Wigan And Leigh Hospice by bereavementadvice

Guidance following a bereavement Information for bereaved relatives and friends on what to do and who can help

On behalf of everyone at Wigan & Leigh Hospice we would like to offer our sincere condolences for your loss. This booklet has been developed to provide you with practical advice on what to do in the early stages of bereavement.

Contents What happens next?.......................................................................Page 1 Registering the death......................................................................Page 4 Arranging the funeral......................................................................Page 9 Who needs to be told?....................................................................Page 11 Useful addresses and telephone numbers .................................Page 13

What happens next? If your loved one dies at the hospice The Inpatient Unit staff will inform the GP, district nurse and any other specialist teams involved in your loved one’s care. The nursing staff on the Inpatient Unit will ask you to nominate someone who will be contacted by the Medical Examiner. The Medical Examiner is a senior NHS doctor who is responsible for giving an independent view on the causes of death and the care provided (except in cases where the death is investigated by HM Coroner – further information on this is provided below). Medical Examiners and their staff (usually called Medical Examiner Officers) offer families and carers of the person who died an opportunity to ask questions or raise concerns about the causes of death, or about the care the person received before their death. This will usually be through a telephone call, or sometimes a meeting. They can explain what medical language means and make it easier to understand what happened. Once the Medical Examiner process is complete, you will receive a telephone call from the Registrar to make a face-to-face appointment. Further information on what happens at the Register Office can be found later in this booklet.

Organ and tissue donation Many people have expressed a wish in life by carrying a donor card or through conversation with a relative or friend. In May 2020 the Organ Donation Service in England moved to an opt-out system. This means unless someone has expressly opted out, or they are one of the groups excluded from the scheme, they would be considered to have agreed to organ donation when they die. Wherever your loved one has died, they may be able to donate tissues for transplantation or research. Unfortunately patients dying in the hospice cannot donate organs such as lungs, kidneys or liver. You can find more information on organ donation at www.organdonation.nhs.uk

Reporting a death to HM Coroner In most cases there will not be a need to report a death to HM Coroner, but if this is needed, Hospice staff will explain the procedure to you. HM Coroner makes enquiries into any deaths that are reported to them. HM Coroner may allow the doctor to issue a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death, which would be sent to the Registrar in the usual way. In some circumstances they may order a postmortem examination. If a postmortem examination is required, a Coroner’s Officer will contact you to explain the procedure. The most common reasons a death in the Hospice will be referred to HM Coroner are: • The death may be related to an industrial disease eg. asbestos exposure • The death may be related to an operation or other procedure • The death may be related to chemotherapy or immunotherapy treatment • The death may be related to a recent fall or injury HM Coroner may be the only person who can certify the cause of death. You can find out more about coroners and the types of deaths they investigate on the government website. www.gov.uk/government/publications/notification-of-deathsregulations-2019-guidance Your local HM Coroner’s Office is based at Paderborn House, Howell Croft North, Bolton, BL1 1QY. They are available Monday to Friday 8:30am until 4pm telephone 01204 338799 or by email to coroners@bolton.gov.uk

Registering the death The death can be registered by: • A relative of the deceased • Someone present at the death • The person making the funeral arrangements (not the Funeral Director) Please note: If English is not your first language, you may wish to take someone with you to help or speak to the Register Office about interpreter services. More information on registering a death can be found on the Wigan Council website www.wigan.gov.uk The appointment to register the death will be face to face. • The GP surgery, hospital or hospice will send the Register Office an electronic copy of the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death, along with the next of kin contact details. • The Registrars will then call the next of kin by telephone to arrange an appointment to go to register the death. This will be either at Wigan Life Centre or Leigh Registry Office. They aim to register the death within five days of its occurrence. • Following registration, the Death Certificate(s) will be given to you and the necessary certificates for burial or cremation will be issued electronically to the relevant organisation/authority. This process will reduce the need for documents to be posted or hand delivered in person. • If HM Coroner has been involved or the informant has not been contacted by the Register Office after three days of the doctor sending the Death Certificate you can contact the Register Office, on 01942 489 003 or email WiganRegisterOffice@wigan.gov.uk 4

Tell Us Once As part of the registration process, you will be offered the Department of Works & Pensions (DWP) Tell Us Once service. This service will notify many different organisations that are signed up to the scheme making it easier and simpler to sort out the deceased person’s affairs. If you do not wish to use this service, please advise the registrar on the day of your appointment. What do you need to take to register the death? • The Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (sent by the hospice, hospital, GP or Coroner’s Office) • The deceased’s medical card (if available) • The deceased’s birth certificate (if available) • The deceased’s marriage certificate/s (if applicable and available) • If you wish to use the “Tell Us Once” service please take the deceased person’s National Insurance Number, British Passport, Driving Licence, Blue Badge (if applicable) What will the Registrar need to know? • The date and place of death • The deceased person’s home address and most recent occupation • The deceased person’s first names and surnames (and maiden name where applicable) • The deceased person’s date and place of birth (town and county if born in the UK and country if born abroad) • If the deceased was married, the date of birth and occupation of the surviving widow or widower

What happens next? The Registrar will give you the Death Certificate, which is green in colour and is a copy of the entry in the death register. You should give this to the Funeral Director as soon as possible but you may want to ask for additional copies to help you when dealing with the deceased person’s affairs, such as bank accounts, pension claims, insurance policies etc. Additional copies can be requested at a later date if necessary.

Wigan Register Office The office is open 9am-5pm Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays) and is available on an appointment-only basis. Wigan Register Office Wigan Council Life Centre (North) Second Floor, The Wiend Wigan WN1 1NH

Tel: 01942 489 003 wiganregisteroffice@wigan.gov.uk

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Arranging the Funeral It is important for you to decide which funeral directors you would like to oversee the care of your loved one as soon as possible after their death. The funeral director will be an invaluable source of information and support regarding all aspects of the funeral. If your loved one died at the Hospice, they can remain with us until they go to the funeral directors. Unfortunately, we can only accommodate this for a short time, so if a funeral director is not appointed, we will transfer the care to Wigan Council. The documents required for a person to be cremated are different to those required when the person will be buried. You will therefore need to inform the Hospice of your wishes and we will complete the necessary paperwork and send it to your funeral director of choice. With your consent they will also pass on your details to enable the funeral director to make contact with you. If your loved one died at home, the funeral directors will come directly to the house to collect them. If the death has been referred to HM Coroner, you should not set a date for the funeral until you have received confirmation from them that you can do so. Paying for the funeral If you have concerns about how you will pay for the funeral, you may be entitled to receive a Funeral Support Payment from the Department for Work and Pensions. You can find out more about that on the government website www.gov.uk/funeral-payments The funeral director will be able to give you advice if you have concerns about the cost of paying for the funeral. 9

Funeral collections Some people choose to hold collections at the funeral on behalf of Wigan & Leigh Hospice. If this is something you would like to know more about, please contact the fundraising team on 01942 525 566 fundraising@wlh.org.uk

Who needs to be told about a death? As well as friends, family and neighbours, there are a number of people and organisations who need to be informed about the death. The following is to help you to determine who needs to be informed. Done Family Doctor Banks, credit card companies, building societies where accounts were held Social Services (home help, home care) Schools, Colleges or University attended Place of work (occupational pension) Solicitor/Executors of the Estate (wills) Insurance companies (life/car policies etc.) HM Revenue & Customs Utility companies, e.g. electricity, gas, telephone, water rates etc. Dentist/Optician Stop Junk Mail

Things that will need to be returned Done Pension/Benefit books Driving Licence Passport NHS/Hospice equipment on loan Drugs and medication to your local hospital/pharmacy National Insurance card

Stopping Junk Mail 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.

Useful addresses and telephone numbers: Local Support: Age UK 74-80 Hallgate, Wigan, WN1 1HP www.ageuk.org.uk/wiganborough/

Tel: 01942 615880

Department for Works and Pensions www.gov.uk

Tel: 0800 731 0469

Citizens Advice Wigan Borough Wigan Life Centre, The Wiend, Wigan, WN1 1NJ Magnum House, 33 Lord Street, Leigh, WN7 1BY www.cawb.org.uk

Tel: 0808 2787 801

The Samaritans Tel: 116 123 www.samaritans.org Wigan: 0330 094 5717 Wigan Family Welfare Tel: 01942 867888 Wigan Churches’ Association for Family Welfare www.wiganfamilywelfare.co.uk

National Support: Child Death Helpline www.childdeathhelpline.org.uk

Tel: 0800 282 986

Cruse Bereavement Care www.cruse.org.uk

Tel: 0808 808 1677

Young Persons Freephone Helpline www.hopeagain.org.uk

Tel: 0808 808 1677

The Compassionate Friends (UK) Supporting bereaved parents and their friends www.tcf.org.uk

Tel: 0345 123 2304

Child Bereavement www.childbereavementuk.org

Tel: 0800 028 8840

Way Widowed and Young www.widowedandyoung.org.uk

Reference: Wigan and Leigh Hospice Bereavement Booklet Publication date: October 2023 Review date: October 2025

The Hospice 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 Hospice is grateful of their support it does not endorse or recommend any of the services that they provide.

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STOPPING JUNK MAIL It is distressing to deal with a bereavement and unsolicited mail can be

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By scanning the below QR code on your phone or visiting

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with mailing organisations and under the Data Protection Act the information will not be used for any other purpose.

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EDWARDS Funeral Directors

This publication has been jointly developed between ourselves and the hospice. 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, Unit 15, Broughton Way, Whitehills, Blackpool FY4 5QN

01253 832400 enquiries@rns.co.uk

Holmwood, Dicconson Terrace Wigan WN1 2AA

T: 01942 821215 www.edwardsfuneraldirectors.com