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in attendance/present at death

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  • in attendance/present at death

    Hi,

    I noticed that on some death acts the informant was "present at death", in other cases "in attendance". Is there a difference between this?

    Hans

  • #2
    Yes, I think so.

    "In attendance" suggests the witness was there in a medical capacity - doctor, nurse etc, someone who was otherwise not connected to the patint.

    "Present at death" would be a witness who was just there - a relative, neighbour etc.

    As only a small category of people can register a death, the witness would be someone in that category.

    OC

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    • #3
      To be allowed to register a death, you have to be a "qualified person". GRO has a list which defines, in order of priority, who qualifies.

      Top of the list is

      "a relative of the deceased, present at the death"

      Next is:

      "a relative of the deceased, in attendance during the last illness".

      So (assuming the registrar was being exact) "present at death" means exactly what it says. "in attendance" means that they have been looking after the person, or with them during their final illness, but not necessarily actually with them when they died.

      Non relatives can register as being a person "present at the death", but come further down the priority list, but a non relative cannot register on the basis of being "in attendance"

      Medical staff involved in the treatment of the person would not normally be allowed to be the informant registering the death.

      Antony
      (ex registrar)
      Last edited by AntonyM; 03-03-15, 09:17.
      Retired professional researcher, and ex- deputy registrar, now based in Worcestershire. Happy to give any help or advice I can ( especially on matters of civil registration) - contact via PM or my website www.chalfontresearch.co.uk
      Follow me on Twittter @ChalfontR

      Comment


      • #4
        Apologies to all for my misinformation! That's what guessing does.

        OC

        Comment


        • #5
          The above is based on current GRO rules which may have been different in the past, although I don't think they have changed much.

          and also:

          1) that the registrar completed the registration correctly (which isn't always the case) and;
          2) the informant gave truthful information to the registrar (which certainly isn't always what happens).

          !
          Last edited by AntonyM; 03-03-15, 11:17.
          Retired professional researcher, and ex- deputy registrar, now based in Worcestershire. Happy to give any help or advice I can ( especially on matters of civil registration) - contact via PM or my website www.chalfontresearch.co.uk
          Follow me on Twittter @ChalfontR

          Comment

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