What happens next depends first on whether the death was expected or sudden and unexpected.
Choose the situation that best describes what has happened below. You will be taken straight to the relevant guidance, including who to call, what happens at night, when a funeral director can become involved and when the coroner may need to take over.
The practical steps are quite different, so choose the route that fits the circumstances.
The person had been ill, receiving end-of-life or palliative care, or their healthcare team already knew that they might die at home.
What to do after an expected death → Route 02The person collapsed suddenly, the death was not anticipated, the cause is unclear or nobody had been expecting them to die.
What to do after an unexpected death →Not sure which applies? If the person has collapsed unexpectedly, you are unsure whether they have died, or you think emergency treatment may still be possible, call 999 and follow the instructions you are given.
If someone had been receiving end-of-life care and their death was anticipated, the situation does not usually need to be treated as an emergency. The first practical step is to contact the healthcare team and arrange verification of death.
If there is an end-of-life care plan, there may already be instructions telling you who to contact. Use those first where possible.
If the GP practice is open, contact the surgery. If there is a community nursing, hospice-at-home or palliative-care team, use the number they gave you. Outside normal hours, if there is no specific service to call, contact NHS 111.
A doctor or appropriately trained healthcare professional will formally confirm that the person has died. This is called verification of death.
Once the necessary clinical steps have happened, there is usually no need to rush simply because someone has died. The person can often remain at home for a while if that is what you want.
You can contact a funeral director before deciding what kind of funeral you want. Once the death has been verified and there is no coroner restriction, the funeral director can arrange the collection from home and transfer the person into their care.
A doctor proposes the medical cause of death. Unless the death needs to be referred to the coroner, an independent Medical Examiner reviews the medical records and proposed cause.
The Medical Examiner process must be completed before the death can be registered. You will be told when the required information has been sent to the registrar.
If the death was expected, you do not need to panic because it happened outside normal office hours.
If there is an end-of-life or palliative-care plan, use the out-of-hours contact provided. Otherwise call NHS 111 and explain that an expected death has occurred at home.
A suitable healthcare professional will normally need to verify the death before a funeral director can collect the person who has died and bring them into their care.
Poetic Endings is answered 24 hours · 020 4525 8318Not necessarily. It may take some time for the appropriate healthcare professional to attend and verify the death. That does not mean anything has gone wrong.
No. Once the death has been verified, you can discuss whether the collection happens during the night or later. There is often no need for the person who died to leave home simply because it is late.
You do not have to start organising the funeral. Sit with the person if you want to, contact someone you would like with you and follow any instructions given by the healthcare team.
Call 999. If you are unsure whether the situation should be treated as an expected death, the emergency services can assess what has happened and tell you what to do.
When an expected death has happened at home and the death has been verified, it can feel as though the next thing you are supposed to do is call a funeral director and have the person taken away.
Often, there is no need to rush.
The person who has died can usually stay at home for a while if that is what you want. You do not have to call a funeral director the moment the death is verified, and you do not have to suddenly turn the room into a place of paperwork and practical arrangements.
This can be a strange and precious period of time. The person has died, but they have not yet left home. The funeral has not begun. The calls, decisions and arrangements that will follow have not quite started yet.
There is a kind of liminal space here: between life and everything that comes after death. You are allowed to inhabit it for a while.
There is no right way to use that time.
You might sit quietly with the person who has died.
You might light a candle, open a window or change the feeling of the room.
You might play music they loved, sing, read something aloud or simply let things be quiet.
You might call people who would like to come over, sit with them or say goodbye.
You might make tea, talk, tell stories, cry, laugh or just be together.
If it is the middle of the night and you are exhausted, you might decide to get some sleep before doing anything else.
You do not need to hurry because a funeral director is waiting. If you call Poetic Endings, we can talk through what has happened and what actually needs to happen next. If there is no reason for an immediate collection, we will tell you that. We can come when you feel ready.
For some people, these few hours become an important part of saying goodbye. Once the person leaves home, something changes. If you want to pause before that happens, you can.
Keep the room reasonably cool and follow any practical advice given by the healthcare professional who verifies the death. Beyond that, this time does not need to be hurried through.
Verification of death is the formal confirmation by an appropriately trained healthcare professional that a person has died.
It is not the same thing as establishing the medical cause of death.
Depending on local arrangements, verification may be carried out by a doctor, community nurse, palliative-care nurse or another appropriately trained clinician.
If the person had a syringe driver, cannula, catheter or other medical equipment, do not remove it unless a healthcare professional tells you to.
The community nursing or palliative-care team can explain what happens to equipment and unused medication afterwards.
For an expected death that is not under the coroner’s control, a funeral director can usually arrange the collection once the death has been verified.
You do not normally have to register the death first.
You also do not have to have planned the funeral. Bringing someone into the funeral director’s care and deciding what kind of funeral to arrange are separate things.
If there is no clinical or other reason for an urgent collection, you can talk to your funeral director about timing.
That might mean later in the evening, during the night, first thing in the morning or after people close to the person have had time to visit.
Your funeral director should help you understand what is practically appropriate rather than creating unnecessary urgency.
The medical certification process now happens largely between the doctor, Medical Examiner and registrar. You do not usually need to collect a paper medical certificate yourself.
A doctor proposes the medical cause of death using the medical records and information about what happened.
Unless the coroner is investigating, an independent Medical Examiner reviews the proposed cause of death and may contact you to explain it or ask whether you have any concerns.
Once the Medical Examiner process is complete, the information is sent to the registrar. You will be told when registration can take place.
If the death was sudden, unexplained or not anticipated, do not arrange for your chosen funeral director to collect the person from the house yourself. Call 999. The emergency services will assess what has happened and the death may be referred to the coroner.
Tell the call handler what has happened and follow the instructions you are given. If there may still be an opportunity for emergency treatment, the response may include attempts at resuscitation.
Follow the instructions from the 999 call handler and avoid moving the person or changing the surroundings unless you are told to.
Police often attend sudden or unexpected deaths at home in London. Their presence does not by itself mean anybody is suspected of wrongdoing.
The coroner investigates deaths where the cause is unknown or where the circumstances require an independent investigation.
If the coroner takes responsibility for investigating the death, they may arrange for a funeral director to collect the person from home and take them to a public mortuary.
The coroner then decides whether medical information is enough, whether a post-mortem examination is needed and whether there needs to be an inquest.
The police or coroner may arrange for a funeral director to collect the person who has died and take them to a public mortuary. That funeral director is acting on the coroner’s instructions.
The fact that a funeral director collected the person for the coroner does not mean you have appointed them to arrange the funeral. You remain free to choose whichever funeral director you want.
You do not have to wait for the person to be released from the coroner’s care before speaking to or appointing the funeral director you actually want.
Once the coroner authorises release, your chosen funeral director can liaise with the public mortuary, collect the person who has died and bring them into their care.
We are building detailed practical guides to London public mortuaries because the coroner process can otherwise be difficult to understand.
Guidance on the Inner South London Coroner, post-mortems, release, registration, inquests, seeing the person who died and choosing a funeral director.
Greenwich Public Mortuary: what happens next →Guidance on the Inner West London Coroner, post-mortems, release, registration, inquests, seeing the person who died and choosing a funeral director.
Westminster Public Mortuary: what happens next →No.
The coroner considers the circumstances and available medical information before deciding whether a post-mortem is necessary.
If one is needed, a pathologist examines the person who died to help establish the medical cause of death.
Sometimes further tests, including toxicology, are required before all the results are available.
Usually not.
An inquest can take place considerably later. Once the examinations requiring the person who died to remain in the coroner’s care have been completed, the coroner can normally authorise release for burial or cremation.
The investigation can then continue afterwards.
You do not have to use the funeral director who carried out the initial collection on behalf of the coroner.
You can contact another funeral director, ask questions, request an estimate and appoint them while the coroner’s investigation is still underway.
Your chosen funeral director can then be ready to arrange the collection from the public mortuary as soon as release is authorised.
You can start talking about cremation, burial, natural burial, venues, ceremonies, coffins and costs before the person has been released.
It is sensible not to confirm a funeral date until the likely release timetable is clearer.
Poetic Endings is an independent funeral director based in Forest Hill, arranging funerals throughout London.
If someone has died an expected death at home, you can call us once the death has been verified — or sooner if you simply need help understanding what is going to happen.
Our telephone line is answered 24 hours a day. That does not mean someone has to be collected during the night. Sometimes the most useful thing we can do is explain that there is time.
If the death is being investigated by the coroner, you can still appoint us while that investigation is taking place. We can then liaise with the public mortuary and collect the person once release has been authorised.
You do not need to have decided what kind of funeral you want before getting in touch.
These official sources explain emergency help, registration and what happens when the coroner becomes involved.
For an expected death outside GP hours where there is no specific palliative-care service to contact.
NHS 111 →Government information about registration, certificates and practical steps following a death.
GOV.UK →Government guidance on coroner investigations, post-mortems, release and inquests.
Coroner guidance →These answers cover both expected and unexpected deaths at home.
If the death was expected, contact the GP, community nursing or palliative-care service responsible for the person, or NHS 111 outside normal hours if there is no specific service to call. A healthcare professional will need to verify the death. If the death was sudden or unexpected, call 999.
If the death was expected, follow the out-of-hours instructions in the person’s care plan if there are any. Otherwise contact NHS 111. The death will normally need to be verified before a funeral director can collect the person who has died.
Yes. Funeral directors can arrange collections outside normal office hours. For an expected death, the death will normally need to have been verified first. There is not necessarily any need for the collection to happen immediately.
No. After an expected death has been verified, there is often no need for an immediate collection. You may want some time with the person who has died before they leave home.
After an expected death has been verified, it may be possible for the person to remain at home for a while rather than being collected immediately. Keep the room reasonably cool and follow any practical advice given by the healthcare professional who verifies the death.
After an expected death and once the necessary clinical steps have happened, there is often time for people close to the person who died to come to the house if that is what you want.
Call 999 if the death was sudden or unexpected, if you are unsure whether the person has died, or if emergency treatment may still be possible. If the death was expected as part of planned end-of-life care, use the healthcare contacts you have been given, the GP or NHS 111.
A suitably trained healthcare professional confirms that the person has died. Depending on local arrangements, this may be a doctor, community nurse, palliative-care nurse or another appropriately trained clinician.
Yes. For an expected death that is not under the coroner’s control, a funeral director can usually collect the person after verification. Registration happens afterwards.
If the coroner takes responsibility for investigating the death, the police or coroner may arrange for a funeral director to collect the person and take them to a public mortuary. That funeral director is acting for the coroner and does not automatically become your chosen funeral director.
Police attendance is normal after many sudden or unexpected deaths. Their role is to establish the circumstances and provide information to the coroner. Their presence does not by itself mean anyone is suspected of wrongdoing.
No. A funeral director carrying out a collection for the coroner is acting on the coroner’s instructions. You remain free to choose whichever funeral director you want to arrange the funeral.
No. The coroner reviews the circumstances and available medical information before deciding whether a post-mortem is necessary.
Usually not. Once the examinations requiring the person to remain in the coroner’s care have been completed, the coroner can normally authorise release for burial or cremation.
Yes. You can speak to and appoint a funeral director before the Medical Examiner process, registration or coroner investigation has finished.
Yes. We arrange collections from homes throughout London. For an expected death, once the death has been verified and no coroner restriction applies, we can arrange to bring the person who died into our care at our Forest Hill funeral home.
Yes. Our telephone line is answered 24 hours a day on 020 4525 8318. You can call if you need help understanding what happens next, even if you have not decided whether you would like us to arrange the funeral.
Louise is the founder and a funeral director at Poetic Endings in Forest Hill. She has extensive practical experience arranging collections following deaths at home and helping people navigate verification, Medical Examiner and coroner processes across London.
A former editor of the Good Funeral Guide, she co-founded Life. Death. Whatever. and co-wrote We All Know How This Ends, published by Bloomsbury.
Reviewed November 2026 · About Louise and Poetic Endings →
You can call us even if you are not sure what needs to happen next.
Our telephone line is answered 24 hours a day. You do not need to have decided what kind of funeral you want, and after an expected death you do not need to have the person collected before you are ready.
Information checked 7 November 2026 against current NHS, NHS England and GOV.UK guidance on expected and unexpected deaths at home, verification of death, the Medical Examiner system, registration and coroner investigations. Poetic Endings provides funeral services and is not an emergency medical service. If a death is sudden or unexpected, or you are unsure whether the person has died, call 999.