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You and/or the person you care for may find it easier to ask a professional to be involved in discussions about death. Or it might be simply having the professional there that will give everyone more confidence to talk about death. Who that professional is will often depend on the person you care…

A person with a learning disability may need support to talk about death and dying or to make important decisions around their own end of life care. They may need additional help, specific to their communication needs, to ask questions and to make sure their wishes and preferences are recorded. …

Here are the things you need to consider as you prepare for your child’s final days, how you prepare to say goodbye to your child, and what happens following their death. Planning for end of life A member of your child’s care team will approach you to discuss what you and your child would like t…

Here’s an outline of what happens upon death and in the few days after death. It explores how you might be feeling and what you need to be aware of in terms of the verification of death, getting a medical certificate, as well as how to register the death. It is very difficult to predict how you…

Although you will be feeling very emotional, the person’s death must be confirmed by a doctor or health professional trained to formally verify death within two to three hours. This is called ‘verifying the death’. If the person dies at home and there is no health care professional qualified to…

Only a registered doctor can certify the cause of death. This is usually the GP or doctor who has verified death. They will complete a medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD) if the death was expected and they are sure of the cause(s). In an emergency period, there may be a relaxation of p…

Normally, the doctor providing you with a medical certificate of cause of death will also give you a ‘notice to informant’ which they will attach to the medical certificate. This tells you how to register the death. However, during the emergency period, the notice to the informant is not issued. …

Here’s a checklist of all the different steps you need to think about when organising a funeral. First steps Having to organise a funeral when you are coping with a sense of loss and bereavement can be difficult. However, there are some questions to ask yourself right at the start: Did the…

Here grief is explored, as well as how you might be feeling and the importance of looking after yourself. How to support others in the family and deal with a sudden death is also covered. Grief is a normal reaction to losing a loved one, and there is no right or wrong way to grieve. You also sh…

It is very important that you take care of yourself while grieving. A crucial way of doing this is to allow yourself to talk about the person you cared for and how you are feeling. Think about whom you feel most comfortable talking to, for example, a close friend, another family member, a faith l…