Bereavement and Medical Examiner Service

Stoke Mandeville & Wycombe hospital

Families are asked to contact SMH bereavement office on 01296 316646 after 11am the working day following the death.

Bereavement office staff will guide families through the next steps.

They will contact the medical team to request that they complete a Medical Cause of Death Certificate (MCCD) or make a coroner’s referral if applicable. The reasons for this will be discussed with you.

The MCCD, once written, is emailed to the Buckinghamshire Registration Office by the bereavement office team. There is no requirement for families to attend the bereavement office.

The bereavement office staff will explain the process of registering a death which is done in person at a Buckinghamshire Registry Office (situated in Aylesbury and Beaconsfield).

If families are present on the ward at the time of the death, they are encouraged to take all property home with them. Any remaining property will go with the deceased to the SMH hospital mortuary and be collected by the appointed funeral directors then handed on to family at a later date.

We can offer a bereavement support call and onward referral if required. Please let the bereavement office team know when you speak to them.

Community Hospitals (Amersham & Buckingham) & Florence Nightingale Hospice

Families will be advised who they need to contact, and the individual process involved, according to where the patient has died. This will follow a similar pattern to above but will mainly be dealt with by the ward teams as opposed to the bereavement office.

GP practices are made aware of a patient’s death by families, community health or social care professionals or ambulance staff.

Relatives should contact their GP surgery to discuss next steps.

An appropriate GP will either complete a Medical Cause of Death Certificate (MCCD) or make a coroner’s referral if applicable. The reasons for this will be discussed with you.

The MCCD, once written, is emailed to the Buckinghamshire Registration Office by the practice team. They will explain the process of registering a death which is done in person at a Buckinghamshire Registry office.

All teams involved in bereavement processes understand that urgent release of the body may be required for faith/cultural reasons. We will make every effort to avoid any delays and enable prompt death registration and body release.