General Chat

Update:

I have a meeting with the CID officer in charge of the case Saturday morning.
The Coroner remains a mine of no information beyond telling the undertaker that no, he won't be releasing the body any time soon and no, he cannot give a funeral date to pencil in.

As a family we have been lucky to have experienced very few early deaths and even the oldies go on and on and on .... so we don't have much of a fund of experience. Where that experience does exist it is too tender to ask.

Patience is not something I have much of when dealing with bureaucracies so the advice and history posted here have been very helpful. Thank you.

I really hope that the CID officer can give you some information that will, at the very least, give you some answers to the dreadful situation that you find yourself in, Rollo.
You may then understand why there is a delay in being able to offer you a provisional funeral date

<3

Curiouser & Curiouser. Let’s hope you can get some sort of answer. If you’re told that what they discuss with you is confidential, just say something to that effect on the thread & we won’t pry.

You can be reassured that everyone is supporting you. After all, disagreements aside, you’re ‘one of us’ & we ‘look after our own’.

Rollo, not too long to wait now until your meeting with the CID. I really hope that you will be given the answers needed. It seems to have been a very long and lonely road that you have been forced to travel.
I hope that the circumstances surrounding your Mother's passing will become clearer sooner rather than later. Remember to take good care of yourself at this stressful time

Thinking of you today Rollo, hope things become clearer today. Take care, we're all with you.

Rollo I have only just logged on and read about your mother. I have often read your posts where you have mentioned her. To me she sounded a brave formidable and strong lady. I hope that you can get the current situation resolved soon. I wonder what she would have made of it?

Stay strong.

update:

I saw the case officer this morning. She was friendly but quite properly kept her cards close. The CID are aware of the issue of a possible incorrect application of morphine as an important factor. The medics want to declare "pneumonia" as cause of death. I saw her a few hours before she died when she was breathing normally without oxygen etc and no obvious symptoms of pneumonia.

Signed off my statement and that was that.

Thanks for letting us know.

This is all very painful for you but at least it has moved on and you now know at least something.

Thanks for the update. At least you know (roughly) what the problem is.

Thank you for the update, Rollo.

At least you now know what they are looking at, although it may not make it much easier for you.

Rollo, many thanks for the update. You have so much to think about. I hope that this will be resolved before very long. Remember to try to relax if you can.

Thank you for keeping us updated as we are concerned about you. I know the waiting is hard but there's nothing you can do at the moment. It's frustrating but look after yourself.

The waiting must be so hard but hopefully someone will now at least keep you "in the loop" and you now have some idea of the reason for the delay. Try not to get too tense about it (silly thing to say I know) and relax as much as you can. You have lots of support on here <3

Update:

I have lodged a formal complaint against the NHS.
The police are interviewing a list of people under caution. I have no idea who, when or how many.
The police say that the NHS wants to file "pneumonia" as cause of death.
I still have no updated information from the Coroner or interim death cert.. Maybe there are good reasons for keeping people in the dark about their rellie's demise but I am slow on catching on. As I am not a suspect (yet) it looks like rocking the boat is not seen as helpful.

It is not much fun folding my mother's tents she was a real collector.

Incredibly frustrating for you when you 'want to move on'. Have you tried to contact the Coroners office again for an interim certificate?
CID certainly aren't going to tell you who they've interviewed. Anyone with less restraint might track down & confront the individuals.
The system is working to a certain extent. Someone somewhere made sure that a post mortem was done, rather than accept the preferred Pneumonia.

If you haven't already, contact DWP and other pension providers to let them know what's happened. Also the Council to tell them her home is unoccupied as they may be willing to suspend Council Tax payments. Be upfront over how frequently or long you're sleeping there, if that is the case.

Don't be too quick to dispose of her collections. The resale value, even if you think they are junk, will count towards her estate's Probate value. You could collect together her jewellery, if she hadn't already given it away, and contact a Jeweller for a valuation for Probate purposes. They usually make a charge - keep the receipt to offset against her Estate.
Do the same with anything else that you think might have 'value' either at an Auctioneer's or Antique shop. You may be surprised - something I'd thought was fit only for a Skip was sold at auction for £80. Small beer but it can all add up.

Presumably you have POA? What ever you do, don't spend money out of her accounts. Your authority to act on her behalf become null and void once she died.

Some of this may help you

https://www.gov.uk/after-a-death

***The system is working to a certain extent. Someone somewhere made sure that a post mortem was done, rather than accept the preferred Pneumonia.****



All hospitals are lawfully bound to inform the coroners office when someone who a doctor hasnt treated in the last 28 days dies under his/her care
.
**So not a case of just soneone making sure**.
.
A Care Home//in police custody or care comes under the same stringent law.

it is the coroners decision and his alone if a PM will take place on the medical records submitted by the hospital from the doctor in-charge or any further investigation is required ,these medicals are gone over with a fine tooth comb.

A death certificate is very rarelly filled out with just one cause of death. the last cause is always entered first.

Someone may die of Sepis causing heart failure so heart failure will be the primary cause.

All coroners have a duty officer who can be anyone from an assigned police officer to a magistrate or bus driver who has no vested interest to either party and the coroner is often from another area for the same reasons.

I think it's only true that the last cause is always entered first in the kind of cause you wrote of.

As luck would have it, I am entering details onto my family tree from death certificates at the moment and I have in front of me a DC of a very close relative and there are four things listed: two things under 1 and two under 2 (1 a and b and 2 a and b).

The two items listed under 1 COULD BE connected to each other but the physician has not made a connection, and has listed them separately. The two listed under 2 are neither connected to each other nor to any of 1.

Another DC I have gives two causes - one primary and one secondary. Clearly, the secondary arose from the primary and the physician has declared that fact in the way he has listed them.


Rollo, I hope you are approaching the end of a nightmare time for you and your family. Everything you have done so far since your mother's demise seems to be in her interests. You have done the right thing.

Rollo, thinking about you and your family and all that your are facing in the weeks and the months ahead. I have ...... been tere.... done that.... not a very nice experience at all... Take good care of yourself right now. God bless.

Rollo, Just seen your post, I'm so sorry to hear your sad news and send my condolences to you and your family at this very difficult time, stay strong, and please look after yourself, God bless.