Death of a Person or Carer

Death of a person

If you are notified of a person's death by a carer or family member you should:

1. Offer the condolences of the Local Authority;
2. Provide reassurance that any services (including any Direct Payments) and, where applicable financial contributions will be ceased;
3. Provide any information or advice that may be required, or that may be beneficial; and
4. Establish any other appropriate support that you may be able to provide.

Information, advice and support could include:

1. Listening and allowing space to talk about the person who has died;
2. Talking through the impact of the death on their own needs;
3. Signposting to or supporting them to access appropriate support or bereavement counselling; or
4. Agreeing to notify other professionals or services of the person's death.

Death of a carer

If you are notified of a carer's death by a family member, or the person with Care and Support needs you should:

1. Offer the condolences of the Local Authority;
2. Provide reassurance that any carer's services (including any Direct Payments) and, where applicable financial contributions will be ceased;
3. Provide any information or advice that may be required, or that may be beneficial;  and
4. Confirm whether alternative care is in place to meet the eligible needs of the person that were being met by the deceased carer.

Death of a person

If you are notified of the person's death by a professional, or by a service provider you should make a record of the death and then consider the most appropriate time and way to contact a carer or family member in order to offer condolences and support.

Death of a carer

If you are notified of a carers death by a professional, or by a service provider you should make a record of the death and then:

1. Take steps to establish the impact of the carer's death on the person; and
2. Confirm whether the person's eligible Care and Support needs are being met; and
3. If not make arrangements to meet their needs.

You must make a record of the person's/carer's death on their electronic file, which should include:

1. The date that the person died;
2. The cause of death, where known;
3. How you were notified.

If a multidisciplinary approach to care and treatment was provided prior to the person's/carer's death you should take steps to notify other members of the MDT, unless:

1. They already know that the person/carer has died; or
2. A carer, family member, other professional or service provider intends to inform them.

MDT professionals could include:

1. A Community or District Nurse;
2. A Clinical Psychologist;
3. A Consultant Psychiatrist;
4. A GP;
5. A Speech and Language Therapist;
6. A Physiotherapist;
7. An Occupational Therapist;
8. A Dietician.

You should also notify relevant services or individuals, including:

1. Domiciliary or other care providers;
2. Day services;
3. Reablement;
4. Housing services;
5. Corporate Appointees or Deputies;
6. Advocacy services;
7. Transport services;
8. Anyone carrying out a safeguarding enquiry.

Notification can be in writing (e.g. e-mail) or via the telephone, depending on what is most appropriate.

The following information only should be disclosed, and should be done so with full regard for confidentiality:

1. The date that the person died;
2. The cause of death, where known;
3. How you were notified.

The Care Quality Commission

All services registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) must notify them of the death as soon as possible.

If this applies, check with the service provider to see that they have made the necessary notification. 

A failure to notify the CQC is an offence and the CQC can prosecute the registered person and/or take other regulatory action, including removal of registration.

If you have concerns about the service provider's actions, seek the advice and support of your Commissioning Team.

Ofsted

The Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 statutory guidance requires that local authorities should notify Ofsted of the death of any care leaver under the age of 25, where it is aware of their care leaver status. This is regardless of the circumstances of their death.  

Notifications should be made via the Child Safeguarding Incident Notification System.

LeDeR referrals

If the person that has died was a person with a learning disability (aged 4 years or over), the LeDeR programme should be notified so that a review can be carried out and any learning identified.

For more information and to make an online referral, see: Report the death of someone with a learning disability or an autistic person.

Government agencies

Relevant government agencies must be notified of the person/carer's death. This includes the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), HM Revenue and Customs, the DVLA and the Passport Office. Information about how to make these notifications using the ‘Tell Us Once’ service will be given to the individual that registers the death. 

The person/carer’s family or individual/organisation with legal responsibility for managing their finances and/or welfare should make the notification. The Local Authority should only assume this responsibility when it has registered the death or there are no other suitable individuals able to do so.

Unless it was a carer or family member that notified you of the person's death you should make appropriate contact with them to:

1. Offer the condolences of the Local Authority;
2. Provide reassurance that any services (including any Direct Payments) and, where applicable financial contributions have been ceased;
3. Provide any information or advice that may be required, or that may be beneficial; and
4. Establish any other appropriate support that you may be able to provide.

Information, advice and support could include:

1. Listening and allowing space to talk about the person who has died;
2. Talking through the impact of the death on their own needs;
3. Signposting to or supporting them to access appropriate support or bereavement counselling.
4. Agreeing to notify other professionals or services of the person's death.

Appropriate contact is the contact that would likely be most appreciated by the carer, and could be:

1. Swift contact;
2. Delayed contact;
3. Telephone contact;
4. Face to face contact;
5. E-mail contact.

If you are unclear about how or when to make contact with a carer you should seek the support of your line manager.

Where the Local Authority has been providing Support to a carer you should consider time limited monitoring arrangements to ensure that they have been able to access any help that they need.

Unless it was the person with Care and Support needs (or their representative) that notified you of the carer's death you should make appropriate contact with them to:

1. Offer the condolences of the Local Authority;
2. Provide reassurance that any carers services (including any Direct Payments) and, where applicable financial contributions have been ceased;
3. Provide any information or advice that may be required, or that may be beneficial; and
4. Confirm whether alternative care is in place to meet the eligible needs of the person that were being met by the deceased carer (see below).

If another informal carer is meeting the eligible needs of the person, and this appears sustainable you:

1. Do not need to take any further action in respect of meeting the eligible needs of the cared for person; but
2. You must offer any new carer an assessment of needs; and
3. You should consider holding a proportionate review in 6 weeks time, or making other monitoring arrangements to ensure that the new care arrangements are working as intended.

If the eligible needs of the person are not being met, are only being met short term or are being met inappropriately you must:

1. Carry out a full Care and Support Plan review; or
2. Carry out a proportionate reassessment; and
3. Consider the need to provide alternative interim or urgent support; and
4. Consider the need to raise a safeguarding concern.

If a financial assessment has previously been carried out you must notify the team responsible for managing contributions as soon as possible. This applies even if the financial contribution is zero.

It is their responsibility to make arrangements for any financial contributions taken since the time of death to be repaid to the estate.

If the person/carer was receiving a Direct Payment you must notify team responsible for managing Direct Payments as soon as possible after their death.

It is their responsibility to make arrangements for any Direct Payments paid since the time of the person/carer's death to be repaid.

You should not attend the funeral of a person or carer who has died without having sought prior consent from your line manager to do so.

Under normal circumstances it would not be appropriate for you to attend a funeral.

1. Funerals are private occasions for family and friends, and you are neither.
2. Attending a funeral can alter or blur the dimensions of your working relationship with an individual or family, making it more difficult to maintain professional boundaries in the future;
3. Your attendance could be intimidating or intrusive to some family members;
4. Information about a person's life that they had previously declined to disclose to you could be shared. This could present you with moral dilemmas around confidentiality and consent;
5. The impact of a funeral on your own emotional resilience could be greater than anticipated.

If all of the following exceptional circumstances apply your line manager could decide to agree your attendance at the funeral:

1. You have been specifically asked to attend the funeral by a person or carer; and
2. You knew the person or carer who has died for a significant period of time; and
3. Your attendance would be beneficial to a person or carer (as opposed to being for your own benefit); and
4. Your attendance would not be seen by any family member or person present as intrusive or intimidating; and
5. Your attendance will not have a negative impact on any on-going involvement you will/may have; and
6. You feel you will be able to maintain a professional position during the funeral.

Your attendance may also be agreed if the person or carer had:

1. No family or friends; or
2. Family and friends have made clear their intention not to attend the funeral.

If you attend a funeral you do so as a representative of the Local Authority and must maintain a professional position at all times in respect of your:

1. Appearance;
2. Communication; and
3. Behaviour.

It would not normally be appropriate for you to attend a wake.