BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT
You don't have to deal with grief alone.
If you’ve sadly suffered a bereavement and aren’t sure where to start, please call our friendly staff on our dedicated line at 01226 700760. There will always be someone to answer your phone call 24/7, 365 days a year.
Initial steps when losing a loved one:
WHEN SOMEONE PASSES AWAY AT HOME.
If someone has passed away at home, and they have been struggling with their health and the death is expected please contact their registered GP practice (throughout daytime hours), the district nurse or the NHS out of Hours Team on 111 to get the death certified by a medical professional. Once the death has been certified by a Doctor, a qualified nurse or paramedic you should contact us on our dedicated line 01226 700760 so that we are able to take some particulars regarding the person who’s passed, the N.O.K details and arrange our dedicated on-call team to proceed and collect the person who has sadly passed away and look after them at our dedicated chapel of rest. We will instruct the last Doctor who has been treating the person for their illness to complete the Medical Certificate of Cause Death ready for you registering at the Registrar’s.
WHEN SOMEONE PASSES AWAY IN A CARE HOME OR NURSING HOME.
If someone has passed away at a care home, please allow the care staff to follow their own bereavement process and they will usually inform us and request our services once they’ve ensured the death has been certified. If you aren’t present once we arrive, we will contact you the next day to touch base, explain the next steps and clear up any questions that you may have. We will instruct the last Doctor who has been treating the person for their illness to complete the Medical Certificate of Cause Death ready for you registering at the Registrar’s.
WHEN SOMEONE PASSES AWAY IN HOSPITAL OR HOSPICE.
When someone passes away in a Hospital or Hospice they will be looked after in their onsite Mortuary until the Medical Certificate of Cause Death has been completed by the last Doctor that has been treating the person for their illness. Once this or the Cremation paperwork has been completed and you’ve approached us to take on the Funeral Arrangements, we will contact the Hospital or Hospice to bring the person back into our care. The hospital will send the Medical Certificate of Cause Death to the Registrar’s so that they can contact you to register the death.
WHEN SOMEONE DIES SUDDENLY.
If someone has passed away at any other location and the death isn’t expected, please contact 999 for immediate medical assistance and there may be a need for the Police to attend which will be initiated from the paramedics who attend. Once this process has been dealt with by emergency services, they will inform you that you are able to proceed and contact us on our dedicated line 01226 700760, or they may kindly do this for you.
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If the person who’s passed away hasn’t seen their registered GP in the last 28 days a Coroners referral will be done automatically by the Police. If the person has seen their GP but they aren’t able to come up with the Medical Certificate of Cause Death, then the GP Surgery will make the coroners referral. A coroner’s officer will be allocated to the case, and they will contact you to discuss the next steps on whether a Postmortem Examination is required.
The local coroner’s office can be contacted on 01924 292301 (Wakefield) or 0114 273 4004 (Barnsley) for further assistance.
Steps taken by us after we’ve arrived:
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When our staff members arrive, they will put you at ease and discuss the next stages of the bereavement process and will clear up any questions that you may have. We will transfer the person that’s passed away in our private ambulance to our chapel of rest and start the process of looking after them.
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We will contact you to make an appointment to sit down together to discuss funeral arrangements, this can be done either at our offices located in Royston/Ryhill, our chapel of rests located in Kinsley/Havercroft or at the comfort of your own home by appointment. We do offer evenings and weekend appointments as we understand that families have different commitments and schedules.
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At the arranged appointment our experienced team will discuss the funeral details and find out exactly what service you think would be appropriate for the person who’s passed away. We will discuss the coffin selection, the provision of floral tributes and provide an itemised estimate sheet that clearly explains the costings of our services.
Registering the Death:
Once the Registrar’s have received the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death from the last Doctor who has been treating the person who’s died, they will call you most probably on a private or withheld number to make an appointment for you to go into your local registrar’s Office – this may be in Wakefield, Pontefract or Barnsley. This will be decided on the district that the person sadly passed away in. This appointment is usually made within five working days of the person passing away, but don’t worry if you haven’t heard anything in this time frame because you aren’t able to proceed whilst the appropriate documents have been sent. The initial call will be making an appointment for you to go into the office, and they will explain the information and documentation that you may require.
This is usually:
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Birth certificate and/or Passport
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Proof of Address – for example a utility bill
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A marriage or civil partnership certificate
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Medical card with the persons NHS number on.
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Deed Poll
When you go to the appointment, please ask the registrar about the Tell Us Once system which makes it easier to tell the council and the government departments that someone has died. The registrar will give you more information regarding this on how you can utilise this service. An appointment should usually take around 30-45 minutes from start to finish.
The Wakefield & Pontefract registrar’s can be contacted on 0345 4 852 888
More information can be found on their website regarding the registering process:
https://www.wakefield.gov.uk/births-marriages-and-deaths/what-to-do-after-a-death/register-a-death/
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The Barnsley registrar’s can be contacted on 01226 773555.
More information can be found on their website regarding the registering process:
If you are unsure, please contact us on 01226 700760 where we will be able to guide you.