Bereavement

Bereavement Services

Kings Head Medical Practice aims to support all patients who have suffered a bereavement.

Please ask reception to book you in with our Social Prescriber for a telephone consultation. The Social Prescriber can guide you to local support available for bereavement. Further support can also be obtained from:

The Bereavement Advice Centre     

Practical help and advice Monday to Friday      

9am-5pm     0800 634 9494   

or please visit:  bereavementadvice.org

Cruse Bereavement Care 

Provides bereavement support from trained volunteers- Monday and Friday     9:30-5pm   Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday   9:30-8pm

 0808 808 1677  (calls to this helpline are free) email:  helpline@cruse.org.uk or visit Cruse.org.uk

Margaret Centre 

Psychological Support Service at Whipps Cross Hospital

This service is available to Children aged 3-11 years, Young People aged 12-17 years and Adults 18+ years.

 Monday to Thursday 9am-9pm     Friday 9am-7pm  020 8539 5592/55522 or  020 8535 6604

Sue Ryder

We would also like to recommend a free online 24/7 bereavement support service provided by Sue Ryder. Please visit:

https://www.sueryder.org/

 

 

Bereavement Process

In the unfortunate event that a person has passed away, there are three things that must be done in the first few days;

  • Get a medical certificate from your GP or hospital doctor (this is necessary to register the death).
  • Register the death within 5 days (8 days in Scotland). You will then receive the necessary documents for the funeral.
  • Make the necessary funeral arrangements.

Register the death

If the death has been reported to the coroner (or Procurator Fiscal in Scotland) they must give permission before registering the death.

You can register the death if you are a relative, a witness to the death, a hospital administrator or the person making the arrangements with the funeral directors.

You can use the ‘Register a Death’ page on the gov.uk website that will guide you through the process. This will also explain the registration process for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Arrange the funeral

The funeral can usually only take place after the death is registered. Most people use a funeral director, though you can arrange a funeral yourself.

Funeral directors

Choose a funeral director who’s a member of one of the following:

These organisations have codes of practice - they must give you a price list when asked.

Some local councils run their own funeral services, for example for non-religious burials. The British Humanist Association can also help with non-religious funerals.

Arranging the funeral yourself

Contact the Cemeteries and Crematorium Department of your local council to arrange a funeral yourself.

Funeral costs

Funeral costs can include:

  • funeral director fees
  • things the funeral director pays for on your behalf (called ‘disbursements’ or ‘third-party costs’), for example, crematorium or cemetery fees, or a newspaper announcement about the death
  • local authority burial or cremation fees

Funeral directors may list all these costs in their quotes.