TRANSFERRING THE DECEASED
What to do when someone dies - transferring the deceased
The first part of our service to you when someone dies includes the transfer and care of your loved one. When the deceased is transferred into our care they are taken directly to our premises. Here they will be placed in our mortuary before going into our
Chapel of Rest in Wickford, Essex. We never use off-site storage facilities.
SUPPORTING YOU THROUGH EVERY STEP
Depending on whether the death occurred at home or in hospital, the procedure for bringing
READ OUR FIRST STEPS GUIDE
your loved one into our care will vary. Should you need assistance at any time of day or
night please contact us on the number below:
24-hour service: 01268 733 108.
Sudden and unexpected deaths
If a person has died unexpectedly or suddenly, the police will engage the coroner’s contract team, who will take your loved one to the local hospital mortuary. Their service to you ends as soon as they have transferred the deceased. The coroner will then contact the next of kin to discuss whether any further investigations are necessary.
You are welcome to contact us straight away to inform us of the death and we will guide you with regard to the coroner’s procedures and forthcoming funeral arrangements.
Where death occurs at home
With S. Carter & Son carrying out the funeral arrangements your service will start when you first call us to notify us of your loved one's passing. A representative of the company will ask you for the name and location of the deceased and whether or not a doctor or other medical practitioner has confirmed the death. Your name and address will be taken and the time of our arrival will be agreed.
In most instances we will be with you within the hour of you making the initial call, unless you specify that you would like more time. Two uniformed members of our staff will arrive at the address to bring your loved one into our care.
Then, when you are ready, contact us
during office hours and make an appointment to discuss the forthcoming funeral arrangements.
Where death occurs in hospital
Where the death has occurred in hospital, the deceased will remain in the hospital mortuary until medical certificates have been completed and the green form issued by the registrar. In the case of an expected death, the hospital doctor will issue the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death.
Once this has been issued, the hospital bereavement suite will contact the next of kin to let them know the certificate is ready for collection. This document is usually taken to the Registrar’s office and the death then officially recorded. At present, the Registrar's office are only making telephone appointments. After your telephone appointment, the Registrar will send you your copies of the death certificate through the post. They will then send to us the Certification for Burial or Cremation (commonly known as the 'green form') to allow the funeral to go ahead.
Once all the required forms have been issued, S. Carter & Son can then make arrangements to transfer the deceased into our care.
For caring support when someone dies, call S. Carter & Son in Wickford, Essex on
Our phone is available for calls 24 hours a day
You can send us your enquiry and we will get back to you as soon as possible.