The staff of Avocet Ward, Saffron Walden Community Hospital wish to express their sincere sympathy to you and your family at this sad time.
This booklet aims to provide some useful help and advice during the early days of your bereavement.
Please do not hesitate to ask questions if you are unclear about any matter, our staff will always be pleased to help.
Mortuary service
We do not have a mortuary service on site at the hospital. A local funeral director is contracted to provide mortuary services and you will be given details of this provider by ward staff.
Families are of course welcome to choose their own funeral director who will liaise with our own mortuary provider regarding your chosen arrangements.
Viewing room
You may wish to see your loved one/friend in the Viewing Room/Chapel of Rest provided by our mortuary provider. This can be arranged by appointment by telephoning this number: 01799 523314.
What you will need to do first
You will need to contact the Senior Sister on Avocet Ward at Saffron Walden Community Hospital, telephone 07949 509899, to collect any property belonging to the deceased. The Medical Certificate of Cause of Death will be completed and emailed directly to Essex Registry Service by the nurse in charge. You no longer need to collect a copy from the hospital.
You can be expected to wait 48 hours, however we shall do everything in our power to complete the certificate as quickly as possible and will keep you informed of any delays especially where involvement by the Coroners Office is expected. However, should there be any delay you will be kept informed of this. If death occurs at the weekend the certificate will be ready by 12.00pm Tuesday.
On arrival at the hospital to collect the certificate please could you report to the reception, on the Avocet Ward and inform them you have an appointment with the Ward Sister.
Registering a death
You must register the death within five working days (unless there are exceptional circumstances i.e., Coroner involvement). Please ensure that you make an appointment to register the death following confirmation from the Nurse in Charge that the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death has been emailed to Essex Registry Service. You can register anywhere in Essex, through the Essex Registry Service. However, if you wish to use either Southend or Thurrock Registry Services, you would need to contact them directly as they are Unitary Authorities. There will be a charge made by the Registrars for all certified copies.
There will be a charge made by the Registrars for all certified copies.
Details of the nearest office are below:
Dunmow Registration Office
Great Dunmow Library
47 White Hart Way
Dunmow
CM6 1FS
0345 603 7632 (This number covers the whole of the Essex County Registrars Service).
The Registrar will require the following information to register the death
• Medical Certificate of Cause of Death
• Their full name (maiden name if applicable)
• Date and place of birth
• If they were married or civil partnership
• Occupation of the deceased
• Usual home address
• The date of birth of the surviving spouse or civil partner
• Medical Card
• Whether they were in receipt of a pension or allowance from public funds
Who can register the death
The person who registers the death should be one of the following:
• A relative of the deceased, who was present at death
• A relative of the deceased, in attendance during the last illness
• A relative of the deceased, residing or being in the sub-district where the death occurred
• A person present at death
• The person dealing with disposal of the body (not funeral director)
Please contact the Registrar if you are unsure who should register. The Registrar can also arrange home visits if this is necessary due to age or infirmity. Again, please contact the Registrar.
The Registrar will issue the green certificate which will be required by the funeral director for cremation or burial.
Copies of the death certificate may be obtained from the Registrar upon payment of the appropriate fee.
