UK funeral directors are warning of long delays between deaths and funerals, thanks to pressure on the system, an article in the Daily Telegraph set out.

Speaking to reporter Antonia Hoyle, Jackie Sewell related how she had faced a month-long wait to get the death certificate she needed in order for the funeral to go ahead. Her father, Kenneth, died at 93 of dementia in Hampshire.

Without the death certificate, the funeral home could not embalm his body, which as to go into cold storage. Jackie described the process of waiting as unfair on both the living and the person who had passed away.

Average time 22 days

In years gone by, the typical wait for a loved one dying to being buried or cremated was between one and two weeks, but the average time is now 22 days. Deborah Smith of the National Association of Funeral Directors, told the Telegraph that in some parts of he UK, the wait is much longer, with some families being forced to wait five weeks or more.

Excessive deaths are being blamed for the pressure on the system. The Office for National Statistics revealed that hundreds more people are dying every week in England and Wales, with excess deaths caused in part by Covid and illnesses that might have gone unchecked or untreated during the pandemic. The recent heatwave also appears to have caused a spike in death rates.

Another issue is staff shortages, which have led to delays in bodies being released by coroners and deaths being registered by the authorities. The 2020 Coronavirus Act allowed the digital transmission of forms and for people to register a death without needed to attend the office in person to pick up a paper copy of the certificate. When the Act expired in March this year, the old system returned, contributing to the delays.

‘Cruel’ system

Ms Smith said she thought it “cruel” that people were being forced to navigate a paper-based appointment system that had been designed more than a century ago, and that delays i8n holding funerals were very distressing for families.

In England and Wales, unless a coroner is involved, appointments should be made within five days to register a death. A doctor’s certificate that states the cause of death is needed.

When Jackie Sewell’s father died, the care home contacted Co-op funeral services, whose representative picked up the paperwork from her father’s GP. However, when the funeral care representative tried to contact the local register offices, she found that the first available appointment was a month later.

Government cuts and pandemic pressure

A spokesperson from Hampshire County Council told the Telegraph that registration services across the country had “experienced unprecedented demand” in the first three months of 2022, which followed on from two years of pressure caused by the pandemic.

An additional factor was the higher number of people wishing to get married, following on from the lifting of Covid restrictions on weddings, the move back to in-person appointments and high levels of staff sickness because of Covid 19.

There is currently a shortage of burial plots in England too, due to the rising population. A study in 2013 found that a quarter of England’s councils expect the cemeteries they manage to be full by 2023. Cemeteries in Manchester and the Lambeth area of London were mentioned in the article as having particularly high demand for plots.

Government budget cuts and staff shortages were blamed.

The PHFIS is intended as a guide for local authorities and hospitals who deal with public health funerals. If you would like to learn more about the PHFIS or require assistance, you can visit our website here.  Alternatively, you can telephone: +44(0) 20 7490 4935 or email: [email protected]