Bereavement
Please accept our sincere condolences if you are visiting this site following the loss of a relative or friend. When someone you care about dies, even if it was expected, it is often hard to take in.
Our Bereavement Officers offer help, advice and guide you through the processes following the loss of a loved one.
We will:
co-ordinate the completion of the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) and relevant paperwork, we aim to complete this within five working days
advise if a death is referred to the coroner
provide you with information on how to register the death
look after and arrange collection of the deceased’s property
liaise with outside agencies as appropriate – GP’s, Coroner’s Office, Funeral Directors, Registry Office etc.
offer you resources if you feel you need some support.
What to expect
We are here to help arrange the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death Certificate (MCCD), so you can register your loved one’s death.
You may have received a bereavement pack from the ward with information about the process. There is a booklet in the pack which contains information and guidance around:
Completion of the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death Certificate (MCCD)
The registration process
Arranging the funeral.
The booklet also contains information around bereavement support and organisations who may be of help. If you would like a copy of the bereavement pack, please contact the Bereavement Office who will send you an electronic copy.
Please do not book an appointment with the Register Office until the Medical Examiner’s Office has advised you to do so. Please see information on the Medical Examiner service below.
To help us arrange the MCCD, we will need from you:
the name of the person who will be registering the death and organising the funeral
the telephone number for the above person
whether you will be arranging a burial or a cremation for the deceased
the name of the funeral director you will be asking to look after your loved one
the occupation of your loved one prior to their passing or retirement.
Please contact the Bereavement Office at the hospital where your loved one died, to provide the above information.
We will not call you for the first day or two.
Belongings
The ward may have already given you your loved one’s belongings. However, if the Bereavement Office have received any belongings, we will contact you to arrange for these to be returned to you at your home, or for you to collect them. The Bereavement Office will discuss the arrangements with you.
Contact our Bereavement Office
The Bereavement offices are open Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays) to take calls.
You can also email us and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Please note our phone lines can be very busy at times. If you are unable to get through, or it is after office hours, please leave a message on our answerphone with your name, telephone number and your enquiry. A member of the Bereavement team will respond as soon as they can.
You can contact the Bereavement teams at:
Telephone: 01227 864006
Email: ekhuft.rsokch@nhs.net
Opening hours: Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays) – 9.30am to 3pm
Telephone: 01843 234452
Email: ekhuft.rsoqeqm@nhs.net
Opening hours: Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays) - 10am to 4pm
Telephone: 01233 616887
Email: ekhuft.rsowhh@nhs.net
Opening hours: Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays) - 10am to 4pm
Give your feedback:
National Audit of Care at the End of Life survey
National Audit of Care at the End of Life is an NHS audit which aims to improve end of life care across the UK. The survey gathers feedback on the care delivered to adults (18+) within hospital wards.
Please complete the survey if you would like to share your views on the care and support that was provided to your loved one whilst in hospital. Your help is greatly appreciated.
Medical Examiners Service
As part of the process, you will receive a phone call from a Medical Examiner Officer (MEO), who is independent of the Trust. This is routine and not a cause for concern.
The Medical Examiner Service provides independent reviews of all deaths in hospital Trusts.
The service is part of a national system. It was set up to improve the death certification process and give bereaved people a voice.
Medical examiners are senior medical doctors. They are not involved in the care of the deceased. They provide independent review of the causes of death, outside their usual clinical duties.
The service is designed to:
provide bereaved families with greater transparency and opportunities to raise concerns about the care/death of their relative
improve the quality and accuracy of medical certification of cause of death
make sure referrals to coroners are appropriate.
Coroner’s Office
There are occasions when a patient’s death will need to be referred to the Coroner’s Office. The main reasons to report a death are:
a recent operation/procedure was performed
death from industrial disease
any suspicious, violent or un-natural death
any drug/medication related deaths
the doctor wishes to discuss the case
the cause of death is unknown
other reasons.
The Coroner’s Office will decide what action they take, based on the information provided by our hospital doctors.
Reporting a death to the Coroner’s Office may result in a post-mortem. If one is required, the Coroner’s Officer will contact you to explain why.
If there is no post-mortem, we will be advised by the Coroner’s Office the cause of death agreed by the Coroner. The doctors within our hospital will then complete the MCCD and cremation papers, if needed.
A post-mortem will unfortunately delay you making arrangements for a funeral service. The Coroner’s Officers will give an approximate time scale.
Once the post-mortem is completed, all paperwork will be sent by the Coroner’s Office directly to the Register Office and you will be telephoned to complete the registration.
The Coroner’s Officer will let you know when the paperwork has been passed to the Register’s Office.
For the Coroner’s Office enquiries please contact via:
Tel: 03000 410502.
You may also find the Government's guide to coroner service leaflet useful.
Finalising the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD)
If no coroner’s referral is needed and the cause of death is agreed and the Medical Examiner Service have completed their part, the doctors at our hospital will complete the MCCD.
We aim to complete this within five working days (Monday-Friday, excluding bank holidays) from the day we receive the notification.
Please do not worry if it takes slightly longer.
The registrars are aware this timeframe cannot always be met, and is dependent on each individual case. We need to ensure the paperwork is completed properly and we will keep you updated of the progress.
We aim to complete all of the paperwork as quickly as we can, as we appreciate people may be anxious to finalise arrangements.
Once the MCCD has been completed, we will send this electronically to the Register Office. We will then contact you to let you know.
Registering a death
Once you have been informed by the Bereavement Office that the MCCD has been completed and sent to the Register Office, you will be able to make an appointment to register the death.
The Register Office advise to only book an appointment if the hospital has made you aware that the MCCD has been sent to them.
To book an appointment to register a death, you must be either a:
relative of the deceased
person who was present at the death
administrator from the hospital where the person died
person arranging the funeral with the funeral director.
In order to register, the registrar will need to know:
date and place of death
usual address of deceased
full names and surname (and maiden name if the deceased was a woman who had married)
date and place of birth
occupation (This was their most recent occupation, prior to retirement or illness)
marital status
name of the deceased’s spouse or civil partner.
Once the death is registered, the Registers Office will provide you with:
a certificate for burial or cremation (form 9), a green form to give to the funeral director. If the death has been referred to the coroner and the funeral is a cremation, the equivalent form will be sent by the coroner to your funeral director
a certificate of registration of death (BD8 form) a white form to be completed and sent by you, with any benefit or pension details to the Department of Work and Pensions. Copies of the original death certificate can be purchased at £11.00 each on the day of registration, using a card or cash.
How to arrange an appointment
Tel: 03000 415151
Further support
Bereavement is never easy and everyone’s experience is different, when someone you care about dies, even if it was expected.
If you would like some help and support coping with your loss, the Bereavement Services team can provide you with some information, please do ask. Here are some resources which may help you:
A Hospital Chaplain is always available, 24 hours a day/365 days a year. Following the loss of a loved one, our team of Healthcare Chaplains are able to provide specialised care to those who practice You do not have to be in any way ‘religious’ to ask to see a Chaplain.
If you would like some spiritual support and guidance, the multi-faith hospital Chaplaincy team is also available for counsel and prayer 24 hours a day. You can contact them through the hospital switchboard on 01227 766877.
Sudden is a charitable service for people who have been bereaved by a death that happened suddenly or too-soon in someone’s life.
This could be due to COVID-19 or another unexpected disease or undiagnosed medical reason, an event such as a work-place incident or terrorism, accident or suicide.
Sudden is also for people who are caring for suddenly-bereaved people.
You can contact the Sudden Bereavement Helpline on 0800 2600400 or visit the Sudden website for further details of the support available.
Stepping Stones bereavement service
This is a free service available to all grieving families, some groups are available to anyone living in Kent who needs bereavement support, even if their loved one was not a patient of the hospice.
Please visit Pilgrims Hospice website for further information, and to download their support booklet.
Tel: 01233 504 127
Support, advice and information to children, young people and adults when someone dies. They offer face-to-face, telephone, email and website support.
Tel: 0808 808 1677
Email: helpline@cruse.org.uk
Visit: Cruse.org.uk
The National Bereavement Partnership provides a support helpline, counselling referral and befriending service for all those suffering from bereavement, grief, living loss, mental health issues and those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tel: 0800 448 0800 (freephone)
Text Helpline: 0786 002 2814 (texts are charged at your standard rate)
Lines open every day: 7am to10pm
An organisation run by the bereaved, for the bereaved.
Tel: 0800 2600 400 (10am-4pm Monday to Friday)
A charity supporting anyone affected by the death of a baby, before, during or shortly after birth.
Once again we would like to pass on our condolences, to you and your family following your loss.
For more information and advice, please take a look at the information on each organisation’s website or contact one of the Bereavement Offices.
Patient information
Bereavement service patient information library
View our library of resources, including patient information leaflets.