Covid-19 Policy

LATEST Covid 19 Update 26^th July 2021

Since Monday 19^th July, there have been no legal limits on the number of people who can attend a funeral or memorial event.

Our local churches, crematoria and cemeteries have been updating the company on the numbers they feel comfortable with, and which rules they prefer to keep in place, such as wearing face masks. Please ask for the latest information.

As a company we have made the decision that whilst we will continue to operate with the highest levels of hygiene and safety standards, we are comfortable to return to the same level of service that we offered pre pandemic.

We are now offering home visits with our funeral directors to make the arrangements for your loved one’s funeral, face to face.

We have taken the safety screens out of the limousines, therefore being able to offer family members seven seats again.

We will not request that the public wear facemasks when attending the offices, funerals or travelling in our cars.

Our team may continue to wear a facemask whilst on duty, but it is by personal choice, should you prefer for a member of our team to wear a facemask, then we are all happy to oblige, we just want our families to feel safe when in our care.

We ask that you still make an appointment to attend all our offices, mainly so that we can provide the best level of service to you.

Chapel of Rest visits and funeral arrangements are not constrained by numbers and we are happy for people to make an appointment to collect cremated remains.

Please just have in mind that we are an old family home and not purpose-built offices, and we wish for your visits to be as comfortable as possible, so potentially a maximum of four visitors at a time is preferable.

We want to thank you all for your patience, co-operation and understanding, it has been a very difficult and long period of time.

Please do not hesitate to contact the office or myself personally if you wish to discuss anything in further detail.

Sarah L Parker.

LATEST UPDATE 23/03/2021

We continue to work closely with the government and the funeral sector to ensure that we deliver the services that are needed, whilst providing the necessary protection for our families and our colleagues.

We continue to operate with the highest levels of hygiene and safety standards, adhering to government guidelines that are changing on a regular basis.

Most funeral arrangements will continue to be completed over the telephone and online and when attending the office, we politely as that it is by appointment only with a maximum of two family members wearing facemasks.

Chapel of Rest visits will continue, with all person’s involved wearing facemasks. Entrance and exit are from the main door at Brook House. Please do not attend your appointment if you are feeling unwell, have a temperature or are showing other signs of COVID-19. All visitors are asked to pass on their full name and telephone numbers on arrival.

Cremated Remains can be collected by pre-arrangements.

Thank you for your co-operation at this difficult time.

Sarah L Parker.

Director.

LATEST UPDATE 01/03/2021

LATEST UPDATE 02/11/20

Following the latest government guidelines, it has been decided to revert to limiting visitors to the premises.

All funeral arrangements will be completed over the telephone and online throughout the month of the November lockdown. So again, can we politely ask you not to come to the office without prior arrangement.

Chapel of Rest visits will continue with all person’s involved, including staff wearing facemasks. The entrance and exit from the Chapel will be at the side of Brook House and staff will talk you through the procedure. No one is to visit the chapel if experiencing a temperature over 37.8 degrees or showing signs of COVID-19. All visitors must pass on their full names of who comes to the premises and a contact number or check in using our track and trace QR Code.

Cremated Remains can no longer be collected from the premises, where possible we will deliver to the applicant’s home, but this cannot be guaranteed and will be subject to review on a regular basis.

Until we receive any further guidelines from the Government and our governing bodies, mourners are still limited to numbers determined by each crematorium. This is continuously subject to review.

Thank you for your co-operation at this difficult time.

Sarah L Parker
Director

LATEST UPDATE 23/07/20

Following the latest government guidelines, it has been decided to ask all visitors to our premises to wear a face covering and provide their names and contact numbers in our visitor’s book. This will allow us to assist in the track and trace initiative and allow us to liaise with visitors, should the need arise.

We also continue to monitor the situation relating to passenger vehicles and we are in the process of sourcing the protective screens required for us to provide our services safely.  Please see the guidance attached which we have put in place in anticipation of our vehicles being ready to hire.

Sarah Parker

Director

LATEST UPDATE 01/06/2020

All registrars have now closed their doors for face to face appointments with the public. All deaths are now registered over the telephone and if the family is unable to register their loved ones death on the phone then they can appoint their funeral director to do this for them.

Please speak to your funeral director for more information.

We have made the decision to not look after cash or cheque forms of donations for our families, but we are able to help you set up an online donation memorial on JustGiving instead.

Certain crematoriums are not able to accommodate the live streams or web casts anymore due to the huge demand placed on the service. Please speak to your funeral director about each crematorium’s policies.

Until we receive any further guidelines from the Government and our governing bodies, mourners are still limited to numbers determined by each crematorium.

LATEST UPDATE 20/03/2020

We just wanted to inform all of our families that we are no longer able to meet face to face for funeral arrangements. It is also the same for families liaising with celebrants and ministers, so please can we politely ask you not to come to the office without prior arrangement.

Guidelines and policies are being updated day by day and we are working together as a team to be responsible to the public and to the team we work with.

We are still carrying out funerals but in a different way, from now we will not meet with families to go through the funeral arrangements, we will have contact over the phone and email.

Registration procedures are changing due to the fact that next of kin are having to self-isolate, when we know more we can share this information with you.

Certain ‘at risk’ ministers, retired clergy have made the decision not to put themselves at risk, we thank them for everything that they have done for us.

Chapel of Rest visits are currently taking place following government guidelines of social distancing and hand hygiene, but they are limited to one or two people at a time and we have alcohol hand rubs and tissues in all rooms.

We are still providing order of service sheets or printed hymn sheets as the crematoriums and churches (that are still holding a service prior to burial or cremation) are no longer having items such as hymn books in the chapels.

We are still collating donations in memory of our loved ones with staff taking extra care when handling the money. We may move away from this in days to come and use sites such as ‘just giving’ which our funeral directors are more than happy to help families set up.

We are no longer providing limousines, for the safety of families and our staff. Alternative methods of transport must be used. For example, families using their own transport to follow the hearse to the cemetery.

We can look after funerals with no families present when families are facing extreme circumstances.

We have made the decision to not hand out mourner’s attendance cards which is a service we liked to give our families to have a recording of who attended on the day.

Webcams, audio and visual recordings are available at certain crematorium chapels, although with high demand they may be limited. We also have contact details for a local company who will film the service on your behalf.

Ministers and celebrants are offering their service for your loved one to be posted or emailed to families who could not attend.

Please contact the office via email or telephone if you have any further questions and a member of our team will help you.

Thank you for your co-operation at this difficult time