If the death occurs in hospital, the hospital staff or the police (if death was accidental) will contact the person named by the deceased as next of kin. This may be, but need not be, a relative. If you have been named as next of kin they will arrange a convenient time for you to attend the hospital.

You will then be asked to:

• identify the body.

• give permission for a post mortem in cases where there is no legal requirement but doctors think that it is advisable in order to establish a cause of death.

Hospital staff will arrange for the nearest relative to collect the deceased’s possessions. If you know that the person wished to donate their organs after death, you should let the hospital staff know, but it is more likely that they will approach you if the circumstances are likely to favour organ donation. You should also let the staff know if the body is to be donated to medical science.

You may, if you wish, request to see the hospital chaplain. The hospital will keep the body in the hospital mortuary until the executor arranges for it to be taken away.

The hospital will:

• either issue a medical certificate of cause of death needed by the registrar, provided the cause of death is quite clear. There may be a post-mortem provided the nearest relative agrees;

• or, in a few cases, report the death to the coroner and make arrangements for a post mortem if required.

When you are ready, phone us. It’s worth keeping in mind that if you’re reading this in the middle of the night, you’ll probably be exhausted, so it might worth going home to have a sleep before you get in touch. There’s nothing that can’t wait until morning.

On the other hand, if you want to speak to somebody straight away, then phone us on 01592 652133. We will answer the phone at any time of day or night, every day of the year. You don’t have to wait until the hospital has given you the medical certificate of the cause of death to do this.

At this stage all we need to talk about is whether you want the deceased to go home or whether you want them to be moved to our funeral home. We have to get the relevant paperwork before we can move them.