What you need to do when a death occurs in Worcester

If a death occurs at home

The first thing you should do is contact the doctor and inform him/her who will then come out to certify that the person has died. The doctor may issue you with a death certificate on the day or may ask you to pick it up from the surgery a day or so later. The doctor may refer the death to the Coroner, especially if the death was unexpected. Please don't be alarmed as there are a number of reasons why a death may have to be referred to the Coroner. The Coroner and his officers are working in your interest.

The above procedure is likely to have been carried out with your permission from the Matron or Warden; they will advise you of where to collect the death certificate.

Removing the deceased

Once the Doctor has attended then please contact the Funeral Director in order for them to arrange a suitable time to come and collect the deceased and take them to their Chapel of Rest. Our staff are trained and will come efficiently and sensitively. Care is taken to follow your requirements regarding any jewellery.

Arranging the Funeral

Our service to you starts when you contact us, whether by telephone or calling personally and often extends way beyond the day of the funeral. Upon the initial contact we will ask for a few important details and where the deceased has died, at home, in hospital, care home or even on holiday. Once we know then we can advise the conveyance of the deceased to our Chapel of Rest. We would take this opportunity to arrange a suitable time to make the necessary funeral arrangements; this can be either at our office or in your own home. The arrangements are important as this reflects the loved one that has sadly passed on. There are so many choices that are available now for funerals that we can offer. We can offer a wide range of coffins from the traditional through to a personalised colourful coffin and if required a more elaborate American casket. We can also offer different types of transport which are a traditional hearse, horse drawn hearse, motorcycle with sidecar and even a vintage lorry.

Who is entitled to help?

The information shown here should be treated as GENERAL guidance only. We cannot guarantee that you will get a loan, but we understand how the Social Services makes a decision.

You may be entitled to help if you do not have enough money to pay for the funeral and you are the one responsible for making the funeral arrangements and you and your partner are receiving the following benefits:

• Income Support
• Housing Benefit
• Family Credit
• Council Tax Benefit

Check what amount of money is available from:

• The estate of the person who has died, such as money from the bank or building society.
• Any insurance policies or charities, lump sum payments made into a pension scheme or relatives, (either yours or those of the person who has died)
• Any savings you have in a bank or building society, National savings (including certificates or premium bonds) or cash in the home.
• The savings may be in your name or the name of your partner.

The Social Fund may make a contribution towards the cost of the funeral within the United Kingdom. It includes the following:

• Bringing the body home if the person has died away from home but within the UK.
• The Death Certificate.
• A Standard Coffin.
• Hearse to transport the coffin.
• Flowers from the person who arranged the funeral
• Contribution towards the Funeral Directors fees
• Chaplain and organist fee for a simple funeral
• Cemetery fee or cremation fee
• Doctor's fees

Registering a Death

Who can Register?

• A close relative of the deceased
• Relative in attendance during the last illness
• A relative living in the district where the death occurred
• The person causing the disposal

Documents Required

• Medical certificate of death.
• Medical card if available or 3.Birth certificate & information regarding the date of birth

Information required to Register

• Date & place of birth
• Full name of the deceased (Maiden name if applicable)
• Date and place of birth
• Occupation and home address
• If married, full name and occupation of the surviving spouse

Certificates

• Green disposal certificate for the funeral director
• Social Security certificate to be handed in at the DSS office, together with any pension book.
• Copies of the Entry of Death for the bank, insurance, solicitors etc

Costs and Charges

Upon completion of the funeral arrangements we will provide you with a written estimate with all costs involved. Please read through it carefully and if you are not sure about anything then please ask. Upon completion then please sign it to say that you have agreed to it.

The funeral account is divided into two separate parts, the Funeral Directors charges and the disbursements. The Funeral Directors charges includes our professional service charge which includes the preparation for and attendance at the funeral, completion of all paperwork and obtaining the statutory forms, removal of the the deceased during normal working hours, care of the deceased until the day of the funeral including some hygienic treatment, use of our chapel of rest, advise, assistance, support, correspondence and associated services.

The second part of the funeral account shows the disbursements; these are fees that have to be paid prior to the funeral taking place. These fees are for Clergy, Church, Cemetery, Crematorium, Flowers etc. We do ask for these fees to be paid as a deposit once we have made the arrangements.

We must stress that hygienic treatment to the deceased is considered to be very important to our company. We can assure you that we will provide a high standard of preparation to the deceased whether you wish to come and view in our chapel of rest or not.