The staff of London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust would like to offer their sincere condolences on the loss of your relative/friend.
We appreciate that this will be a difficult time for you and want to be able to help and assist you as much as we can.
At this difficult time we aim to provide sympathetic support and assistance to bereaved relatives and friends to help them through the procedures following the death of a patient at the hospital.
This booklet is designed to give practical guidance regarding the first steps that need to be taken following the death of your relative or friend.
What happens next
You will need to contact the Bereavement Office on 020 8869 2960 the next working day following the death between the hours of 9.30 and 16.30. (Please note we are open Monday to Friday and are closed at weekends and bank holidays).
The doctor will complete the paperwork in a timely manner, however this needs to be completed by a doctor who directly cared for your relative/friend whilst they were in the hospital and they may not always be immediately available.
Once the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) is completed it will be passed to the Medical Examiner for an independent review. This will usually be completed within 2 working days. The Medical Examiner’s team will call you to confirm that this is complete to enable you to make an appointment to register the death.
In some circumstances the death may need to be referred to the Coroner’s Office. This is nothing to worry about and is often standard procedure.
If your relative/friend’s faith requires them to be buried or cremated within 24 hours, or as soon as possible, please advise the Bereavement Officer who will do their best to facilitate this. The Registrars have a limited on call service out of hours.
Hospital Chaplains
Hospital Chaplains are available to be with, listen to and support everyone whatever their beliefs or backgrounds, as well as providing religious services and advice. They may also be able to contact a representative of your own religious faith or denomination if you so wish.
Hospital Chaplaincy: 020 8869 2113
A message from our Chaplains…. supporting people in life and in loss
Bereavement can turn our lives upside down and inside out and sometimes it can help to talk to someone else about it. Chaplains offer a skilled listening ear to encourage and support you through your bereavement. If you would like us to do this, and with your consent, we can also refer you to a local faith community for ongoing bereavement support.
London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust
Lead Chaplain
The Medical Examiner
London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, in line with the new Government requirements has introduced the role of the Medical Examiner, who is a senior doctor not involved in the care of the patient, but understands the circumstances surrounding the cause of death.
The aim is that they will make it easier for you to understand the wording on the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) and will check all details before the certificate is issued. This means you may receive a call from the Medical Examiner to discuss the death certificate in the first few days after your loss.
When the Coroner has to be involved
In certain situations the hospital cannot issue the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death and need to report the death to the Coroner’s Office. The Coroner is an independent officer (from a legal or medical background) with statutory responsibility for the legal investigation of the cause of death in some circumstances. These include:
• Where the cause of death is unexpected or unknown
• Where a patient had a fall or a fracture that needs to be included on the medical certificate
• If death is due to an industrial disease
• Where the cause of death is deemed as being unnatural
• Where death occurs during, or shortly after, an operation
Once the referral has been reviewed, the Coroner may decide that the hospital doctor can issue the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death. The Coroner’s Officer will advise you of this decision.
The Coroner may order a post mortem examination to determine the precise cause of death. This is a legal decision and does not require the consent of the next of kin. Following a post mortem the Coroner’s Office will issue the appropriate paperwork allowing the death to be registered.
In some circumstances the Coroner may request an inquest into the death; this is common when a fall or a fracture is included within the Medical Certificate.
Registering the death
Once the MCCD is completed and the Medical Examiner has authorised its release it will be sent directly to the Registrars. You will need an appointment to register the death, usually within five days of the death.
You will need to contact the Registrars on 020 8937 1010 or online by typing “Brent Registry Office” on any search engine and click on the link for registering a death. Alternatively you can scan the QR code below to take you directly to the Registrars website.
All Registration Offices operate an appointment system, please telephone to make an appointment before attending to prevent unnecessary waiting. Please note you may not register the death unless the MCCD has been issued as the registration cannot proceed without it.
The registration should take approximately 40 minutes. However, in some circumstances the Registrar may have to refer to the Coroner which may result in further time being necessary.
It is preferable that persons registering a death do so in the registration district in which the death occurred to avoid delay and enable the certificates to be obtained at time of registration.
The Registration Office for this area is located at:
The Register Office, Brent Civic Centre, Engineers Way, Wembley, HA9 0FJ
Who can register the death?
• A relative of the deceased
• A person present at the death
• The person who is arranging the funeral
The Registrar will ask you the following details relating to the deceased:
• Full name
• Any surname previously used, including maiden name
• Date and place of birth
• Occupation
• Usual address
• The full name, date of birth and occupation of his/her spouse or civil partner
The following documents are helpful to take when registering the death, but please do not worry if you cannot find them:
• Medical card
• Birth certificate
• Marriage certificate
The Registrar will issue you with:
• Green Form (the Certificate for Burial or Cremation), this form is to be given to the Funeral Director
• Copies of the death certificate (there is a charge for these)
• Form BD8 – Registration or notification of a death for Department for Work and Pensions
The Registration Service provide a ‘Tell Us Once’ Service and can inform government organisations about the death on your behalf. In order to use the Tell Us Once service on the day you register the death, you will need to take some additional information with you about the person who has died:
• National Insurance Number
• Details of any benefits and state pensions the person was receiving
• Driving Licence
• Passport or passport number
• Blue disabled parking badge
• Bus Pass
• Library Card
• National Insurance Number or his/her spouse or civil partner
Death Certificates
The Registrar can provide you with a death certificate, and there is a fee to be paid to the Registration Service for any death certificate issued. At the time of publishing the cost per death certificate is £12.50.
The death certificate will be required by banks, building societies, solicitors or for private pension and insurance claims. You may therefore need to purchase more than one copy.
Who do I need to tell?
When someone dies there will be many organisations to contact. Please use the following as guidance to see if you have contacted everyone you need.
Bank, Giro, Credit Cards, Building Society
Department for Works and Pensions (Benefits, Pensions etc)
Social Services (Home helps, Home care)
Place of work (Occupational Pension)
Family Doctor
Executors of the estate (Will)
Solicitor
Insurance companies
Landlord, Housing Department
Council Tax offices
Passport office
Inland Revenue
Electricity, Gas, Telephone, Water companies
Royal Mail, newsagent and milk deliveries
Driving Licence centre (D.V.L.A)
Priest, Vicar, Minister or Faith Leader
Schools, College or University attended
Residential or Nursing Home
Library Service
Careline (personal alarm service)
Cancel any appointments
Community Equipment Service (CES)
Stopping Junk Mail to the recently deceased
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 for very simple information that will only take a few minutes to complete. Alternatively, ask the bereavement officer for a leaflet that can be returned in the post.
This free of charge service provided by the Bereavement Support Network will actively reduce the unwanted marketing mail but can also help reduce the likelihood of identity theft following the death of someone close. The information is not used for any other purpose and you only have to complete this once. Additionally to Stop Mail a comparable service can also be accessed from the Bereavement Register or Deceased Preference Service if you would prefer to use them.
Arranging the funeral
A funeral is your opportunity to say goodbye, and it is most important for your grieving that the funeral is conducted in the way you and your relative/friend wished. It may be that your loved one discussed their wishes prior to their death and you know the type of service they wanted. Sometimes this conversation has not been held and you may not know what your relative wanted; at these times you can only do what you think is right for them.
You do not have to wait until the death has been registered before contacting Funeral Directors, though you may not feel ready immediately. Your chosen Funeral Director will help you make arrangements for the funeral and can also advise you on the procedures and documents you will need as well as the timing for the service. This can often be done in the comfort of your own home if you prefer. Most Funeral Directors belong to one or more of the recognised associations listed which have a code of practice which they must adhere to:
• National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD)
• The Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF)
It is not essential to employ a Funeral Director and some families will choose to arrange the funeral themselves. However, please be aware that there are strict guidelines which must be followed.
Once your relative/friend is with the Funeral Director, you will be able to visit them at their Chapel of Rest, where you can spend more time with them if you wish. Sometimes, families decide that they would like their relative to spend time at home, usually in the hours before the funeral. This can be arranged with your Funeral Director. You will also need to think about the clothes you would like them to wear. Take your time with the arrangements and do not rush in to any decisions.
Funerals can be expensive and although basic costs tend to be similar the final cost can vary considerably. You may wish to contact several Funeral Directors in order to compare prices and service before you make a decision.
The person arranging the funeral is usually responsible for meeting the costs incurred. It is advisable to check if the person who died had contributed to a funeral plan, or if there are any insurance policies in place which can be used to pay for the funeral.
If you are planning a cremation please advise the hospital, to enable completion of the necessary documents.
The Funeral Director will need the Certificate of Burial and Cremation (Green form) given to you by the Registrar before they can complete all the arrangements.
If you have any worries at all about the cost of the funeral, please ask for advice before making arrangements from the Funeral Director or the Bereavement Officer at the Hospital. A funeral payment is available from the Department for Work and Pensions Social Fund. To qualify for this you must be receiving an eligible benefit.
Please ask your local Social Security Office for Form SF200 – Help when someone dies.
Alternatively find out more at www.gov.uk/funeral-payments
Wills and estates
When a person dies somebody has to deal with their estate (money, property and possessions left) by collecting all the money, paying any debts and distributing what is left to those people entitled to it.
You should check if your relative/friend had prepared a Will as soon as possible as this may include special requests about funeral arrangements.
If there is a Will, it should confirm who has been appointed to administer the estate; they will be the executor. Where the person did not leave a Will, or left a Will which did not name an administrator, the estate is usually dealt with by the next of kin. The person administering the estate may need to apply to the Court for Probate. This can be completed online or by post if preferred, www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate/apply-for-probate. The Probate Service will issue either:
• Grant of Representation
• Letter of Administration
These give the applicant the Court’s authority to administer the deceased person’s estate.
You will not need Probate if the estate:
• Passes to the surviving spouse/civil partner because it was held in joint names
• The value of the estate is below a certain amount
It should be noted that the first item to be paid out of a person’s estate is the cost of the funeral and this has priority over all other payments. If you have difficulty in dealing with the deceased person’s estate you should seek advice from a solicitor or the Citizens Advice Bureau.
Further advice and support
At each point over the next few days there will be people who are able to provide support and advice including the Funeral Director, the person conducting the funeral service, your own family doctor as well as hospital staff and bereavement care agencies. Below is a list of services and their contact details:
The Chaplaincy Department
Anglican Chaplaincy: 020 8869 2111
Roman Catholic Chaplaincy: 020 8869 2112
Asian Family Counselling Service
020 8574 0912
Brent Bereavement Services
020 8459 6818
Carers UK Advice Line
0808 808 7777
Harrow Bereavement Care
020 8427 5720
admin@ bereavementcareandsupport.co.uk
Ealing Bereft
020 8896 2800
Jewish Bereavement
Counselling Service
020 8951 3881
For other faith groups please contact either of the numbers.
(Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu)
Terrence Higgins Trust 0808 802 1221
Child Bereavement UK
0800 02 888 40
Harrow Widowed Self-Help Group
Contact Rhona Christie 020 8969 3198
Reference: Northwick Park Hospital Bereavement Booklet
Publication date: June 2024
Review date: June 2026
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.
�\\ bereavement ,�port network
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.
