Following a bereavement
A pratical guide for family and friends following a cultural death
Introduction
The death of a family member or friend is a very distressing and painful time. Even at this most difficult of times, there are certain procedures that must be followed. This booklet aims to provide some helpful and practical advice.
We offer our condolences at this sad time.
We understand that with your cultural beliefs you need the funeral for your loved one to take place as soon as possible after their death. We know how important this is for you, and we will aim to have the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) completed by a doctor as soon as possible.
We will try to explain the number of people who may be involved, and the various legal processes that we have to go through before we are able to issue the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) and to let your loved one leave our care. We hope that this will help you bear with us in what might, in some circumstances, seem a long drawn out and frustrating process.
We ask that you give us the time to be able to complete the correct procedure. You do not need to attend the hospital or telephone us for regular updates; in fact, numerous calls from understandably worried relatives can cause delays.
Your appointed Funeral Director can make direct contact with the mortuary, but we ask that they do not call the Medical Examiner Office directly.
Please be aware that we may also be supporting other families that have also experienced a bereavement, and although we will try and minimise the delay for you, sometimes this cannot be helped.
If you haven’t already been in touch with the hospital’s spiritual care team, you may find it helpful to have a member of the team alongside you in this process. You can contact them on 01438 285519.
What has to happen before your loved one leaves our care?
All deaths should be reviewed by a Medical Examiner. This is an independent, senior doctor who was not involved in the care of your loved one. We also have Medical Examiner Officers (MEOs) who coordinate the entire process of ensuring the required medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD) can be issued. You will have a named medical examiner officer who will be your main point of contact throughout the entire process. The bereavement assistant will also support the medical examiner office.
The medical examiner (ME) reviews the medical notes and has a discussion with the doctor(s) responsible for the care of your loved one. This is to ensure that the information entered on the MCCD is correct and that all information relating to the death is recorded appropriately. The Medical Examiner is not the same as the Coroner.
Your designated MEO will ensure that you are informed of the cause of death and they will answer any questions you may have about the medical examiner process. You will also be asked if you have any concerns regarding your loved one’s care during their final moments. Although they may not be able to answer all of your questions immediately, they will advise you of sources of additional support or information.
Very occasionally, if there are any questions about the cause of death or the manner of the death, the case will be referred to the local coroner to investigate further – the coroner is not part of the hospital. In these cases, the doctor will not be able to issue the Medical Cause of Death Certificate for legal reasons and if this happens this will, unfortunately, cause a delay in the death being registered.
Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark. (Rabindranath
Tagore)
Issuing The Medical certificate of Cause of death (MCCD)
This is the certificate written by the hospital doctor and is emailed to the registrar by the Medical Examiner Office. The funeral cannot take place until the MCCD has been received at the Registration Office and the death has been registered by a relative.
To enable a MCCD to be completed, the medical examiner officer will contact a doctor involved in the care of your loved one and ask them to attend as a matter of urgency. Doctors are not always able to attend immediately, however you will be kept informed of any unavoidable delays.
On completion of the MCCD, your medical examiner officer will email it to the Hertfordshire Registration Service and will call you to confirm this has been done during office hours. This is so that you can proceed to make an appointment to complete the death registration.
If the death of your loved one occurs outside of the office hours and the doctor is able to issue the Medical Certificate for Cause of death, the doctor will send the certificate directly to the registration office. You will then be able to call the registry office to make an appointment. Please be aware that the Registration Service operates limited emergency weekend hours.
To make an appointment at a registry office in Hertfordshire, please call 0300 1234 045.
Finding a sense of peace during times of tribulation can be challenging, turning to one’s faith and relying on that wondrous ally can help us. “Most surely in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find tranquillity.” (Qur’an 13:28)
Potential causes of delay that may be unavoidable
You will always be told about any unavoidable delays.
There is a set process in place for doctors to be able to complete the MCCD when the death occurs outside of the Medical Examiner Office hours. However, this is only if they are able to issue the certificate.
If the circumstance leading to the death of your loved one means that doctor is unable to issue the MCCD and a referral to the Coroner is required; this will be completed the next working day by the medical examiner officer once the medical examiner has reviewed the medical notes.
We apologise that this will cause a delay for your funeral arrangements, but all referrals to the Coroner must be reviewed first by the medical examiner.
Please help us
Please do accept that we want to enable you to have your funeral as soon as possible, but on occasions there are circumstances that may cause a delay and we are truly sorry for any distress this will cause.
God be in my head and in my understanding; God be in my eyes and in my looking; God be in my mouth and in my speaking; God be in my heart and in my thinking; God be at my end and at my departing.
(Book of Hours, 1514)
Contacting our bereavement team
Our bereavement team can be contacted on 01438 284634
The Bereavement Office is open for telephone enquiries and appointments from 9am – 3:30pm Monday to Friday (closed on bank holidays)
Please note: If your call goes through to the voicemail service, it is because we may be talking to another family on the phone. If you leave a message we will return your call as soon as possible.
Additional Contact Details
• Lister Hospital main switchboard number: 01438 314333
• Chaplaincy Office: 01438 285519
• PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison) Office: 01438 285811
Email: pals.enh-tr@nhs.net
• Hertfordshire Coroner’s Office: 01707 292707
Email: coroner.service@hertfordshire.gov.uk
• Hertfordshire Register Office: 0300 123 4045
Go gently on your voyage beloved. Slip away on the ebb tide.
Rejoice in a new sunrise. May the moon make a path across the sea for you. The sun provide a welcome. May the earth receive you and the fire cleanse you As you go from our love Into the presence of Love’s completeness. (Kate McIllhagga)
With every hardship there is ease. (Quran 94: 5-6)