Care staff will guide if a loved one dies

An ageing population and changes in family life have come to mean increasingly that death takes place in a hospital or residential care facility, rather than in the home.

Also, if the death is caused by an accident, or follows a sudden, severe illness, a hospital is the most likely location.

As soon as possible after death, there should be a formal identification which is normally carried out by the next of kin.

If the death was sudden and its cause has to be sought or confirmed, permission may be asked for a hospital post-mortem.

Where the coroner is involved, a post-mortem may be carried out without consent. If no post-mortem is necessary the body will be laid out and kept in the hospital mortuary.

Any possessions will be kept safe until the person administering the estate arranges for their collection.

A doctor will provide a medical certificate showing the cause of death, in a sealed envelope addressed to the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

Staff can offer information on how to register the death. It is then up to the family to arrange for the body to be collected by funeral directors.

If the death is referred to the coroner, until enquiries are complete no certificate can be issued and the death cannot be registered.

If he or she was on the NHS Organ Donor Register, carried a donor card or had expressed a desire to donate organs, hospital or care home staff should be informed promptly.

Even if there are no such instructions, the family may be approached if others could be helped through organ donation.

The hospital or care home staff who have been caring for the person who has died will know what to do, and will be able to provide emotional and practical support.