Thank you for considering Daniel Ross Funerals at this most difficult time.
Nothing can prepare you for the immediate time ahead but we are here to support you throughout.
If the death is at home, you will need to contact your local GP or possibly the nurses who have been helping you care for your loved one so that they can certify the death, or the paramedics if the death was not expected. When you feel able to do so, you then need to contact us on 0121 313 0054 (24 hour service, 7 days a week) to arrange to transfer your loved one into our care at Grace Mary House. You will always speak to either Sarah or Daniel during this first contact. There is always the opportunity for your loved one to remain at home for a while if other family members are on their way or simply your family just needs to spend time together privately. When you are ready, Daniel and either a male or female member of our team (depending on who has passed away) will come to your home, talk with your family and transfer your loved one into our care. We have the most up to date stretchers and equipment to ensure the transfer is safe and dignified for your family member. Our transfer vehicle is a private estate car with tinted windows for total privacy and added security. Once back at our funeral home, we will call to advise that your loved one is resting within a private Chapel of Rest and to arrange a time to contact you the next day.
We understand the enormity of coming to your home at this heartbreaking time and for the trust we are asking you to place in us in transferring your loved one into our care – this is the absolute reason that you will always speak to Daniel or Sarah during your first call and it will be us in person who will conduct the transfer.
If the death occurs at a nursing home, you will need to give our details to the Matron or a member of staff, who will contact us to arrange to transfer your loved one into our care at Grace Mary House. Should you wish to remain with your loved one at this time, please do so and our funeral director in attendance will offer the necessary support and guidance to you and your family when he arrives. Alternatively, our funeral director will contact you at home, when your loved one and has been transferred into our care and is resting within a Private Chapel, here at the funeral home.
If the death occurs whilst in Hospital, please do still contact us as soon as you are able and feel ready to do so. If the death occurs over the weekend, or during a Bank Holiday, we remain at your service 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Although we are not allowed to transfer your loved one immediately into our care, we are still able to support you and offer guidance on the next steps that need to be taken. For a cremation, the doctors at the Hospital will need to complete two sets of cremation paperwork and you will need to register the death before we will be allowed to transfer your loved one to our funeral home. For a burial, the death only needs to be registered.
The information below is a general guideline for registering a death.
We will advise you personally on what needs to be done as your personal circumstances may differ from this general guideline.
To register a death, an appointment will need to be made with the Registrar (in the area where the death occurred) usually within 5 days, and we can make this appointment for you.
You will need to take:
– The Medical Certificate of Cause of Death
– The Medical Card of the deceased, if possible
– Any pension books and documents etc
– The deceased’s Birth and Marriage Certificates (if available)
The Registrar will provide you with a certificate (a green form) which we need to carry out the funeral and to be able to transfer your loved one to our funeral home though we do not need it to make arrangements. Some people like to make the arrangements before collecting the certificate, others choose to bring it with them.
When someone dies unexpectedly or suddenly, the Coroner is informed. Sometimes, a funeral firm will attend the scene of the death and collect the deceased person, however you are not obliged to use this firm for the funeral as they are simply contracted by the Coroner to attend.
In the vast majority of cases, referral to the Coroner occurs simply because the deceased had not seen a Doctor within 14 days, or had been admitted to hospital and died within 24 hours.
Please do not delay in contacting us if a death is reported to the Coroner, as we will be able to provide reassurance and advice.
If you should require any further information or advice at all about the Registration or Coroner’s procedure then please feel free to contact us.