Mortuary Care
The care and respect that Hope and Sons gives to the person who has died begins from the time they are transferred into our care. This standard of care continues through the arrangements, the service, and ongoing following the service too.
When you advise us of the death we will ask you whether we are able to carry out our normal preparations. At this stage we are seeking your verbal approval for us to begin embalming. We have a team of qualified embalmers who take care of the preparation
of the person who has died. At all times the person is cared for as if they are one of our family members, with full dignity and care.
As part of our care and respect for a deceased person, we have developed various levels of mortuary care to allow for most preferences. Alternatively we offer the choice of no embalming - there are no legal or mandatory requirements in New Zealand for embalming.
Your funeral director will be able to give you recommendations regarding the level of care required based on the condition of the person who has died and the time to pass before the service.
We attach a great deal of significance to the preparation for a viewing; the dressing and grooming are a very important part of this process. The end result of mortuary care is that the person who has died is presented in a safe, clean and hygienic way.
Clothing and Presentation
Before you spend time with the person who has died, we will ask you to bring in the clothing you would like them to be dressed in. There are no rules when deciding on the clothing that is to be worn, but remember to include all undergarments.
We will wash and dress the person and place them in the casket. On some occasions, in accordance with cultural considerations or personal wishes, the family may choose to either dress the person who has died or assist us in this process.
We will provide natural cosmetics unless family have given us special instructions, or make-up to use. It can sometimes be useful to provide a photo of the persons usual hairstyle for us to follow.
Repatriation or Long-Term Care
Repatriation is the return of someone to any Centre in New Zealand, or any other country in the world. Our team of funeral directors and embalmers will be able to guide you through the process of repatriation. Hope and Sons is proud of its high standard of service for repatriation, we are skilled in attending to all documentation required. We have a modern mortuary and professionally qualified embalmers available to meet the exacting standards required by transportation authorities.
Occasionally there will be a delay between the time of death and a funeral service your funeral director can advise you of what this means regarding the level of care and options moving forward.
