In the event of a bereavement, our Rabbinic Team is here to offer their support.
Rabbi Elchonon Feldman 
Rabbi Nick Kett 
Rabbi Moshe Chaim Lister   (To contact the Rabbi’s please call the office on 020 8950 7340 and select the appropriate options for each Rabbi)

Below is some basic guidance provided by the United Synagogue Burial Society:

1. Notify the United Synagogue’s burial office immediately on 020 8950 7767 Option 1.

   Monday – Thursday 09:00 – 17:00

   Friday 09:00 – 13.00 (Winter)

   Friday 09:00 – 15.00 (Summer)

    Sunday 09:00 – 16:00

   Bank Holiday & Erev Yom Tov 09.00 – 13.00

If the offices are closed, leave your name, your contact phone number, the name of who has passed away (including their date of birth) and where they passed away, so they can contact you back Should you require advise about what to do, call 020 8950 7767 option 4 (this service is not available on Shabbat or Yom Tov).

At Home (Expected Passing)

1.If your loved one passes away at home, please call the deceased registered G.P. Surgery. If it is out of Surgery hours, listen to their out of hours message for their out of hours provision details or call 111 for the NHS care line (DO NOT CALL 999 unless the person is still breathing or showing signs of life).

Please note an out of hours doctor cannot issue a Medical Cause of Death Certificate, that will allow you to obtain a Green Burial Form. This can only be done by the deceased G.P. if they have seen the deceased in the previous 28 days in person (or by video call).

2. Obtaining a death certificate from a doctor or hospital,

The Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) which states the cause(s) of death is now sent electronically by the deceased G.P. surgery or Hospital’s Bereavement Services / PALS Team directly to the registrars. You are no longer required to collect this document. The G.P. Surgery/Hospital will inform you when they have sent it.

If the deceased has passed away at home at a time when the United Synagogue Burial Society cannot collect, and the family wish for an undertaker to take the deceased, a possibility is to contact Macleans Funeral Services on 01923 894116. They will keep the deceased until the United Synagogue can collect. (This can only be arranged after an out of hours doctor has verified/certified the passing).

All third-party funeral care and /or removal charges made are not covered by the United Synagogue’s Funeral Expenses Scheme and will be invoiced directly to the family who will need to settle the invoice directly with them.

Please note: Death Registration must take place in the area where the death occurred (For Bushey it is the Hertfordshire Registration Service, for Stanmore it is the London Borough of Harrow).

Hertfordshire Registration Service – 0300 123 4045

email: registrars.admin@hertfordshire.gov.uk

Website: https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/services/births-deaths-marriages-and-citizenship/deaths/deaths.aspx

(For the Sunday emergency service, phone between 9.00am and 11.00am on Sunday morning).

London Borough of Harrow Registration Service – 020 8901 2665

email: register.office@harrow.gov.uk

Website: https://www.harrow.gov.uk/births-deaths-marriages/register-death

(For the Sunday emergency service, phone between 9.00am and 10.00am on Sunday morning).

3. Contact the Community Manager (Emma Simble) – 020 8950 7340 option 8 (not available on Shabbat or Yom Tov) who will assist with shiva chairs and prayer books and liaise with the Rabbi about the funeral and shiva. You can of course speak personally with the Rabbi about the funeral service and shiva arrangements.

4. Please do not notify family /friends of any potential funeral timings until it has been confirmed by the Burial Society. The Burial Society can only confirm the time of a funeral once they have received the Green Form from The Registrars and made all the necessary arrangements.

The Synagogue will send an email notifying the community of your bereavement, as well as any funeral and shiva details.

For further information, please contact Rabbi Elchonon.

If you need someone to talk to following the death of a relative or friend, then Bushey Community Cares is able to offer you someone to talk to who has been specifically trained to provide you with bereavement support. If they are unable to help you, they will point you in the direction of someone who can.

Please call the 24-hour dedicated confidential helpline, on 020 8950 3344.