Given the current Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, Funeral Partners recognises that this is an especially difficult time for our clients and the bereaved.
Funeral Partners is a member of the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD). NAFD representatives are continuing to liaise directly with government authorities in order to ensure that all NAFD members (including Funeral Partners) follow the latest government advice.
The well-being of all those who interact with Funeral Partners remains our key concern. Please see below for further guidance concerning our services at this time.
Funeral arrangements
Most of our funeral homes remain open to all visitors at this time, in order to support our clients and the bereaved.
In line with broader government advice to minimise unnecessary social contact, we would encourage you to call your local funeral home before visiting in order to determine how best we can support you to carry out the funeral arrangements.
Where possible, most if not all of the funeral arrangements may be carried out over the telephone, over email or via postal services.
For all those who do visit our premises, we would encourage usage of our washroom facilities for handwashing and we would encourage the usage of our supplies of such things as tissues and hand sanitisers when required.
We would also appreciate it if visits to our funeral homes could be a maximum of two people at any one time.
The funeral
It remains the case that funerals can continue in the United Kingdom. Regarding attendance at the funeral service itself, those in self-isolation must continue to self-isolate and not attend a funeral. In addition, we would encourage all our clients to try to restrict the number of mourners attending the funeral service if at all possible, in order to minimise social contact. We recognise how unfortunate but also how necessary these measures are.
In order to support social distancing measures, we are regrettably unable to provide limousines for funerals at this time. We very much appreciate that this may be disappointing, and we would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.
High standards
We would like to reassure all our clients that Funeral Partners already has rigorous hygiene controls in place when it comes to handling any deceased person in our care, and this includes any deceased who may have died with an infection. These controls include the use of specialised health and safety equipment, along with specific ways of working so that we are able to maintain clinical levels of hygiene and safe working environments.
24-hour support
If you have any particular questions regarding Coronavirus, then please speak to your local funeral home at any time. Our telephone support is available 24 hours a day.