From time to time we are pleased to publish statements or press releases from our supporters, and today we share the press release below from one of our GFG Recommended funeral directors, addressing an urgent and extremely important matter that is affecting bereaved families across the UK.
We hope that the Ministry of Justice pays heed to Matthew’s call and steps in to deal with the delays to funerals, which are causing extreme distress in some cases.
“A.W. Lymn The Family Funeral Service is calling for urgent action in response to mounting delays in funeral arrangements caused by recent changes to the death certification process. The reforms, which came into force across England and Wales in September 2024, introduced medical examiners to independently review all non-coroner-referred deaths.
Intended to improve accuracy and consistency, the reality has been a surge in paperwork delays that are now stretching funeral timescales far beyond what families have come to expect.
Where funerals were once arranged within two weeks (not accounting for any religious or cultural reasons), many families are now facing waits of four weeks or more. This is not just a scheduling issue. The burden of these delays falls squarely on funeral directors, who must manage increasingly scarce mortuary space and provide care for the deceased over prolonged periods.
Staff are also left to have difficult, often repeated conversations with grieving families, who understandably struggle with the uncertainty of when they will be able to lay their loved ones to rest.
Matthew Lymn Rose, Managing Director of A.W. Lymn, said: “What we’re seeing is a complete lack of consequence when medical professionals don’t complete paperwork in a timely fashion. There’s no urgency, no system of accountability. Meanwhile, families are left waiting and desperate for answers we simply can’t give.”
These delays are particularly painful in cases involving community deaths, where confusion persists regarding the new process. In several recent examples, families waited over two weeks for basic documentation to be sent from GP surgeries to the medical examiner. Despite funeral dates being set and arrangements in progress, paperwork remained incomplete due to holiday absences or miscommunication about which doctor was responsible.
In one case, a family was left uncertain whether their loved one could be viewed before burial because embalming had to be postponed until the forms were processed. In another, two separate families had to wait more than three weeks for contact from the medical examiner’s office, with funeral staff forced to chase doctors and make registry bookings themselves to avoid further delay.
For some families, these delays are not merely inconvenient but are in direct conflict with cultural or religious customs. In Islam, the deceased must be buried as soon as possible, often within 24 hours of death. Furthermore, embalming is prohibited in the Islamic community meaning any delays to burial could have a significant impact on the deterioration of the body.
Open-casket funerals are also common in many Christian traditions, particularly within Protestant denominations. The practise is also observed in many Caribbean communities, with loved ones dressed in their finest clothing and sometimes attended to by hairdressers. However, without timely paperwork, embalming cannot proceed and these traditions cannot be honoured.
“Bodies in the care of funeral directors deteriorate with every passing day, limiting options for families such as open casket viewings,” said Matthew. “These delays are damaging not just to the profession but to the families we serve. People want to say goodbye with dignity, in keeping with their values and traditions. It is heartbreaking when they cannot do that because of avoidable administrative failings.
“Even modest improvements in the speed of paperwork could make a huge difference. But until there’s a proper system of responsibility with clear timeframes, it’s funeral directors who are left carrying the strain.”
With 25 funeral homes across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and most recently Leicestershire, A.W. Lymn, the fifth-generation family funeral directors, prides itself on offering a variety of services available at an affordable price to the families it has served since 1907.”
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