What happens when someone dies in a care home? Next steps for families

When a parent dies in a care home, you may be at their bedside or get the news by phone from a nurse or manager you know well, and it can be difficult to think clearly about what happens next.

The home has a set procedure for the first few hours, and your parent stays in their room until a funeral director arrives. After that, it is you who registers the death, arranges the funeral, clears the room and settles the final invoice.

This article explains each stage in the order it happens and who handles what.

What happens immediately after someone dies in a care home?

Staff verify the death, contact the next of kin, and care for the resident until a funeral director arrives. If someone expected the death, emergency services do not attend.

A nurse, GP, paramedic, or trained senior carer can verify that death has occurred. A doctor separately certifies the cause of death. If the next of kin is absent, staff phone them as soon as possible. The family can sit with the resident before anyone else arrives, if desired.

The home follows any faith or cultural wishes in the care plan. Muslim and Jewish families often require burial within 24 hours, so the home can ask the GP surgery or out-of-hours service to prioritise the certificate. Families can request a chaplain, imam, or rabbi by informing the manager.

Staff also notify the regulator: the Care Quality Commission in England, the Care Inspectorate in Wales, the Care Inspectorate in Scotland, or the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) in Northern Ireland.

Expected death in a care home

An expected death occurs when a resident has a recognised terminal or advanced condition and an anticipatory care plan, often with a DNACPR form. Staff contact the GP surgery or out-of-hours service, verify the death, and then call the next of kin (they do not call 999). Everything else can wait until the next working day.

Unexpected death in a care home

If a resident dies suddenly, after a fall or injury, or when the cause of death is not clear, staff call 999. Paramedics attend, and police may also be present. Someone then reports the death to the coroner (the Procurator Fiscal in Scotland). A hospital mortuary may take your parent instead of a funeral director collecting them.

Who confirms the cause of death?

A doctor who treated the resident completes the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD).

In England and Wales, a medical examiner, a senior doctor independent of the resident’s care, reviews the records before the certificate goes to the register office. The examiner’s office phones the next of kin first, giving the family an opportunity to ask about the cause of death or raise any concerns about care.

In Scotland, the doctor sends the MCCD to National Records of Scotland, and the Death Certification Review Service randomly selects around one in eight for review. Reviews usually take one to three working days; if the funeral is urgent, families can ask about advance registration. In Northern Ireland, the attending doctor issues the certificate and no review stage takes place.

If the cause of death is unknown, sudden, or violent, followed an accident such as a fall, or if no doctor treated the resident during their final illness, the coroner or procurator fiscal investigates the case. This does not mean anyone suspects wrongdoing, but they have paused registration until they release the paperwork, and they may need a post-mortem examination.

Who collects the body when someone dies in a care home?

Once a doctor or nurse confirms the death and a funeral director is chosen, the funeral director can collect the resident from the care home, usually within a few hours. The home does not arrange this, and the NHS is not involved. If no funeral director has been chosen, the home can keep the resident in their room for a short time or suggest a local funeral director.

If a coroner is involved, staff take the resident to a mortuary after verification, and the funeral director collects the resident once the coroner grants release. Families should appoint a funeral director straight away; most funeral directors will communicate with the coroner’s office on the family’s behalf.

Who registers a death in a care home?

A close relative usually registers the death. If no relative can, the registrar will accept someone present at the death, the care home manager as occupier of the premises, or the person arranging the funeral. A funeral director cannot register on your behalf.

The process for registering a death is as follows:

Nation	Time limit	Where to register
England and Wales	Five days from the date the registrar receives the certificate from the medical examiner	Register office for the district where the death happened
Scotland	Eight days from the date of death	Any registration office in Scotland
Northern Ireland	Five days from the date of death	Any district registrar’s office

The limits include weekends and bank holidays. Missing the deadline is technically an offence, but The time limit includes weekends and bank holidays. Missing the deadline is technically an offence, but registrars are understanding if you inform them in advance. If a coroner or procurator fiscal is involved, the time limit starts only when they release the death for registration.

Take what you can find of the following:

• your parent’s full name and any previous names
• date and place of birth
• last address and occupation
• NHS number
• details of their marriage or civil partnership
• birth and marriage certificates (these help but are not essential)

Appointments take 30 to 45 minutes. You will leave with a certificate for burial or cremation (the green form in England and Wales). The funeral director needs this before the funeral can proceed. Registrars all want originals, so buy three to six certified copies of the death certificate at the appointment. In England, Wales and Scotland, the registrar will also give you a Tell Us Once reference number.

What should the family do next?

Appoint a funeral director and register the death first:

1. Contact a funeral director; they will bring your parent into their care, reserve a funeral date and explain costs.
2. Register the death once the medical examiner’s office or the registrar confirms the certificate has arrived.
3. Arrange the funeral, checking first whether your parent left written wishes or a prepaid plan.
4. Use Tell Us Once within 28 days of registering the death. It reports the death to the DWP, HMRC, the DVLA, the Passport Office and the council. It covers England, Wales and Scotland; in Northern Ireland you contact each department yourself, starting with the Bereavement Service helpline.
5. Notify banks, insurers, private pension providers and utility companies (Tell Us Once does not cover these).
6. Find the will, identify the executor and check whether probate is needed. GOV.UK has a step-by-step guide to what to do after a death, and Age UK’s checklist is a gentler read.
7. Ask for help if you need it. Cruse Bereavement Support runs a free helpline.

What happens to care home fees after someone dies?

The home can keep charging for a few days after death while it clears the room, then fees stop. Three days is common; up to 10 is sometimes justified, but check the contract before paying any final invoice.

The Competition and Markets Authority’s consumer law advice for care homes says charging for long periods after death is likely to be unfair. However, some contracts still specify a month or more. Compare the invoice against the contract line by line and query anything that does not match.

The estate refunds fees paid in advance. NHS-funded nursing care and local authority contributions end on or shortly after the date of death, and you must settle any deferred payment agreement with the council, normally within 90 days.

Any unpaid fees are paid from the estate. You only owe them yourself if you signed as guarantor or agreed a third-party top-up.

What happens to their belongings?

You will usually have one to two weeks to clear the room, and most homes will give you longer if you give them notice, although charges may continue in the meantime.

The home should hold an inventory of your parent’s possessions, including anything in the office safe. Ask for a copy and check it against what you pack. Money in a resident’s account, jewellery and other valuables are normally released to the executor or the person named on the home’s records. Before you hand back the key, check the drawers for photographs and paperwork.

What if you have concerns about the death or the care given?

Any questions you have about the cause of death are for the medical examiner or coroner. In England and Wales, the medical examiner’s call is your opportunity to question the cause with a doctor who was not involved in the care. They can then refer the death to a coroner if what you describe warrants it. In Scotland, you can ask the Death Certification Review Service for an interested person review within three years of the death.

Report suspected neglect or an unexplained injury to the police or the council’s adult safeguarding team straight away; don’t wait for the home’s complaints process.

Send complaints about the quality of care to the manager first, in writing. If that does not resolve them, escalate to the regulator and, in England, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. Write down dates, names and what you observed while it is fresh in your mind, as both bodies investigate specific incidents rather than general impressions.