When a loved one passes away those who are bereaved are often upset and not sure of what needs to be done. We can be contacted at any time day or night to help and answer any questions you may have.
The Hospital staff will advise you regarding whom to contact to obtain the Medical Certificate which will be required prior to registering a death.
Please contact us as soon as you feel ready so we can then liaise with the relevant Hospital department on your behalf.
If a death occurs at Southampton General Hospital the team from the Bereavement Care Department at Victoria House will make contact with you to arrange a suitable time for you to go to Victoria House to collect the documentation that will be needed for the purposes of registering the death.
The staff at the Nursing or Care Home will normally contact us to arrange for your loved one to be brought into our care. This would be after the death has been verified by a Doctor or qualified member of the Nursing Team.
The Medical Certificate will normally be available from the Doctor’s Surgery or sometimes may be handed to the care home for you to collect. If any family members or friends should wish to pay their respects prior to our attendance please advise the Nursing or Care Home staff and they will advise us of your wishes.
A Death should normally be registered within 5 working days of the death occurring.
This is not always possible if the medical certificate is not available straight away, or if appointments are not available in the time scale at the Registrars Office.
A Death can be registered by:
Contacting the Registrar’s Office
Please contact the relevant Registrar’s to the district where the death occurred as an appointment is usually required with the Registrar’s Office to register a death.
The medical certificate stating the cause of death, issued by the Doctor who had attended the deceased during their last illness, will be required by the Registrar.
Other documents that are required, if available:
The Registrar will need to know the following:
Once a death is registered the Registrar will issue you with the following documents:
Southampton City Council and Hampshire County Council Registration Services offer the ‘Tell Us Once’ Service.
Before you use Tell Us Once, you’ll need the following details of the person who died:
You will also need:
Please note that you need permission from the next of kin, the executor, the administrator or anyone who was claiming joint benefits or entitlements with the person who died, before you give their details.
Tell Us Once will notify:
Tell Us Once will also contact some public sector pension schemes so that they cancel future pension payments.
They will notify:
A death may be reported to the Coroner if:
If the Coroner decides that the cause of death is clear the registered doctor of the deceased will be able to sign the medical certificate which should be taken to the Registrar’s Office.
The Coroner sometimes may issue a certificate to the Registrar stating that a post-mortem is not required.
If the cause of death is not known a post mortem may be needed to find out how the person died.
The Coroner’s Office will liaise directly with the deceased’s next of kin and keep them informed regarding the results of the examination and when they will be able to register the death.
Once a death is registered the Registrar will issue you with the following documents:
An inquest will be held if the cause of death is still unknown, or if the person died as the result of an accident, unnatural or violent death.
If an inquest is requested the Coroner will issue an interim death certificate. This can be used as a temporary death certificate to inform relevant organisations of the death.
A death cannot be registered until after the inquest. In this instance the Coroner will send the relevant documentation to the Registrar.