Advice

Sensible advice when someone passes away

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Harry Dawson Funeral Services in Stoke On Trent completely understand and appreciate that losing a loved one is a devastating time for family members. For those family members who have been entrusted with arranging the funeral it can be an incredibly hard situation to handle but we would like to reassure you that we are here to help you at every stage.

It is a rare privilege to be a Funeral Director, to stand in a sensitive position at a crucial time in the midst of your family, knowing that the quality of our service and reputation will help you through the most difficult time in your lives. We hope the following information can help make things a little easier for you.

Please feel free to make us your first point of call so that we can assist you from the very start. By calling us you will always be able to speak to either Paul or Nicola, even if the call is out of hours. We will be able to advise you on what to do next and can help to plan your actions over the next day or two, depending on the particular circumstances. The most common stages of action can be seen below. 

When someone dies at home

The first contact should be the family doctor who will normally call at the house to certify that death has occurred. If the doctor is satisfied as to the cause of death, they will record and issue the death certificate. If you haven’t already, you should then contact Harry Dawson Funeral Services as soon as possible. We will explain and take care of all the arrangements. It is not necessary to have the death certificate before contacting us, but death must have been certified.

When someone dies in hospital

When a person dies in a hospital, a hospice or a nursing home, the sister or staff nurse on call will be there to help you. They will make the necessary arrangements for the doctor to issue the death certificate. You should then contact Harry Dawson Funeral Services as soon as possible so that we can take care of both the bereaved and start handle all the necessary arrangements. It is not necessary to have the death certificate before contacting us.

The Coroner

In some cases a death may be referred to the Coroner. There are many reasons why this can happen. For example, it may be that a doctor has been unable to certify a cause of death or perhaps the death is as a result of an accident. The death will then be reported by a doctor. We will fully explain the procedures to you and take care of all arrangements and documentation.

Registering the death

All deaths must be registered at your local Registrar’s Office, for which we will give you the name, address and office times. When registering the death you will need to take the Medical Certificate of Death with you and the Registrar will also ask you for some personal details of the deceased. The Registrar will then issue a green certificate, which we will need as soon as possible to avoid the funeral being delayed.

At any time should you have any questions at all, please contact us on 01782 313428 and we will be happy to help.
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