Firstly, we would like to offer our sincere condolences on the recent loss of your loved one.
We would like to take a moment of your time and explain what happens next.
A member of our Bereavement Office team will contact you via telephone the next working day following your bereavement. During the phone call, our team will explain the process of what happens next and answer any queries you may have relating to your bereavement.
All our appointments will be completed over the telephone, so there will be no need to return to the hospital unless we advise you differently. If there has been any property left at the hospital, we will arrange a convenient date and time for you to collect this.
During the call our team will explain the Medical Examiners Service process. The Medical Examiner Service is a statutory process that includes an independent review of all deaths by a senior doctor or consultant in all hospital Trusts and GP practices. This is routine and not a cause for concern.
The Medical Examiner is assisted by Medical Examiner Officers. A Medical Examiners Officer will call you following the review to discuss the cause of death that will appear on the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD).
This call will also give you the opportunity to ask any questions you may have and discuss any feedback you wish to share.
The Medical Certificate of Cause of Death is sent electronically by the Bereavement Office to the Registration Office at Barnsley Town Hall who will then contact you to arrange a formal registration appointment.
In some circumstances, it may be necessary for a death to be referred to His Majesty’s Coroners (HMC). If this happens, you will receive a phone call and be updated about this.
HMC Office telephone number - 0114 273 8721
Registering a Death
The Register Office is based in the Town Hall in Barnsley. An appointment will be made by a Registration Officer by telephone once they have received the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death electronically from the Hospital.
Who can register the death?
• A relative
• Someone present at the death
• An official representative from the hospital where the death took place
• The person making the arrangements with the funeral director
When you go to the Registrar
If you are able to, please take the deceased’s Birth Certificate when registering.
What you will need to tell the Registrar:
• The deceased’s first names and surname (and maiden name if applicable)
• The deceased’s date and place of birth
• The deceased’s last known address
• The deceased’s occupation and the name and occupation of their spouse or civil partner
• If they were married or in a civil partnership; the date of birth of the surviving spouse
• The deceased’s NHS number if you have it - helpful but not compulsory (not National Insurance number)
The Registrar will give you:
• A certificate of Registration of Death
• A green form is issued and sent directly to the necessary parties
You will be able to purchase certified copies of an entry certificate.
Further copies are available from the Registrar’s should you require more copies after the date you register.
Tell Us Once
The Registrar will also generate a unique reference number for you to use the ‘Tell Us Once’ service. This is a Government service which enables you to notify the following organisations:
Barnsley Council Service:
• Housing Benefit Office
• Council Tax
• Collection of payment for council services
• Electoral service
• Blue Badges
• Libraries
• Children’s Services
• Adult Social Services
You can end a council tenancy agreement online at www.berneslaihomes.co.uk
• Department for Work and Pensions - Pension Benefits
• HM Revenue and Customs - Child Benefit, Child Tax Credit, Working Tax credit and Personal Taxation
• HM Passport Office- Passport
• Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency - Driving License
• Ministry of Defence, Veterans UK - War Pensions Scheme
If you require advice regarding the registration of death, please contact the Register Office on 01226 773555.
Settld
This is an independent service that can deal with Banks, Building Societies, Insurance, Pensions, Investments and Utilities on behalf of the informant with just one copy of the death certificate.
Stopping Junk Mail
If someone you know has died, the amount of unwanted marketing post being sent to them can be greatly reduced which helps to stop painful daily reminders.
By registering with the free service www.stopmail.co.uk the names and addresses of the deceased are removed from mailing lists, stopping most advertising mail within as little as six weeks. If you cannot access the internet you can call 0808 168 9607 where you will be asked very simple information that will take a few minutes to complete.
This free of charge service provided by the Bereavement Support Network will actively reduce the amount of unwanted marketing.
Arranging the Funeral
You do not have to wait until the death has been registered before contacting a Funeral Director.
As the decision about who will conduct the funeral for your loved one is an important one, consider talking to more than one company before making your final choice. Recommendations by family and friends may also help in selecting a funeral director.
Funerals can be expensive although basic costs tend to be similar. However, the final cost can vary considerably. Do not be afraid to discuss your budget or obtain estimates from several undertakers.
If you are worried about the funeral costs, you may be able to claim money towards the funeral through Bereavement Support on the GOV.UK website. This funeral payment is a payment to help people on a low income with the essential costs of a funeral. Visit the website for further information.
If you are not happy with a funeral payment decision, you can also speak to an adviser at the Citizens Advice Bureau.
If your loved one is to be buried/cremated (repatriated) outside the United Kingdom, the funeral director will be able to help you with this.
Hospital Chaplaincy
Chaplains provide pastoral, spiritual and religious care to people of all faiths and none, to patients, carers, families and staff.
When someone we know has died, we may find talking to someone can provide the emotional support we need. Often this support comes from family and friends but sometimes it helps to talk to someone who is independent.
We have a Chaplaincy Service who may be able to help provide a comforting and supportive presence. Chaplains bring along a unique set of skills in companionship and provide a supportive, non-judgemental confidential listening ear.
Chaplaincy phone number - 01226 435751
Email - chaplaincy.barnsley@nhs.net
Making arrangements to view your relative
Viewings are considered more appropriate at the funeral directors’ chapel of rest of your choice. On occasion viewings can be carried out at the hospital mortuary, by pre-arranged appointment only. These appointments can only be made by close family members of a deceased patient direct with the mortuary on 01226 432335.
Solicitors
If you are able to, find out if your loved one had a Will and consult the solicitors who hold it, to see what the deceased’s wishes were as to the funeral. The Will also discloses the names of the executors or the persons legally entitled to deal with the deceased’s estate. Your solicitors will assist you with the administration of the estate and any questions you may have relating to this.
Learning from deaths
We routinely review the deaths of patients in our care. Every death is reviewed by an independent Medical Examiner or directed to HM Coroner. Medical Examiners are senior medical doctors who are contracted for a number of sessions a week to provide independent scrutiny of the causes of death, outside their clinical duties. They are trained in the legal and clinical elements of death certification processes. This system provides greater safeguards for the public by ensuring independent scrutiny of all non-coronial deaths. From the 9th September 2024 it is a legal requirement for the Medical Examiner to countersign the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD).
A second case note review may be carried out on a proportion of deaths to learn, develop and improve healthcare, as well as when a problem in care may be suspected or escalated by the Medical Examiner. We endeavour to carry out case note reviews as soon as possible but sometimes it may be a period of weeks or months before the review is completed.
If a second review is indicated, a clinician (usually a doctor), who was not directly involved in the care your loved one received, will look carefully at their case notes. They will look at each aspect of their care and how well it was provided. Where the care received was good or excellent, we share the learning with colleagues to improve standards in our hospital.
In a small percentage of cases, there may be concerns that the death could be or is related to a patient safety incident. Where there is a concern that a patient safety incident may have contributed to a patient’s death, an investigation is undertaken. The purpose is to find out what happened and why. This is to identify any potential learning and to reduce the risk of something similar happening to any other patients in the future.
If a more in-depth investigation is to be held we will inform you and explain the process to you. We will also ask you about how and when, you would like to be involved. If you have any questions on content, please contact the Patient Advice and Complaints Team on 01226 432571.
Grieving
This booklet and the information within it has been put together to try and help you, your families and friends know more about the types of feelings experienced in grief. We hope to help you understand some of the things you might experience and hopefully help you recognise if you are not coping as well as you might expect to.
A variety of feelings can be experienced when a loved one or friend has died; these feelings can be varied and are sometimes difficult to manage. At this time, you may experience feelings such as; numbness, exhaustion, guilt, despair, disbelief, anger and shock — all these feelings may be felt together or come and go at different times through the “grieving process”. Grief is referred to as being a process because often it is like a journey of feelings that “come and go” — something that may change regularly or that sadly feels difficult to manage at times.
Immediately following your loss, you often need to make decisions required by law (as explained at the beginning of this booklet). The practical arrangements or organising what is expected in the early days may delay some of those feelings. It is encouraging to recognise that most individuals manage their grief over time. The amount of time that is required may vary from person to person and over time you will hopefully find ways of coping and living with the loss and sadness. Often talking about the loved one to a family member or friend can help and it’s known to be important to “allow” yourself time to learn to cope with what has happened.
However, it is important to remember that grief is very individual for each person experiencing it and you may go through these possible feelings in a very different way to someone else who may be grieving.
How you manage to deal with your grief is whatever feels right for you, but it’s important to know and seek help if the feelings are not
manageable. The feelings associated with this time may cause you to question or go over in your mind what happened to your relative, friend or loved one — you may feel a sense of panic, have difficulty sleeping, or start having physical pains in your tummy or chest. It may come in “waves” and at times for some people the sadness and upset can be almost overwhelming. It is important that you feel supported if you are struggling with some of these feelings so please seek help or advice if you feel like you cannot cope. Speak to family or friends if you are able to and tell them how you are feeling. Your GP is also available to assist you with the right support if you are feeling physically unwell or if you need a referral to a bereavement or specialist support group.
Try and take good care of yourself at this time and give yourself the space and time to go through some of your feelings and thoughts. Its important that you give yourself a bit of time to think through if you have things to organise and ideally not make any rushed decisions without adequate support.
Grief in children and adolescents
Children of varying ages inevitably experience grief in many different ways. Younger children are often curious and if allowed, they may ask questions. They may repeat these questions at different times and this can sometimes be difficult for the family or care giver to cope with. This is usually how younger children process information so they may wish to ask things many times over until they feel able to understand. Younger children may not know how to express themselves in words so they may look at adults to help direct emotions or help them understand how they are feeling.
Younger children may seem to accept and almost appear to “get over” the death more quickly than an adult, however, this is often just the way children handle themselves and their emotions. A child may cry one minute and will be playing the next. This can be hard for adults to understand but children are very “of the moment” and may express how they feel suddenly. Adults who are also grieving have to understand that children are expressing their feelings in a different way but this is quite normal.
Children do not always understand the finality of death and may expect the deceased person to reappear. Older children may be more accepting that the person who has died won’t be seen again but this can lead to fear as they question their own mortality or become fearful that other close family members may die.
If possible, try and speak to the child as soon as possible about what is happening in a way that they can understand. If it’s too hard for you to speak with them ask a trusted adult or friend to do it for you.
Children are quite resilient and often accept things better than we do. Speak to your GP or health visitor/school if you need any specialist books or information to help guide you. There are lots of books and leaflets aimed at all different age groups to assist
parents and carers to talk to children when a death is expected or to discuss what has happened after a death.
Locally, there are lots of help and advice available, so please ask if you need anything.
If you are witnessing any adverse behaviour in a child who is not handling loss in a way you would expect please seek help as soon as you are able to.
Thank you for taking the time to read our booklet, we hope this has been of use to you.
We are here to help, so please contact us if you feel we may be able to assist you in any way.
Barnsley Hospital Bereavement Office is open Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays) to take calls between 08:30 and 16:30. If our team are busy or it is after office hours, please leave a voicemail and we will return your call as soon as we are able to.
To get in touch please call 01226 431393
Once again, we would like to offer our condolences, to you and your family at this difficult time.
Yours Faithfully,
The Bereavement Office Team
Note: This booklet is kindly printed free of charge for the hospital by RNS publications. RNS Publications cover the cost of the print layout, design and booklet production from the advertising fees which go direct to RNS. Barnsley Hospital does not receive any income or advertising income from the production of this booklet whatsoever. Barnsley Hospital does not endorse or evaluate the advertised products, services or companies, nor any of the claims made by the advertisement.
The Hospital would like to thank RNS Publications for publishing this information and the following pages contain some features from services o ering their help at this time.
Whilst the Hospital is grateful of their support it does not endorse or recommend any of the services that they provide.
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stopping mail
STOPPING JUNK MAIL
It is distressing to deal with a bereavement and unsolicited mail can be insensitive and destructive during a grieving process.
By scanning the below QR code on your phone or visiting www.stopmail.co.uk, we are able to securely share this information with mailing organisations and under the Data Protection Act the information will not be used for any other purpose.
Other benefits reduce the possibility of identity fraud, such as assumed identity and you will only have to supply the information once.
