If the death occurs in a hospital
The hospital will contact the next of kin and make arrangements for a doctor to sign the Medical Certificate stating the cause of death. The certificate and any personal belongings of the deceased should be collected from the hospital administration department.
If the death occurs at home
The first person to contact is the deceased’s doctor and when the doctor has attended you may then call us. If the cause of death is quite clear the doctor will issue:
- a Medical Certificate to show the cause of death; and
- a Formal Notice that a doctor has signed the Medical Certificate and advice on registering the death.
If the death is unexpected
If the doctor in attendance cannot state the cause, he or she will inform the Coroner who will arrange to examine the deceased. In the majority of cases death will be attributed to natural causes and there will, therefore be no need for an inquest. The Coroner will forward the Death Certificate to the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages to enable you to register. Under normal circumstances funeral arrangements can be made as usual.
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