What Is a Mortuary?
The way a person dies determines the order of events, but usually, they end up in a mortuary.
A lot happens before a person is finally resting in peace. The business of death isn’t as simple as what most people think.
Before the mourning period starts, there is a lot of work to be done.
However a person dies, the deceased must go to a mortuary. Then the funeral director issues a death notice.
Dying may be Easy, but After Death, it can get Complicated
If a person dies in hospital of natural causes, the doctor will issue this death notice. Some hospitals don’t have the facilities for an on-site mortuary. In this case, you will need to be in touch with a funeral director to collect the deceased.
It is when a person dies of unnatural causes, that the body goes to a state mortuary for a post mortem or an autopsy and the issuing of a death certificate. However a person dies, the body a family member or friend must identify the body before the authorities will issue a death notice.
A mortuary is a stark reality for all of us at one time or another. Everyone will end up in a zipped bag, lying side by side with others in a fridge.
Your Name Goes Into a Register
There is a regis
ter in every mortuary. That is a permanent record of certain information about the body. The people in charge register the date of death, the age of the deceased and medical records such as whether the person had a pacemaker.
Authorities check the ID tag on the body against the name on the paperwork. If the body is going for embalming or pacemaker removal, then there is a note of this. The undertakers assess the body to determine the actions.
The Fridges differ from Mortuary to Mortuary
Remember that mortuaries vary from city to city and country to country. The fridges in a mortuary differ too according to location, and some will hold just a few bodies, while others can accommodate rows of bodies.
These fridges stay at temperatures ranging between 1 and 5º Celsius. Mostly the funeral director keeps the lids off the coffins until the day of the funeral, and the reason for this is so that people can quickly check the body but also to prevent condensation and damage to the lid. A sheet covers and protects the body.
When the body is ready to leave, the funeral director fills in the register. The director details who is signing out the body, the date the body is signed out and where it is going are. The lid is then put on the coffin, and it is loaded into a hearse.
The Complicated Process from Death to Grave
You must remember that the entire process in the mortuary can differ with each funeral house. Each one does things differently, and this is just one guide on the long process involved from the time someone dies to the time you arrive at the funeral and mourn the person’s passing.
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* YouTube video showing inside of a mortuary here
All info was correct at time of publishing