Studio44 Introduces - Welham Jones

Many parts of normal life that we took for granted have been completely taken away overnight by the Coronavirus crisis and one area that is so impacted it has prompted emergency legislation to be brought in is with funerals. In this article, Simon Welham Managing Director of Welham Jones gives more of an insight into the changing face of funerals in the wake of Coronavirus and what this means in practice.

It can be difficult knowing where to go when you lose a loved one at the best of times.  But with the current restrictions on all social gatherings but funerals, here we look at what the emergency legislation and guidelines will mean to you if you lose someone in the immediate future.

To protect your health and that of funeral workers, special measures have been introduced, some of which are mandatory and some voluntary. If funeral workers are sick or isolated, they can’t offer you any of their care in your time of need. 

For cremation the Coronavirus Bill, which became law on 23^rd March, has had the most impact.  The need for a second doctor to scrutinise the cause of death has been suspended. Any doctor, if requested by the doctor looking after your loved one, can certify the cause of death, and all documents can now be sent electronically. These measures are long overdue but the need to speed up the process has necessitated their introduction.

With churches and local cemetery chapels closed the only option for an indoor service with hymns and music etc., is at a crematorium chapel.  The Government suggest that those attending funeral services should be close family and under 70 years of age, and/or not shielding for health reasons. 

In practice all this means that if you lose a loved one you can have a graveside service, largely spoken, unless you bring along a portable speaker, in a churchyard or cemetery, or in a crematorium chapel. Those attending are limited to spouses or partners, parents & carers, siblings & spouses/partners and children and spouses/partners, in all circa 10 people. Some venues are saying 6 people only and no-one if the cause of death was Coronavirus.

At a crematorium the service can be streamed and/or recorded to allow those unable to attend to participate either on the day, or shortly thereafter.   And with any of these choices there is, of course, the opportunity for a later memorial service in church or chapel with the cremated remains should you have had your loved one cremated. 

Most cruelly, families cannot say farewell through viewings in funeral director’s chapels and viewing rooms, and nearly all have withdrawn their limousine service.

And what of the cost for a funeral?  Given that almost all services are either an unattended cremation, or a limited service using a hearse only, at Welham Jones we have two specially priced packages with limited service options.  Should you need the services of a funeral director during this crisis, more than ever you should ‘shop around’ and ensure that you aren’t paying for services and options that you can’t have due to the restrictions  imposed on us all.

None of this is something that we take lightly, however, the safety of those that have lost a loved one and require our service, and our staffs’ wellbeing, is of paramount importance to us in this awful time.  Funerals may never be the same again.

This is clearly a relevant and sobering topic, and the full version of this article can be found on the Welham Jones website.