FOI request (FOIR-122903662)

Bereavement Services

Requested Wed 05 June 2019
Responded Tue 11 June 2019

The topic of bereavement and how organisations can support the bereaved after a death has always been a subject of real interest to me, and I also believe it is an area where further research could help both the bereavement community and society on a wider level support people going through this difficult time.

My research for this project is designed to provide insights into the type of support that the bereaved need following the death of a loved one, and help cremation and burial organisations understand how bereavement can change our behaviour and decision making in the time after the death.

I am therefore looking to find out from crematoria what contact is made with families before and after a cremation, and at what point in time this happens.

- What contact, if any, is made with the applicant before a cremation (if no contact is made, please also specify this)

- What this contact comprises and in what form it takes

- Is this a letter/email/telephone call/other?

- What is included in this contact - examples could include an information brochure or leaflets

- When this contact is made - specifically how many days before the cremation has happened

- What contact, if any, is made with the applicant following a cremation (if no contact is made, please also specify this)

- What this contact comprises and in what form it takes

- Is this a letter/email/telephone call/other?

- What is included in this contact - examples could include an information brochure or leaflets, client survey, or further information regarding memorial options

- When this contact is made - specifically how many days after the cremation has happened

Response

- What contact, if any, is made with the applicant before a cremation (if no contact is made, please also specify this)

If the service is being organised using a funeral director Hastings Borough Council rarely have a need to contact the applicant.  Some of the circumstances that we may need to include:

a. Checking the instructions given by the applicant for the cremated remains after the service. Sometimes they are unclear or something we cannot do. The regulations also state that we must take any changes for them in writing, which helpfully can be by email now.

b. If they want to view the cremation papers.

c. They want to view the facility e.g. the family is taking the service, which is becoming more common. Then we would book a time with them and speak with them directly.

- What this contact comprises and in what form it takes

- Is this a letter/email/telephone call/other?

- What is included in this contact - examples could include an information brochure or leaflets

Usually by email, telephone and face to face. We do not send leaflets/brochures unless we are specifically asked to.

- When this contact is made - specifically how many days before the cremation has happened

This varies according to the situation but usually between a week to a few days before.

- What contact, if any, is made with the applicant following a cremation (if no contact is made, please also specify this)

We only normally make contact if requested or invited to unless we need to check specific things like a change in the instructions for the ashes. For example, they have not been collected as expected.

Other circumstances include:

a. Arranging a scattering/interment and/or a memorial or the purchase of a grave space as requested by the applicant.

- What this contact comprises and in what form it takes

- Is this a letter/email/telephone call/other?

- What is included in this contact - examples could include an information brochure or leaflets, client survey, or further information regarding memorial options

This can be email, telephone, face to face or by letter.

- When this contact is made - specifically how many days after the cremation has happened

It varies according to the situation.