Job summary
We have an opportunity for a Medical Examiner Officer - Histopathology Mortuary to join our team, full time 37.5 hours per week.
You will be accountable to the Lead Medical Examiner Officer and Service Manager and be responsible for supporting them to investigate the circumstances and causes of death.
You will be expected to liaise with the recently bereaved, Mortuary Staff, Medical Examiners, clinicians, nursing staff, porters, police, funeral directors, Coroners office, Registrar of Birth and Deaths, GP surgeries on a daily basis on a range of topics relating to deaths and management of deceased patients.
Please note that this is a B4 development role to B5 once online and face to face training has been completed via RCPath.
Main duties of the job
Provide primary administrative support for the Medical Examiners by collating and documenting information pertaining to a deceased patient's care episode and past medical history.
Identify which deaths require referral to HM Coroner and providing an administrative contact between Doctors, Wards, Funeral Directors, Midwives and the Chaplaincy and to liaise with medical staff to expedite timely completion of Medical Certificates of Cause of Death (MCCD) and Cremation forms.
Expedite the completion and release of a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death to the family of the deceased (delays in the process can cause distress to the bereaved and prolong the length of time a patient is held in our Mortuary)
Liaise with Medical Examiners, HM Coroner's Office, Registration Services, Crematoria, Funeral Directors, next of Kin, Police, Solicitors, Social Services, tissue and organ donation co-ordinators, anatomy schools and GP Practices on a range of matters as required on a daily basis to facilitate the process of releasing deceased patients from our care.
Provide advice and support to the recently bereaved, Medical Examiners, clinicians, funeral directors and partner organisations ensuring information sharing is managed appropriately.
About us
We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients' own homes
We are one of the largest NHS organisations in England, employing more than 12,000 staff
We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options
Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services
Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients
We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what's widely regarded as the world's best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients
If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge, then we want to hear from you
Find out about living and working here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkPu7HphU8A
Job description
Job responsibilities
For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.
Job description
Job responsibilities
For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.
Person Specification
Knowledge
Essential
- Sound knowledge and understanding of death certification and registration processes and associated legislation including Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953, Coroner's and Justice Act 2009, Cremation regulations 2018 and Human Tissue Act 2004.
- IT Skills (Microsoft Outlook/ Word/ ICE, Evolve, and other Trust IT systems). The ability to learn and adapt to new systems quickly.
Desirable
- An understanding of medical terminology that enables informed discussions about the causes/circumstances of deaths with bereaved families, clinicians, coroner and registration staff.
- Knowledge of the special requirements of the various faith groups with an awareness of equality and diversity issues surrounding death certification & arrangements.
- Working knowledge & experience of the Department of Health's Death Certification Reforms Medical Examiner system.
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working with bereaved families or within a customer focussed setting.
- Experience of dealing with highly contentious and emotional situations.
- Ability to communicate complex and potentially distressing information to the bereaved in a clear and tactful manner
- Ability to communicate clearly with people with varied levels of understanding adapting the use of technical language to meet the needs of each individual.
- Ability to work across professional boundaries with medical staff in different specialties.
Desirable
- Previous experience and qualifications of a Medical Examiner's Officer
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to A-Level or equivalent standard of education and/or evidence of study/equivalent practical experience at an advanced level.
- Completion of the core modules of the ELearning for Medical Examiner's or willingness to complete this within 3 months of appointment
- Completion of Face to face training for Medical Examiner's or willingness to complete this within 12 months of appointment.
Desirable
- A commitment to the concept of lifelong learning and undertaking personal development opportunities.
Skills
Essential
- Excellent interpersonal skills demonstrating the ability to communicate in difficult and emotional situations with empathy, professionalism and understanding.
- Excellent communication skills, written and verbal, (emails, Forms, letters, telephone) with the ability to engage at all levels, both within and outside the Trust, including senior clinicians/coroners, etc. about sensitive issues.
- Be able to listen to others and represent their views and concerns in a clear and concise manner.
- Ability to work effectively with multidisciplinary teams.
- Ability to work as part of a team and organise work around fluctuating workload, competing priorities, with excellent organisational skills and the ability to plan systematically.
- Accept responsibility for own area of work and demonstrate a creative and inspirational approach to problem solving. Proactive and self-motivated.
- Approachable and supportive to all levels of staff and bereaved families in a non-judgemental and discreet manner
- Professional manner and has the awareness of the impact of own behaviour on others.
- Competent with IT software systems including Access, Word & Excel, and the ability to learn new systems and ways of working quickly
Person Specification
Knowledge
Essential
- Sound knowledge and understanding of death certification and registration processes and associated legislation including Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953, Coroner's and Justice Act 2009, Cremation regulations 2018 and Human Tissue Act 2004.
- IT Skills (Microsoft Outlook/ Word/ ICE, Evolve, and other Trust IT systems). The ability to learn and adapt to new systems quickly.
Desirable
- An understanding of medical terminology that enables informed discussions about the causes/circumstances of deaths with bereaved families, clinicians, coroner and registration staff.
- Knowledge of the special requirements of the various faith groups with an awareness of equality and diversity issues surrounding death certification & arrangements.
- Working knowledge & experience of the Department of Health's Death Certification Reforms Medical Examiner system.
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working with bereaved families or within a customer focussed setting.
- Experience of dealing with highly contentious and emotional situations.
- Ability to communicate complex and potentially distressing information to the bereaved in a clear and tactful manner
- Ability to communicate clearly with people with varied levels of understanding adapting the use of technical language to meet the needs of each individual.
- Ability to work across professional boundaries with medical staff in different specialties.
Desirable
- Previous experience and qualifications of a Medical Examiner's Officer
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to A-Level or equivalent standard of education and/or evidence of study/equivalent practical experience at an advanced level.
- Completion of the core modules of the ELearning for Medical Examiner's or willingness to complete this within 3 months of appointment
- Completion of Face to face training for Medical Examiner's or willingness to complete this within 12 months of appointment.
Desirable
- A commitment to the concept of lifelong learning and undertaking personal development opportunities.
Skills
Essential
- Excellent interpersonal skills demonstrating the ability to communicate in difficult and emotional situations with empathy, professionalism and understanding.
- Excellent communication skills, written and verbal, (emails, Forms, letters, telephone) with the ability to engage at all levels, both within and outside the Trust, including senior clinicians/coroners, etc. about sensitive issues.
- Be able to listen to others and represent their views and concerns in a clear and concise manner.
- Ability to work effectively with multidisciplinary teams.
- Ability to work as part of a team and organise work around fluctuating workload, competing priorities, with excellent organisational skills and the ability to plan systematically.
- Accept responsibility for own area of work and demonstrate a creative and inspirational approach to problem solving. Proactive and self-motivated.
- Approachable and supportive to all levels of staff and bereaved families in a non-judgemental and discreet manner
- Professional manner and has the awareness of the impact of own behaviour on others.
- Competent with IT software systems including Access, Word & Excel, and the ability to learn new systems and ways of working quickly
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
