Contents Message from the staff at St. Margaret’s Hospital....................1 Mortuary service...........................................................................................................................................1 Viewing room.......................................................................................................................................................1 What will you need to do first..............................................................................................2 Registering a death.................................................................................................................................3 Registry office location map..................................................................................................4 Stopping Junk Mail to the recently deceased.....................................7 Funeral arrangements.......................................................................................................................8 Coroner...........................................................................................................................................................................8 Financial assistance..............................................................................................................................9 Legal assistance...........................................................................................................................................9 Support and comfort.............................................................................................................................9 National / local helplines.......................................................................................................... 10
The staff of St Margaret’s Hospital wish to express their sincere sympathy to you and your family at this sad time. This booklet aims to provide some useful help and advice during the early days of your bereavement. Please do not hesitate to ask questions if you are unclear about any matter, our staff will always be pleased to help. Mortuary service We do not have a mortuary service on site at the hospital. A local funeral director is contracted to provide mortuary services and you will be given details of this provider by ward staff. Families are of course welcome to choose their own funeral director who will liaise with our own mortuary provider regarding your chosen arrangements. Viewing room You may wish to see your loved one/friend in the Viewing Room/Chapel of Rest provided by our mortuary provider. This can be arranged by appointment by telephoning this number: 01992 560890.
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What you will need to do first You will need to contact the Patient Affairs Officer at St Margaret’s Hospital, telephone 01992 938401, to arrange an appointment to collect any property belonging to the deceased. The Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) will be completed by the senior ward doctor and emailed to the Medical Examiner based at Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow for approval; the Medical Examiners’ Office will contact you, usually within 24hrs of receiving the MCCD. Once the Medical Examiner is satisfied they will then email the MCCD to Essex Registry Service so there is no need to attend the hospital to collect MCCD. You can be expected to wait 48 hours, however we shall do everything in our power to complete the certificate as quickly as possible and will keep you informed of any delays especially where involvement by the Coroners Office is expected. However, should there be any delay you will be kept informed of this. If death occurs at the weekend the certificate will be ready by 12.00pm Tuesday.
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Registering a death You must register the death within five working days (unless there are exceptional circumstances ie: Coroner involvement). Please ensure that you make an appointment to register the death following confirmation from the Patient Affairs Officer that the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death has been emailed to Essex Registry Service. You can register anywhere in Essex, through the Essex Registry Service. However, if you wish to use either Southend or Thurrock Registry Services, you would need to contact them directly as they are Unitary Authorities. There will be a charge made by the Registrars for all certified copies. Details of the nearest office are below: Epping Forest District Registry Office St John’s Road Epping Essex CM16 5DN The Registrars are open Monday to Friday by appointment only 9.00am – 1.00pm and 2.00pm – 5.00pm. 0345 603 7632 (This number covers the whole of the Essex county Registrars service).
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Registry office map The Epping Registry office is situated in St John’s Road Epping. From St Margaret’s Hospital you need to turn left out of the entrance and left at the traffic lights towards Epping High Street. At the first mini roundabout with St John’s Church on your right, turn right. The Registry office is above the Library, which is marked on the map below.
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The Registrar will require the following information to register the death • Medical Certificate of Cause of Death • Their full name (maiden name if applicable) • Date and place of birth • If they were married or civil partnership • Occupation of the deceased • Usual home address • The date of birth of the survival spouse or civil partner • Medical Card • Whether they were in receipt of a pension or allowance from public funds Who can register the death The person who registers the death should be one of the following: • A relative of the deceased, who was present at death • A relative of the deceased, in attendance during the last illness • A relative of the deceased, residing or being in the sub-district where the death occurred • A person present at death • The person dealing with disposal of the body (not funeral director) 5
Please contact the Registrar if you are unsure who should register. The Registrar can also arrange home visits if this is necessary due to age or infirmity. Again, please contact the Registrar. The Registrar will issue the green certificate which will be required by the funeral director for cremation or burial. Copies of the death certificate may be obtained from the Registrar upon payment of the appropriate fee.
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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 take only a few minutes to complete. Alternatively, ask the bereavement team 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 also can 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.
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Funeral arrangements You will need to instruct a funeral director who will then make all the necessary arrangements for the deceased to be collected from our Mortuary provider. You may contact a funeral director before the death is registered to put all arrangements in place but it is not advisable to set the date as there could be delays in receiving the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death, especially if there is Coroner involvement. Coroner In some circumstances (when the cause of the death may be uncertain) the hospital doctor will refer the death to the Coroner. In these situations, a post mortem may need to be held and the Coroner will have the responsibility for issuing the medical certificate. If this happens, the doctor at the Hospital will let you know and the Coroner will contact you directly and inform you when the certificate will be ready. The Coroner’s office is based at: H.M Coroner’s Office (Essex) Ground Floor Seax House Essex County Council Victoria Road South Chelmsford CM1 1LX Tel: 0333 0135 000 8
Financial assistance You may be eligible to apply for assistance for the cost of the funeral from the social fund, depending on you circumstances. Please contact your local Department for Work and Pensions if you require an application form. Legal assistance It is a sad fact that when a person dies, their family may be left with legal problems and an endless list of unanswered questions. In those circumstances you would need to contact a solicitor who specialises in Wills and Probate matters. Support and comfort If you wish to speak with the Hospital Chaplains, this can be arranged through the Patient Affairs Officer.
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National / local helplines Cruse Bereavement Line (information only)
0808 808 1677
Samaritans - Emergency 24 hour helpline
116 123
Department of Anatomy, Cambridge 01223 333750 Citizens Advice Bureau, covering: Epping, Ongar, Waltham Abbey, Loughton, Harlow, Brentwood Internet: www.adviceguide.org.uk
Reference: St Margaret’s Hospital Bereavement Book Review Date: September 2025 Publication Date: September 2023
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0344 477 0808
The Hospital would like to thank RNS Publications for publishing this information and the following pages contain some features from services offering 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.
www.stopmail.co.uk 0808 168 9607 from a landline 0333 006 8114 from a mobile © Bereavement Support Network Ltd 2023
A trading style of Turnside Marketing Ltd
This publication has been jointly developed between ourselves and the hospital. We hope that it has been or will be of help at this time and we welcome any comments or suggestions that you may have. Please contact us either by phone, email or by post.
RNS Publications, Trium House, Broughton Way, Whitehills, Blackpool, Lancashire FY4 5QN
01253 832400 enquiries@rns.co.uk
Published by RNS Publications © Tel: 01253 832400 R11
