What to do when someone dies

Dealing with the arrangements following a death of a family member or friend can be very confusing and stressful. The following guide aims to ease the burden and help you in this challenging and difficult time.

As Muslims we aim to perform the burial as soon as possible

However there are a number of steps which need to be completed before that can take place.

Confirmation of death
Transfer of the body
Doctors medical certificate (MCCD)
Register the death
Obtain a burial certificate (green form)
Washing, shrouding and janazah salah
Burial

Confirmation of death

Once somebody has died the death needs to be confirmed:

Contact the GP practice where the deceased was registered and request a visit confirm the death.
If the GP surgery is closed the out of hours doctors can be asked to visit. Either phone the usual GP surgery and contact the number given on the answer machine message or phone 111 who will assist you.
If the ambulance crew are present they can confirm the death
If the deceased was cared for by the palliative care team the out of hours palliative care nurses can also confirm a death.

In each case information will be passed to the deceased’s GP practice.

Transfer of the body

Once the person’s death has been confirmed you may transfer the body to the mortuary.

South London Islamic Centre offers free transportation and storage of the body.

Please contact

Br Abdul Rauf – 07939 868677

or Br Tajumal – 07718535647

or phone 020 8677 0588

Medical certificate of cause of death

Medical Examiner Death Certification Process (click for flowchart)

After the death has been confirmed, it is necessary for a medical certificate (MCCD) that confirms the cause of death to be issued by the doctor looking after the deceased. This is usually a doctor from the GP surgery they are registered with or if they died in hospital, the hospital doctor who was looking after the deceased.

The doctor will send the death certificate to the medical examiner in the borough the person died in for approval.

The Medical Examiner will contact the next of kin to confirm the cause of death and send the documents to the Register Office.

You can contact the Medical Examiner directly for updates on when the medical certificate of cause of death will be issued and sent to the register office and request this process to be completed urgently on religious grounds. They can also provide guidance and support regarding the process of registering a death and can be contacted on:

For deaths at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals and deaths at home in the London Boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark.
Email:medicalexaminer@gstt.nhs.uk or for home deaths gst-tr.medicalexaminer@nhs.net
Contact numbers: 0207 188 9450
For deaths at St George’s University Hospital and deaths at home in the London Boroughs of Merton and Wandsworth.
Email: Medicalexaminer@stgeorges.nhs.uk
Contact number: 0208 725 4317
For deaths in Croydon Health Services NHS Trust and deaths at home in the London Borough of Croydon.
Email: ch-tr.medicalexaminer@nhs.net for death in the hospital or ch-tr.MEO-Community@nhs.net for death at home
Contact number: 0208 401 3000 ext 4847

For other areas of London please visit: https://www.england.nhs.uk/patient-safety/medical-examiners/medical-examiner-offices/#london

The medical certificate of cause of death is for the purposes of registering the death only and is not given to the next of kin.

Register the death

After the medical certificate has been sent by the Medical Examiner book an appointment via the online system with the town hall registry office to register the death in the borough the death took place.

If the death occurred in Lambeth, click here

If the death occurred in Wandsworth, click here

To find another registry office click here and enter the post code where the death took place.

You must book the appointment via the online system, we recommend you do this as soon as possible to avoid delays. Note most appointments are from 9.00am-4.00pm, Monday-Friday.

Wandsworth Registry Office provides an on-call service on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays between 9am and 11am. They can issue certificates only if the Medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD) has been received. You need to state that the funeral needs to take place within 24 hours for religious reasons and you must provide confirmation that the burial is to take place within 24 hours from the funeral director. Wandsworth Council switchboard emergency line: 020 8871 6000

The death registration can be done by:

A blood or marriage relation of the deceased.
A person present at death.
The occupier of the establishment that the deceased was in.
The person arranging the burial.

The following information is required:

The date and place of the death.
The deceased’s first and last name (and the maiden last name, if the deceased was a woman who had married).
The deceased’s date and place of birth (state their town and county if they were born in the UK, and only state their country if they were born abroad).
The deceased’s occupation and the name and occupation of any spouse or civil partner.
The deceased’s last address.
Whether the deceased was getting a pension or allowance from public funds.
The date of birth of any surviving partner.

Note that the legal requirement for a death to be registered is within 5 days.

If the death is referred to the coroner’s office, the registration will have to wait until the coroner has given you permission.

If the coroner decides to hold an inquest, they will issue an interim death certificate which will enable a funeral to take place

Obtain the Certificates

Once you have registered a death, you will be given two certificates:

The Certificate for Burial gives permission for burial (green form) which should be given to the funeral director. The registry office can email it directly to them.
The Death Certificate (BD8), required for settling the estate of the deceased

Arranging the funeral

After the death has been registered and you have obtained the burial certificate, you can complete the funeral arrangements. If the deceased did not explicitly plan their funeral before their passing, responsibility of arranging the funeral often falls to relatives or close friends.

If you have engaged a funeral director to care for the body, they can offer advice and assistance on funeral arrangements including:

Washing
Shrouding
Janazah salah
Transport to the burial ground

There are decisions to be made when arranging a funeral including:

Choosing a cemetery
Purchasing a burial plot
Book a date and time of the funeral
Who to invite

Timeframe

We should do our best to bury the deceased as soon as possible, but on many occasions there are delays due to circumstances beyond our control. This is a time for patience and to turn to Allah for assistance and forgiveness.