Sudden death in the home:

dealing with the aftermath

25 March 2014

CIH Scotland Office

DEALING WITH SUDDEN

DEATH AT HOME

Olive Bain

Housing Support Manager

DEATH AT HOME

• What should happen when someone

is found dead at home?

• Who should be notified?

• What procedures need to be

followed?

DEATH AT HOME

• Treat all sudden deaths as suspicious

• Where there are obvious signs of

suspicious circumstances keep the

area free

• If family are in the house try to keep

calm and get appropriate information.

DEATH AT HOME

• Who needs to be contacted?

• The Emergency Services: ambulance

and police if necessary

• The GP in order to certify death before

the body can be moved

• Line manager to check what other

services are involved.

DEATH AT HOME

• what should happen if:-

• the person receives service from

a registered service

• Inform Care Inspectorate (if you are

the one who found them)

• Write up serious incident report for

Chief Executive.

DEATH AT HOME

• The property is not fit for relet?

• Organise a house clean. (if needs be

liaise with Police)

• Allow family time to deal with removing

personal effects etc. Usually 2 weeks

this can be extended in extreme

circumstances.

DEATH AT HOME

• If there is no family. • The nominated person should gather relevant

information and inform the Council staff at

Mortonhall Crematorium of a possible

Indigent Dead Funeral?

• Who is the nominated person?

• Police

• Social worker

• Relative of the deceased

• Neighbour

• Family friend

DEATH AT HOME

• What will staff at Mortonhall do?

• The Mortuary Assistants will remove

the body if no other plans have been

made.

• There will be a search for family

• If none they will organise a funeral

DEATH AT HOME

The Council has a legal duty

to arrange the burial or

cremation of anyone found

dead in their area

DEATH AT HOME

• the estate may well fall to the

Crown as Ultimus Haeres (UH)

and therefore becomes the

responsibility of the National UH

Unit for investigation and

subsequent reporting.

DEATH AT HOME

• If no relatives can be traced the Unit

will pass information regarding the

estate to the office of the Queen’s

and Lord Treasurer’s

Remembrancer (QLTR) who will

administer any estate which has

fallen to the Crown

DEATH AT HOME

• Questions

Sudden death in the home-dealing

with the aftermath

25th May 2014

presented by Carrie Fordham

Business Development Manager

Slide 14

Purpose of today's meeting • Discuss the what we find when dealing with this sensitive issue

• Discuss what we do in this situation

• Discuss how we can help

what we find when dealing with this

sensitive issue

Discuss what SitexOrbis do in this

situation

Discuss how we can help

What happens next?

Question & Answer Session

Can i ask what you got out from todays session?

Supporting bereaved people in Scotland since 2002

John Birrell Accredited Trainer

Supporting bereaved people in Scotland since 2002

• About CBCS • About CBCS services • Sudden death in the home • Support for the family • Support for the staff • Training available

About CBCS

• Established in England in 1958

• First Scottish branch 1960s

• Scottish service devolved from UK in 2002

• Registered Scottish charity

• Company limited by guarantee

• 22 community based teams across 10 regions

• 333 volunteers; 3 w/t and 7 p/t staff

About CBCS services

• Phoneline – over 12,000 calls per year

• Literature – range of publications

• One-off sessions and drop-in groups

• Grief Assessment – those identified “at risk”

• One-to-One Support - 7,500 hours per year

• Support for bereaved children and young people

Sudden death at home

Infrequent

Traumatic

Aftermath

Deaths in hospital

Within 6 hours of a death most people will be back home

When Someone Has Died information for you

• Tell close family and friends • Collect the death certificate • Register the death • Start to think about the funeral • Look for the person’s will

Sharing the story

1. Accept the reality of what has happened

2. Experience the pain

Guidelines

• Listen to the stories

• Use person’s name

• Allow people time

• No right and wrong way to grieve

• Practical help can be good

• Resist platitudes

• Offer literature

Risk awareness

• Accidents

• Alcohol / Drugs

• Driving

• Eating

• Illness

• Nightmares

• Sleeping

• Suicidal

Resources

Cruse: 0845 600 2227

- www.crusescotland.org.uk

NHS Inform

- www.nhsinform.co.uk/bereavement

Leaflets:

Living through Loss

We’re sorry to hear

Time with the children

Consider a grief box

Looking after ourselves

Training

E-learning on Loss and Bereavement for NHS Scotland

Validated courses in Bereavement Care

Bespoke workshops for staff at all levels

Thank You

www.crusescotland.org.uk

admin@crusescotland.org.uk

0845 600 2227