It is very likely under these circumstances that the Coroner’s office will not be informed of the death. If the doctor has seen the person who has died in recent days and is happy that s/he knows the cause of death then a death certificate will be written and you may proceed to arrange the funeral without reference to the Coroner’s office. In the first instance you should liaise with the attending doctor.

It is likely either a locum doctor or a paramedic will call to certify that death has occurred. If the details are completely clear the attending medic may suggest you contact your funeral director at leisure and speak with the GP on the following working day to discuss a death certificate. Alternatively the attending medic may err on the side of caution and assume that the GP will not be able to issue a death certificate and will call the Coroner’s Office for assistance. The Coroner’s contracted funeral director will attend the place of death to take the person who has died to the Coroner’s mortuary and you should not make any firm funeral arrangements at this stage. One of the Coroner’s officers will contact the deceased’s family on the following working day. In liaison with the family and the deceased’s GP the Coroner will decide whether further investigation is necessary (see situations below) or whether the death certificate can actually be written by the GP. If the latter, then the deceased will be released immediately from the Coroner’s mortuary to the family’s chosen funeral director.

The Coroner’s contracted funeral director will attend the place of death to take the person who has died to the Coroner’s mortuary and you should not make any firm funeral arrangements until one of the Coroner’s officers has told you it is safe to do so. An autopsy examination will be held by a pathologist at the mortuary to ascertain the cause of death; this will be performed as soon as is practically possible which is usually within 2 working days of the death. If the pathologist is able to ascertain a cause of death that is natural and raises no unusual questions that must be explored, the Coroner will release the deceased to the family's chosen funeral directors and will issue a cause of death certificate to the Registry Office for the district where the death occurred (irrespective of where the deceased or family live). One of the Coroner’s officers will speak with the deceased’s family about the cause of death, what it means and answer any questions they may have. The family will now be free to confirm funeral arrangements and to attend the Registry Office to register the death.

Under such circumstances one of the coroner’s officers will discuss with the family whether an Inquest is desirable.

The Coroner’s contracted funeral director will attend the place of death to take the person who has died to the Coroner’s mortuary and you should not make any firm funeral arrangements at this stage. An autopsy examination will be held by a pathologist at the Coroner’s mortuary to ascertain the cause of death; further tests are likely and may take some days. A Coroner’s officer will take statements from witnesses and the deceased will need to be formally identified at the mortuary. At some stage the Coroner will open an Inquest enabling the deceased to be released to the family for a funeral. Having opened the Inquest, the Coroner will adjourn it to a later date when a full hearing will be held in the Coroner’s Court. This may be some months later and will be arranged in liaison with family and interested parties. When an Inquest is being held there is no need for the family of the deceased to attend the Registry Office to register the death; this can only be performed after the Inquest has been concluded and will be performed by the Coroner in correspondence with the Registry Office. As this may be some time away, the Coroner will in some circumstances issue preliminary certificates to the deceased’s family to enable Estate administration to commence.