Introduction
This policy deals only with deaths occurring outside normal working hours. For this policy ‘outside normal working hours’ is defined as between 16.00 and 08.00 hours Monday to Friday, and all day Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays.
When the death of a patient occurs outside normal working hours and early release of the body of the deceased is requested by the Next of Kin, the Trust is committed to facilitate this procedure wherever possible. Out of normal working hours it is the responsibility of the Clinical Site Nurse Practitioner (CSNP)/Site Co-ordinator to ensure that this procedure is followed. It is not the Trust’s policy to encourage early removal of a patient for purely personal reasons.
Out of hours, all communication, relating to the early release of the body, with the deceased’s Next of Kin, the Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths and Coroner’s Officers should be carried out by the CSNP/Site Co-ordinator.
Policy Details
| Download: | PDF version |
| Compiled by: | Alison Allan, Bereavement Officer |
| Ratified by: | Trust Executive Committee |
| Date Ratified: | March 2017 |
| Date Issued: | March 2017 |
| Review Date: | March 2020 |
| Target Audience: | All staff |
| Contact name: | Alison Allan, Bereavement Officer |
See also:
- Policy and Procedure for the Early Release of a Baby
- Care of the Bereaved Guidelines for Best Practice
- Statement of Practice Admission and Release of bodies at Ashford and St Peters Mortuary
- Guidelines for Using the Interpreting Service