First of all, let us all at Agnee Funeral Services, express our sincere condolences to you and the family.
Here we will chat about what needs to happen immediately when someone has died at home and what will follow.
The advice given here is general and from our experience. Only some of it may apply in your current situation.
The possible scenarios of your loved ones’ death are:
1. A natural death due to old age or sickness.
2. Death by Accident.
3. Death by Suicide or Murder.
Please see the specific columns below,
Died at Home due to Old Age and/or Sickness.
As a loved one, you may have seen the steady decline in the health of the recently deceased and may have been mentally preparing yourself for this day for a while.
You will need to now call the following people:
• The doctor of the person who has passed away.
• The palliative care providers
• The Ambulance on 000.
Once the doctors/medical staff are there, they will go through various mandatory checks to ensure that the person, has indeed passed away.
This process can be quite confronting, so our advice is for you and the family to step away from the room and let the Medical professionals do their job.
While the checks are happening, please call Agnee Funeral Services on 0466132000 so that we can start the process of transferring and transporting the late loved one into our care.
Once the Medical Professionals have done what they need to, you will be left with either of the following forms:
• Life Extinct Form (LX)
• Verification of Death Form (VOD)
We the Funeral Directors at Agnee Funeral Services will need these forms in order to proceed with our tasks of transferring the body into our care.
Died at Home by Accident or Misadventure.
Unfortunately, you or another person in the household may have made discovered the body of your loved one.
You may be dealing with a range of emotions at the moment and we are sorry about this.
Here is what you need to do:
Call the Police on 000 Immediately.
Explain as best on the phone what has happened, wait for their instructions, and follow them.
Once the Police arrive and have finished their work, here are the possible scenarios that may present:
• The Police have doubts in their mind about the cause of death, they will now refer the Body and Matter to the Coroner.
• If the loved one is going to the Coroner, the Police will arrange transfer and transport of the loved one to the Coroners where the cause of death will be investigated.
• If the Police find nothing suspicious, they will advise you and call in medical staff who will leave you documentation.
Once the medical staff has finished with their processes, please call Agnee Funeral Services on 0466132000 and we shall guide you with the next steps.
Died at Home by Suicide or Murder.
We at Agnee Funerals are so sorry that you have had to find your loved one this way.
Here is what you need to do:
Call the Police on 000 Immediately.
Explain as best on the phone what has happened, wait for their instructions, and follow them.
Once the Police arrive and have finished their work, this is what will happen.
Your loved one will be taken to the NSW Coroner for Investigation and Post Mortem.
The Police will arrange and handle the complexities of the transfer at this moment.
Once the Police have left the premises, please give Agnee Funeral Services a call on 0466132000.
We have dealt extensively with the NSW Coroner’s Office and will take on matters with them and will try and get a resolution for you as soon as we can.
Please be mindful that in cases such as this, there will be quite a length of time, until we can proceed with the funeral arrangements.