When someone dies, it can be a very difficult time, and making first contact with a funeral home can be a daunting experience. Rest assured that our team are here to guide and support you every step of the way and that your loved one will be treated with the utmost respect and dignity at all times.

We are unable to bring someone into our care until their death has been verified by a medically trained professional.

One this has been done you can contact any one of our funeral homes. Whatever time of day or night, your call will be answered by a member of the Rosedale team. We will ask some questions about the person who has died, whether you would like more time with them and also information about access to the property to help us be as discreet as possible.

If you are ready for us to come, we usually need to speak to our colleagues and will call you back, usually within minutes, with an estimated time for our arrival.

When we arrive, we will introduce ourselves and answer and questions you might have. Remember, we are here to work with you and there is no such things as a silly question.

The staff at the home will let you know when a loved one has died. It is important to let them know that you would like us to look after the funeral arrangements so that they know which funeral director to call.

They usually call us once the death has been verified by a medical professional as this means we will be able to bring your loved one into our care. This can be any time, day or night. They answer some questions we have about the resident as well as the best point of contact for us. We then advise on the time that we will be able to attend.

Once your loved one is in our care, we then contact you to introduce ourselves, advise on the next steps and answer any questions you might have. If we attend to the person during the night, we usually wait until the next morning to make this phone call.

It is important to allow their body temperature to cool, using a lightweight sheet or blanket rather than a duvet cover is a good way to help with this. Try not to move the person too much and if possible, ensure their head is resting on some pillows.

If someone has died in hospital, you will normally be informed by the hospital staff. You can then contact us to let us know you would like us to look after your loved one.

We will ask some questions about the person who has died, and will also ask whether they wanted to be buried or cremated. This is because when we contact the hospital to confirm that we are looking after them, they need to know whether to complete the cremation paperwork or not.

One the hospital has completed the necessary paperwork, they will phone or email to give us permission to bring them into our care.

We can still look after your loved one even if they are a significant distance away. We would normally liaise with an independent and accredited funeral director in their area to bring the person in to their care initially. We would then liaise with the funeral director to bring them into our care. This will most likely incur some additional costs from the funeral director as well as from us (anything outside of a 20 mile radius from our branches).

If the person has died abroad, then they will need to be repatriated. This means that regulations in the country of death (which can vary hugely) will need to be followed before your loved one can be brought into our care. Repatriation can be very stressful, particularly if the death was unexpected, but we will guide you through the process step by step.