Verifying and certifying the death

Even where it is obvious a person has died, a doctor or qualified healthcare professional must formally verify the death, and the body should not be moved from the home until that is done.

For an expected death, contact the GP who attended your loved one during their final illness — or, in palliative care, the attending nurse may be qualified to verify. Out of hours (roughly 6.30pm–8am on weekdays, weekends and bank holidays), the GP surgery's answerphone or NHS 111 will route you to the out-of-hours doctor. Keep a pen and paper by you when you call.

Hospital staff verify the death and contact the next of kin if they are not present. You may ask for the hospital chaplain at any point. The hospital will tell you whether the death must be referred to the coroner; if not, the medical certificate is issued as soon as possible by the GP or a hospital doctor who treated them.

The body rests in the hospital mortuary until the next of kin has permission to take it — usually collected by the masjid's funeral service or a funeral director, into their care until the funeral.

• The Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) — signed by the doctor, often in a sealed envelope, to be taken to the register office for the district where the death occurred.
• A formal notice — confirming the certificate has been signed, explaining who may register the death and what information the registrar needs.

Out-of-hours deaths can delay the certificate. Ask the GP or hospital bereavement office directly about timing, and say clearly that the family needs a quick burial for religious reasons.

Where a person dies of a contagious disease, the conduct of the ghusl, janazah and burial is settled in consultation with the health authorities and scholars, and the family advised accordingly. Your masjid and cemetery will know the current guidance.