What to Do First
If the death occurs in hospital, the staff will contact the person named as next of kin. The hospital will arrange for a medical certificate of cause of death to be issued to you, or for the coroner to be contacted if necessary.
If the death occurs at home, and it had been expected, you will need to contact the doctor who attended the person during their final illness. It is a good idea to keep the doctors out of hours phone number handy, along with the numbers for the funeral director of your choice.
The doctor will either issue a medical certificate of cause of death, or will contact the coroner if necessary, and will guide you as to what to do next. If the death was unexpected, the doctor will have to notify the coroner who is likely to conduct a post mortem, again the doctor will guide you as to what to do.
Information on the work of the coroner can be found by clicking here.
Registering the death
Information on registering a death can be found here. The doctor should also give you a booklet explaining what to do when he/she issues the medical certificate of cause of death.
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