When a Death Occurs

If the death occurs at home and is…

Expected

When someone dies at home and their death was expected you will need to contact your family doctor, the doctor who has most recently been in attendance, or the district nurse team. Once the doctor (or they may choose to send a medical practitioner in their place), has attended please contact us and we will arrange to remove the deceased to our Chapel of Rest.

The doctor will normally issue the medical certificate of Cause of Death, which will be sent to the appropriate Medical Examiner for review. Once this certificate has been approved the medical examiner will send the certificate digitally to the relevant Registrars of Births & Deaths. An appointment will then need to be organised at the Registrars. For more information on registration view our Registration page.

If the death takes place in a residential care home or nursing home, the staff there will contact the doctor and ourselves on your behalf.

Unexpected

If someone dies suddenly at home or elsewhere and their death was unexpected the coroner will usually be involved. After speaking with either the doctor, police or paramedics. The Police or Paramedics will then either call ourselves, if you have nominated us as your chosen funeral director, or they will contact the coroners contracted funeral director, if you’re not sure at that point. If we attend at the time we will arrange to remove the deceased to our Chapel of Rest. Should the coroner’s contracted funeral director attend they will take the deceased to their chapel of rest, or the public mortuary, they will notify you of where the deceased is resting.

The family do not have to use the Coroners contracted funeral director and can appoint their own funeral director who they wish to conduct the funeral and contact them accordingly. (For more information on H.M. Coroner’s procedure please visit our Coroners page)

If the Death Occurs at a Hospital…

When someone dies in hospital the deceased is taken from the hospital ward to the mortuary by the hospital staff and can only be collected from there by the funeral director when all the necessary release forms have been completed and certificates issued. In the case of most hospitals please contact the bereavement office and they will liaise with the appropriate doctors for the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death to be sent to the relevant Medical Examiner, for review.

Once this certificate has been approved you can then make an appointment with the relevant registrar of Births and Deaths. For more information on registration view our Registration page.

You are welcome to contact our office as soon as the bereavement has happened, so that we can offer advice to help you through the process of registration.

If the doctor, in conjunction with the medical examiner, cannot issue a certificate, then it may be that H.M. Coroner will become involved.

24 hour telephone line:
01782 212880

From the first phone call to the day of the funeral service and even afterwards, we will listen, advise and support you with everything that you need to organise a funeral.

If you have any questions or enquiries regarding our services, please feel free to get in contact with us using the contact details below:

Williamson Brothers
Birch House
Birches Head Road
Birches Head
Stoke-on-Trent
ST1 6LH