What to do when someone dies
When someone dies, there are certain things that have to be done. But this often comes at an incredibly difficult time when we feel least able to manage. We can help you think through what you need to do.
If your relative dies while a hospital inpatient things will be dealt with by the hospital doctors and the hospital bereavement service.
If the death was unexpected, you should dial 999 and ask for an ambulance immediately. You will be told what to do by the operator to establish whether you can try and resuscitate the person. The paramedics will carry out resuscitation or will confirm the death. Leave the area untouched apart from any attempt at resuscitation.
If someone dies at home and their death was expected perhaps due to a terminal illness. Call 111 or ourselves if in hours. A medical professional will come to verify the death, once this is done you can contact a funeral director who will come to collect your relative.
If the doctor is unsure about the actual cause of death even if it was clearly from natural causes, or if the deceased died suddenly and had not been under a doctor's care recently, or the death is unnatural, they will contact the coroner. The coroner may go back to ourselves and inform us that they are happy for us to complete a death certificate or they may order a post mortem examination to determine the cause of death and then issue the documents allowing the death to be registered.
If the death was expected the doctor then completes their part of a medical certificate which says the cause of death. We will call you to discuss this and the process. This is then sent to a medical examiner who scrutinises it. The medical examiner will then speak to the most appropriate relative (usually the next of kin) to check they understand and agree with the medical certificate. You can ask the medical examiner questions and raise any concerns you have about the death at this stage.
Once the review is complete and the death certificate is approved, it will be sent to the Register Office. You will be notified when the death certificate is forwarded and advised to book an appointment through our online system to register the death. Please ensure that you have the Medical Examiners name as you will be asked to confirm this when making an appointment. Once you have this contact and the death certificate has been received by the Registrars the death should be registered within five days.
As we are a Shropshire General Practice our patients deaths are handled by the Shropshire medical examiner services even if you live outside of Shropshire.
The Shropshire Medical Examiner Service is available during normal office hours, Monday to Friday 9am-5pm
Tel: 01743 261384 or 01952 641222 ext 4741
Email: sath.medicalexaminers@nhs.net
The service is closed on weekends and bank holidays.
The link below is to Shropshire medical Examiners Service – Information for Reletives Patient Information Leaflet
How do I register a death?
You need to book an appointment with the Registrar. An appointment cannot be booked until you have received this notification from the Medical Examiner.
You're able to register a death or make a declaration of particulars in Shropshire at one of our register offices in Shropshire, Monday to Friday. All registrations are by appointment only. When the Medical Examiner notifies you that the MCCD has been sent to the Register Office, you can schedule an appointment.
You must register the death in the district where the death occurred. The links below provide further information about Registering a death;
Shropshire Registrar - 0345 678 9016 or email registrars@shropshire.gov.uk
https://next.shropshire.gov.uk/births-deaths-and-ceremonies/deaths/registering-a-death/
Staffordshire Registrar – 0300 111 8001
Bereavement support
We understand how difficult grief and bereavement is if you wish to discuss how you are feeling or how to access support please contact us at the surgery. We understand that everyone deals with things differently but there is a list of useful links below that you may find useful;
Compton Hospice https://www.comptoncare.org.uk/
Severn Hospice https://www.severnhospice.org.uk/
Hospice UK https://www.hospiceuk.org/
Cruse Bereavement Support https://www.cruse.org.uk/understanding-grief/
There is also an Albrighton Bereavement Group who meet every second Monday of the month at the Midlands Air Ambulance Headquarters. From January 2025, they will meet every Thursday 2pm to 4pm in the same location.
Location: Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, Airbase Avenue, Neachley, Shifnal TF11 8UR
Contact Sylvia Pledger 07977 571670