do not have to use a funeral director if you do not want to. Please refer initially to our introduction to arranging a home (DIY) funeral and guide to a garden burial
Please note: If a doctor is unsure about the actual cause of death even if it was clearly from natural causes or the death is unnatural, they will contact the Senior Coroner (SC). The SC may order a post mortem examination to determine the cause of death and then issue the documents allowing the death to be registered. Please refer to our guide to Coroner Involvement
If the death was unexpected, you should immediately dial 999 and ask for an ambulance and the police. The operator will guide you as to whether you can try and resuscitate the person. Apart from any attempt at resuscitation please leave the area exactly as it is, although distressing this will assist the police.
Paramedics will attend to carry out resuscitation or will confirm verification of the death
The police will arrange for the deceased to be moved by a funeral director acting for the coroner if the death is unexpected
Please Note: Donation of organs for transplant is not usually possible following a death out of hospital, but donation of tissues may still be possible. Please tell the doctor and funeral director as it may be necessary to move the body to a hospital rather than a funeral home.
If a death was unexpected or involved some kind of trauma you may require specialist cleaning services to help deal with the room or place where someone has died. There are companies that provide these services with sensitivity and discretion. Please refer to our guide to Sensitive Services
A public place refers to anywhere that is not a care facility or someone's home such as a hotel, a school, sports club, restaurant or a street
The emergency services, the police and an ambulance, are usually called because the death is unexpected
If the death appears to have been natural but the ambulance service feels that further resuscitation and transfer to hospital is not required, the police will ask their funeral director working for the coroner to remove the body to the public mortuary at Kingston Hospital.The ambulance service will also do this if the deceased person is located in a very public place
As most deaths in public places are unexpected, they are reported by the police to the coroner. Please refer to our guide to Coroner Involvement
If the deceased has died in a hospital and you are the named next of kin, the hospital staff will inform you. If the person who has died has registered for organ or tissue donation and they are eligible, the transplant coordinator at the hospital will contact you straight away as transplantation must take place very soon after death.
Hospitals usually have bereavement, patient and liaison and/or Medical Examiners Officers staff who coordinate the issue of documentation and explain the procedures to you to enable you to register the death, a legal requirement. Please refer to our guide to the Medical Certificate for Cause of Death (MCCD).
Please Note: Preparing the documents takes time as they can only be completed by medical staff who were directly involved in the care of the patient whilst they were alive. Most hospitals operate appointment systems for collecting documents and belongings of patients who have died but should not prevent you from registering the death within the legal five day period from the date of death
You will be asked to sign some documents to release the deceased possessions. You will also be asked to contact a funeral director and sign a form allowing them to collect the deceased into their care. You do not have to use a funeral director if you do not want to. Please refer to our guide Introduction to arranging a home (DIY) funeral and guide to a Garden burial
In some cases the hospital medical staff will have to refer the death to the coroner and may not be able to issue the MCCD. The coroner's officer will contact you and give you further information about when you can register the death. If the Coroner decides to investigate then a different process leading to death registration will happen. Please refer to our guide to Coroner Involvement