SUMMARY: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN POPPY'S FUNERALS BRING SOMEONE INTO OUR CARE AFTER THEY HAVE DIED?
- When you give us a call, we will let you know when we’ll come to your home or location, and which team members will be attending the collection.
- If you call us between 8am - 8pm, we should be able to arrange a collection that day. If you call us outside of these hours, we’ll ask you to leave us a message and we’ll call you when the office opens to arrange bringing your person into our care.
- We will never rush you through a collection - even when the team has arrived, you can take all the time you need.
- We will call you to let you know when your person is safely in our care.
- You can be as involved in the process as you wish, or not at all. You can even follow us to our beautiful light-filled mortuary in Tooting and help us check your person in, if that’s right for you.
The questions we cover in this article:
- How does a client arrange a home collection?
- Do you need to have spoken to Poppy’s before you call us to ask us to bring someone into our care?
- How long will it take for you to come?
- What about if the person has died outside of Poppy’s hours?
- How does a home collection work?
- How long does the process take?
- Is there anything people can do to prepare for having their person brought into our care?
- What happens once we have collected your person?
- Can we have our person brought home for a night after they have died, or for the night before the funeral?
If you’re ready to organise a funeral, we’re here for you. Get in touch with us.
How does a client arrange a home collection?
Aaron
The client will give us a call and talk to one of our Client Support Advisors (CSAs) - either Holly, Gemima, Victoria or Lily. The CSA will ask them some questions:
- Has the death been verified by a medical professional?
- Where in the house the person who has died is, and might there be any access issues to bear in mind?
- Is the person infectious?
- An estimated height and weight of the person who has died (just so that we can send the right number of team members).
The CSAs may also provide some practical information about how to look after your person in the meantime, such as keeping the room they are in cool with the windows closed.
Then we’ll make arrangements to visit you as soon as we can. The CSAs will give you a call back to confirm when you can expect us and which team members will be attending.
More information on what to do when someone dies.
Do you need to have spoken to Poppy’s before you call us to ask us to bring someone into our care?
Aaron
No. Some people have never spoken to us before making the call to request a home collection.
Others may have already talked to us or come to visit us. One lady came to see us when she was approaching end of life herself. She looked around, took home a cardboard coffin and decorated it. When she died, we went to collect her and we also collected the decorated coffin, ready to place her in for her funeral.
How long will it take for you to come?
Aaron
It’s usually within an hour or two. This depends and where the clients are and what else we’ve got on the schedule at the mortuary. For instance, if the team are already out on collections, there may be a slightly delay.
But if we're ready, we’ll head out to you straight away.
What about if the person has died outside of Poppy’s hours?
Liam
Our office hours are 9am – 5pm Monday – Friday. Our offices and mortuary are in Tooting, and we also have high street shops in Raynes Park and Sheen.
Our out-of-hours line operates 8am - 8pm every day. If you call that number, you’ll speak to the team member on call who will liaise with the team to arrange collection. Outside of those hours, you’ll be asked to leave a message with some basic information, and the CSAs will give you a call when the office opens to arrange bringing your person into our care.
How does a home collection work?
Liam
First, we’ll introduce ourselves at the door. Once we’re inside, we’ll explain what's going to happen.
Aaron
We’ll always explain, “everything can happen at your pace. There's still no rush now that we're here. And at any point you want us to stop, we'll stop. At no point will you be asked to leave the room, and you can be involved or not. It’s your choice.”
When everyone is ready for us to do so, we will come in to do our initial checks. We will meet the person we are collecting and perform some initial checks. This includes placing a name band on the person and taking note of any belongings we will be taking in with them. These can include personal items like soft toys, or their favourite pillow or blanket. If this is the case, we will ask someone to sign for the items.
We will then assess the best way to bring the person out of the building. We might ask clients whether it’s ok to move certain pieces of furniture or household items to allow us to move safely through the home.
Then we’ll go back to our van to get our stretcher, some soft natural calico material and anything else we need.
Once we return, we will gently and safely swaddle the person in calico. We will move the person from their bed or wherever they are currently sitting/laying and place them onto our stretcher. Once they’re on the stretcher, we can make them safe and secure ready for the movement out of the house.
Many clients choose to assist us with this part of the process, and you’re always very welcome to do so.
Liam
Next, we will place a cover over the stretcher itself. We have to do this – it is a legal requirement to cover a person who has died when in public. We always explain that this is why we use the cover. But the cover is not a ‘body bag’ which we do not use.
When everyone is ready, we will carefully transfer your person to our collection vehicle and prepare to bring them to our mortuary in Tooting.
Before we leave, we will give you a leaflet which explains all the next steps in really simple terms.
We’re aware we’ve given them a lot of information. Once you've sat down and had a cup of tea, you can take a look at the leaflet. If at that point you have more questions, we encourage you to give us a call and we’ll be happy to help.
How long does the process take?
Liam
It can take from 20 minutes up to an hour and a half.
Some people will appreciate being involved, or having the process explained step-by-step. Others will prefer us just to do what we need to do and leave.
Aaron
It can be a very emotionally intense and personal moment. So we will approach it as it comes. We know we’re in someone else's space - their home. But sometimes, I notice that when a client realises there’s no rush, they switch out of ‘panic mode’ and feel they can time the time they need.
Is there anything people can do to prepare for having their person brought into our care?
Aaron
There’s not a lot that anyone needs to do - it's our job to get there and assess the situation.
Liam
If the area around the person is a little bit cluttered, clients can clear some space just so we can get through safely. We’ve had to remove a banister before! But we try and make as little disturbance as possible, and we always put furniture back once we've moved it.
What are some of the ways that clients can be involved with the process, if they want to be?
Liam
Clients can help us with every part of the process – if they want to.
This might including helping us to:
- Carefully wrap their person in calico
- Move the person onto the stretcher
- Carry the stretcher
- Help guide us through the space
They can also follow the collection vehicle to our mortuary and help us check their person in to our calm mortuary space.
What happens once we have collected your person?
Aaron
When we arrive back at our mortuary, we'll bring the person out of the collection vehicle and into our mortuary on the stretcher. We'll move them over to one of our trays. We will unwrap them, check them over again and jot down a little information about their condition. This might include how their skin is looking, whether they have any cuts and bruises, and whether their eyes and mouth are closed. Then we'll weigh and measure the person.
We’ll also gently ensure they’re looking their best. If they've got any lines, catheters or other signs of hospital, we'll remove those straight away. We’ll make sure they're clean and tidy. We’ll brush their hair. We'll apply some moisturiser to keep their eyes, face, nose and ears moisturised.
Finally, the CSAs or the team member on call will give the family a call, a text or a voice message just let you know we've returned with your person and they are safely in our care.
If it’s out of hours, we will also let them know we’ll be in touch again during office hour, just to reassure them that everything that needed to be done is done now, and they're with us.
Can we have our person brought home for a night after they have died, or for the night before the funeral?
Liam
Yes. Sometimes we will bring the person home the day before the funeral. Recently, we supported a client who was having a direct cremation. Their family wanted to have the person at home with them the night they died, so we collected the person from the care home and brought the person back to their home. So they were able to spend that first night after they died with their person.
If you’re ready to organise a funeral, we’re here for you. Get in touch with us - or get an estimate anytime, day or night.