Sheffield Register Office: Grieving widower's agony over delays with death certificate for beloved wife

Paul Thompson’s wife June sadly passed away on December 18 last year, aged 72, after developing ovarian cancer.

His son applied for a death certificate on December 29 and Mr Thompson said he was told by staff at Sheffield Register Office that this would take up to 15 working days.

When Paul called on January 20, he was told there were ‘issues with postal deliveries and with the system at the register office’, but was assured that copies of the death certificate would be printed and sent out.

When those failed to arrive, he called again on January 27 and was assured the copies would be available for him soon, but when he called four days later, he was again informed there were ‘problems with the system’ and copies of the certificate had yet to be printed.

The 66-year-old, who lives in Stannington, was eventually able to collect them last Tuesday, February 1 – more than a month after he first applied.

But he says the service is not good enough and people should not have to chase after the paperwork at a time when they are dealing with such grief.

“If I hadn’t kept pushing, who knows how much longer I would have been waiting for the certificates,” he said.

“I’ve just lost my beautiful wife to whom I was married for over 41 years and had been with for more than 44 years, and being made to go through this while grieving for her feels like rubbing salt in the wounds.”

Paul told how June had been a nurse who worked for 25 years at Weston Park Hospital and after retiring had begun running first aid courses and a wellness clinic for staff at CTLSeal in Ecclesfield – only giving this up in May last year when she became too ill with cancer.

Together, they have two children and one grandchild, with two more on the way.

The Star has contacted Sheffield Council to ask what the ‘problems with the system’ mentioned by staff are, and whether other documents including birth and marriage certificates are also affected. The council has yet to respond to our queries.