If a Resident dies

Resident death notification

If there is a death, please complete this Resident Death Notification Form as soon as possible. This is helpful to Green Pastures to keep a record of such incidences, to see if there is anything GP can do and to learn any lessons as the GP family.  

Preparations

If you suspect someone may die due to age, illness or lifestyle:

• Pray for them regularly and with them if open.  
• Check on them every few days until showing improvement and stability.
• Coordinate with their doctor.
• Ensure you have full next of kin and friends contact details.
• Check to see if they have a Will. Suggest considering if they do not.  
• Know the person's wishes.
• Know location of birth certificate, marriage certificate, divorce certificate and Will.  

Immediately after death

• Call 999.  
• Get legal pronouncement of death.
• Notify the person’s doctor.
• Notify close family and friends.

• Handle care of dependents and pets.
• If employed call persons’ employer.
• Counsel and pray for the volunteer who discovered the body.  
• Notify Green Pastures (your Partnership Manager).  

Within a few days

• Help family arrange details of funeral and burial or cremation. Be involved if there is no family or friends.  
• If the person is of military background you may be able to get bursaries on funeral costs.
• Keep an eye on the property in case it is squatted or vandalised. Check post etc…  
• Post card to family passing on condolences and that your prayers are with them.
• Notify Housing Benefit.  
• Keep checking that your volunteers that were supporting the resident are OK.  

Up to ten days later

• Obtain a copy of death certificate (GP do not need this but it is needed to access benefits for funeral, executing Will etc…). Original to next of kin.  
• Deal with Will if no family members do
• If necessary, the estate’s executor should open a bank account for the deceased’s estate.
• Find a representative to attend funeral  
• Email Green Pastures the GP Death Report.  
• Read out a tribute and pray for the family at your next Sunday service.  
• Consider counselling any of your volunteers that were supporting the resident.  
• Notify utility companies that resident has died.  

Department for Work and Pensions

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have put together a brilliant, but very long document on this issue entitled “What to do after death”. We would not suggest reading it in its entirety but rather dipping in for what you need. Much of the below is lifted from that document (though some parts, particularly about funeral payments is through GP’s research and experience). The leaflet is particularly weak on funeral payments.

“What to do after death” leaflet is available here (http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dwp1027.pdf)

If the death is in hospital

If someone dies in hospital, the hospital staff will contact the person named by that person as their ‘next of kin’. The hospital will keep the body in the mortuary until the executor or someone acting on their behalf arranges for it to be taken away. Most funeral directors have a chapel of rest where the body will be held until the funeral.

If the death is elsewhere

Expected death – contact the doctor that cared for them and the doctor will sign and death cert (to be sent to the registrar) and give you a proof of this.  

Unexpected death – contact the police, the family doctor (if known) and the nearest relative.

Below is a chart showing the forms you will be given for each circumstance. In almost all deaths an explanation is straight forward and thus you will be immediately give a medical cert and formal notice by your doctor.  

Arranging the funeral

Do not arrange a funeral until you are sure that the death does not need to be examined by a coroner.  

Find out if there is a will. This may stipulate how the person wishes the funeral to take place as well has how to distribute any assets.  

Funeral Directors it is NOT obligatory to use a funeral director, but most people choose to because they save a lot of stress etc. If you wish to arrange a funeral without a funeral director contact your local council’s crematorium’s dept for advice. If you do decide to use one, most are regulated by one of two bodies:

• National Association of Funeral Directors (nafd.org.uk or 08452301343)
• National Society of Allied & Independent Funeral Directors (saif.org.uk or 08452306777)

Funeral directors that are members of these two organisations will provide you with a price list if you ask, and cannot increase the cost of the funeral without your permission.

Paying for the funeral

Do not arrange the funeral until you know, or have a well-informed plan of how you are to pay for it. If you organise a funeral with a funeral director, you will be liable to pay for it. You can claim money from DWP, AND ALSO in some circumstances from NHS or your local environmental services.  

Funeral payment from DWP

The department for work and pensions will make a contribution to the costs of the funeral for those who were on benefits. This is capped at £1200. Funeral payments that DWP provides are through the social fund and are detailed on pages 31-38 of the “what to do after death” leaflet.  

It covers everything.

Funeral payment application form is available here http://www.dwp.gov.uk/advisers/claimforms/sf200_print.pdf

Subject to various qualifying criteria, an eligible claimant can receive a funeral grant that covers the following:

• The necessary costs of purchasing a new burial plot with exclusive right of burial in it and necessary burial fees (excludes burial of ashes)  
• Necessary cremation fees, including medical references and certificates and the fee for removing a pacemaker (restricted to £20 if not carried out by a doctor)  
• The costs of documentation necessary for release of the deceased assets  
• The reasonable cost of transport for the portion of the journeys in excess of 80 kilometres (50 miles) undertaken to: — transport the body within the UK to a funeral director’s premises or to a place of rest — Transport the coffin and bearers in a hearse and the mourners in another vehicle from the funeral director’s premises or place of rest to the funeral. The cost of this plus burial in an existing plot cannot exceed the cost of such transport plus the purchase and burial costs of a new plot.  
• The necessary expenses of one return journey for the responsible person to arrange and attend the funeral. The maximum allowed is the cost of a return journey from home to the place where burial or cremation costs are incurred.  
• Up to £700 for any other funeral expenses (e.g. funeral directors’ fees, religious costs, flowers, other transport costs  

To initiate the claim you/family members should call the local job centre. Excellent and fairly short document produced by CAB on this process to be found here)

Claiming from the NHS

If the person died in hospital the hospital may make a contribution to the funeral.  

Claiming from Environmental Services

If the person died in their own home, environmental services may make a contribution to the cost of the funeral. In Southport, Sefton Environmental Services have done this.  

Cremation or burial

Cremation is far cheaper. Burial, however, gives family a place to go to remember. If person died in their accommodation or hospital and there is no next of kin, partner has to decide this.  

What to do with personal possessions

Ask next of kin/family to remove. Sometimes next of kin/family will say they can’t take the possessions but won’t let you dispose of them. Then you are stuck as you do not have the right to through away or donate to charity the possessions. Move ASAP to another location (as accommodation needs to be rented again) and sit down with the family/next of kin and suggest they take some small items for sentimental value and donate the others to bring about a wider good.  

Legals

You need to serve notice (write a letter) to the trustees of the will or next of kin that they need to collect items within 3 months (reasonable period of time) and if they have not will or next of kin you serve notice to public trustees. You then store it for 3 months (this is what is accepted as a reasonable). You can claim against that person estate for cost of removal storage disposal or sale of items. Official solicitor and public trustee:  http://www.justice.gov.uk/contacts/ospt

Cleaning of the property

Clean the property ASAP. If you suspect drug use, instruct a needle sweep. If the resident had been dead in his/her accommodation for a period of time and your volunteers are very emotional about re entering you can contact a local cleaning service familiar with this situation for quotes.  

Should I notify the next resident?

This may be advisable and may not, you will have to judge the situation. If they ask you must tell them and in time they will probably find out.  

When should I place the next resident?

As soon as possible.  

Green Pastures support

We will provide support to the Partner representative heading up the response to the death.