Please accept our condolences on the death of your loved one.
When someone we love dies it is common for us to feel that the situation is quite ‘unreal’ at first. Other emotions frequently experienced are an acute sense of loss, sadness, numbness, and sometimes guilt and anger.
These feelings are all part of the normal grieving process. You may find that they vary in their intensity at different times and it may help if you try to express your feelings to an understanding listener.
Make sure you take time to look after yourself. Involve all members of your family, including children, in the grieving process. Organisations such as CRUSE and /or the Samaritans may be able to help.
Ministers, Priests or Spiritual Leaders.
Your loved one’s minister, priest or spiritual leader may have already been in attendance and may be able to help comfort and support you, your family and friends at this very difficult time. They will be able to advise you on your preferences and a help advise on the details of the funeral ceremony itself. If you do not have someone of this nature and you wish to speak to someone, the funeral director may be able to put you in touch with someone appropriate in your local area.
If Death Occurs At Home
- Please telephone the practice. One of the doctors will either visit to confirm that death has taken place if required, or issue the certificate directly to you if death has already been confirmed by another doctor or nurse ( eg by the out of hours service in the evenings or at weekends).
- Contact a funeral director of your choice.
- Arrange to collect the doctor's Medical Certificate of Death (usually from the practice, though sometimes this may be with the funeral director).
- Take this to the Registrar’s Office, (together with the deceased's Medical Card, marriage certificate ( if appropriate) and Birth Certificate, if available) for the area in which the death took place. The nearest Registrar’s office is in the Buchanan Centre, downstairs from the practice. Alternatively you are also able to register someone’s death by declaration at any convenient Registrar’s Office but certificates will not routinely be available, as these will have to be posted to you a few days later. Please note that you are legally obliged to register someone’s death within five working days of obtaining the certificate of the cause of death.
- The Registrar will normally issue a Green coloured certificate for you to give to your funeral director who will look after all necessary arrangements for the funeral. The Registrar will also issue a white notification certificate for the DSS. They will also enquire as to the number of Certified Copies you require for dealing with the deceased finances (please note that there a fee is payable for each copy, currently £10 per copy).
If The Death Occurs In Hospital
- Please contact a funeral director of your choice to inform him/her that his/her services are required.
- Collect the certificate from the hospital, then follow steps 4 to 5 as above
If The Death Occurs In a Nursing Home
- Please telephone the practice. Either one of the doctors will visit to confirm that death has taken place or if a doctor or nurse has already confirmed this, the practice will prepare the death certificate directly for you to collect.
- Contact a funeral director of your choice.
- Collect the certificate from the practice, then follow steps 4 to 5 as above
Note For Cremation
Your funeral director will usually liaise directly with the practice regarding the additional certification required for a cremation.
Local Funeral Directors:
Donald McLaren Ltd
Coatbridge: 45 Sunnyside Road, Coatbridge ML5 3DG
Tel: 01236 424132
Airdrie: 12-18 Hallcraig St, Airdrie, ML6 6AH
Tel: 01236 762000
E-mail:Info@DonaldMcLarenLtd.co.uk
https://www.donaldmclarenltd.co.uk/
The Co-operative Funeral Care,
Coatbridge: 1 Muiryhall Street, Coatbridge, Lanarkshire
Tel: 01236 421544
E-mail: coatbridge@letsco-operate.com
https://www.co-operative.coop/funeralcare/funeralhome/coatbridge
Airdrie: 125 Graham Street, Airdrie, Lanarkshire, ML6 6DE
Tel: 01236 762 310
E-Mail: airdrie@letsco-operate.com
https://www.co-operative.coop/funeralcare/funeralhome/airdrie
Useful Telephone Numbers:
You may find these numbers helpful at this difficult time:
Cruse Bereavement Centre Scotland : 01738-444178
The Samaritans Helpline : 08457-909090
Medication:
From a safety perspective, please return any unused medication to your local pharmacy from where it was dispensed. This can be done at any suitable time over the next week or so.
We hope that this information is of help to you at this very difficult time and helps make the process of registering the death and arranging the funeral of your loved one as straightforward as possible.