Sudden And
Unexpected Deaths

In the case of a sudden or unexpected death, the first step is for a medical professional to confirm the death.

The deceased may need to be taken into the care of the Coroner. This may happen straight away on the instruction of the attending medical professionals or the deceased may be transferred to a funeral home, awaiting a discussion between the Coroner and the deceased’s GP in the following days.

It may be necessary for the police to attend before the deceased is transferred – the police are working on behalf of the Coroner and this does not mean that a criminal investigation is taking place.

Coroners’ procedures for deaths in the community in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire differ.

The Nottinghamshire Coroner’s Service arranges for the deceased to be transferred into their care by their contracted Funeral Director.

This Funeral Director is not permitted to make any approach to families regarding carrying out funeral arrangements because they are working for the Coroner. There is also no obligation for the family to use the services of this Funeral Director after the Coroner has completed their investigations.

If you would like us to take care of the funeral arrangements you can contact us at any point and we will inform the Coroners office that we are your chosen funeral directors.

If the death occurs in a hospital and is referred to the Coroner, the deceased will either remain in that hospital, or be transferred to a different hospital for the Coroner’s examinations.

In Derbyshire, you may ask the police to contact the Funeral Director of your choice to transfer the deceased to the hospital mortuary.

If you do not have a preference, or if your chosen Funeral Director is not available, a Funeral Director will be contacted by the police to conduct the transfer.

If a death occurs in a hospital and is referred to the Coroner, the deceased will either remain in hospital, or be transferred to a different hospital for a post mortem examination.

Sometimes, the Coroner’s office will be consulted following a death, but will choose not to investigate further and will refer the paperwork back to the deceased’s Doctors.

If the Coroner does decide to undertake a further investigation, they may carry out a CT scan or a post mortem examination. They may also take samples from the deceased for further testing. Or they may be able to use recent medical records to establish a cause of death. 

Once the Coroner is satisfied that they have concluded their involvement they will issue the paperwork for cremation or burial to your chosen Funeral Director.

If it is not possible to register the death at this point because further testing is required, they may also issue you with an Interim Death Certificate.

Once the Coroner has conducted their investigations and given clearance for the release of the deceased from their mortuary, your chosen Funeral Director will be able to transfer the deceased into their care.

We would need written permission from the person arranging the funeral before we do this.

As soon as you feel ready, we can arrange to meet with you to talk about your thoughts and wishes for the funeral.

We can start having these conversations even if the Coroner is still in the process of investigating the death, and we would wait until the Coroner gives us permission before we set a date for the funeral. 

You can start to make decisions about the type and style of funeral your loved one would have wanted. As well as thinking about the coffin, flowers, music and readings.

Our team at Gillotts Funeral Directors are here to help you through this difficult time.