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Adelaide Fringe, 2018 |
Death in the Hospital
In all honesty, it is easier on the loved ones if the deceased takes their final breath in the hospital. The necessary paperwork would be conducted with their assistance, including the issuance of an official death certificate.
That's when the postmortem comes into play.
At this stage, the next of kin (usually the spouse or registered emergency contact) would be notified. That way, they can arrange for a mortician to schedule a wake service and/or a direct cremation.
The body is usually released once the postmortem has been completed (provided the cause of death isn't suspicious), but is subjected to the signing of the release forms and the identification of the deceased.
(P.S. My memory of the process of claiming the body from the hospital is rather fuzzy. It's been years since I last dealt with this.)
The mortician would then bring the body back to the funeral home for cosmetic preparation before the wake service.
This is why one should always be prepared for their last rites. If it is expressed in a legal document, it's even better because no one can question it... and the next of kin wouldn't need to run around like a headless chicken.
The moment the services of the funeral home is engaged, the funeral director would ask for instructions on how the deceased's remains are to be handled—whether there would be a wake service or not, and if the deceased would be laid to rest or cremated. If the family is unsure of how to approach the matter, the mortician would also advise on the best course forward, taking into consideration their financial, moral, and religious situation.
Death Out of the Hospital
Depending on where the deceased was found, the process could differ slightly. It'd be best to err on the side of caution and do your own due diligence.
For the purposes of this post, I'll be discussing this from the context of them dying at home.
The next of kin's first port of call would be to call the emergency responders (your country's equivalent of 911), informing them of the death. They would then dispatch the EMTs to the said location to further assist with the situation. At the same time, the first responder would guide you on the use of the AED defibrillator or perform CPR over the phone.
The EMTs have a duty to ask whether the family would want to continue the resuscitation and inform them of the consequences spanning from that—including the possibility of blood bleeding from the eyes, nose, and mouth. The pooling of blood, you would say.
Once the mobile electrocardiogram machine confirms that the deceased no longer has a heartbeat, a representative would have to head to the nearest police station to apply for a burial permit and engage the services of a funeral home. (The body would need to be handled soonest possible due to rigor mortis, hence the urgency.)
Because the investigating officer would need to verify the death (as required by law), the scene where the body was found would need to be secured. That is, until the police issue the burial permit.
The police in charge would then receive the oral report and draft it into an official one for you to verify and sign. After that, the report would be given to the sergeant in charge to sign off (after they have been satisfied with the details) before it is forwarded to the headquarters.
Once the headquarters okays the report, the burial permit is then issued and given to the informant, giving them permission to move the body.
For this, expect to spend hours waiting at the precinct.
(P.S.S. Depending on the nature of death and age of the deceased, the police might also request that a postmortem be conducted. The sergeant in charge would contact the informant directly with the updates if further documents/procedures are needed.)
The permit allows the funeral home to transport the body for the cosmetic procedure, getting ready for the wake service, or the cremation (as per the family's wishes).
When it comes to death, there's so much paperwork to be dealt with, so this is actually not the end of it.
