Job summary
As the Regional Lead Medical Examiner for the North West, you will provide leadership and guidance to ensure that the medical examiner system in the North West region operates to the standards required in the statutory system and is governed effectively, advising where necessary on the configuration of local systems.
Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in-person.
Main duties of the job
- You will offer leadership and support to medical examiners in your region, including providing them with an independent professional line of accountability outside of their own organisation where they are employed as a medical examiner.
- Reporting to the National Medical Examiner, you will support the national role by ensuring that the medical examiner system intheNorth Westisoperatingeffectively and is meeting the requirements of the statutorysystem,andupdate the National team with qualitative information as well as any issues arising.
- You will also have a dotted line reporting relationship to the relevant NHS England regional medical director and will participate in regional mortality governance arrangements.
About us
Our work supports the NHS to deliver high quality services for patients and best value for taxpayers.
Our staff bring expertise across hundreds of specialisms -- including clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial -- enabling us to design and deliver high-quality NHS services.
We lead the NHS in England by:
- Enabling local systems and providers to improve the health of their people and patients and reduce health inequalities
- Making the NHS a great place to work, where our people can make a difference and achieve their potential
- Working collaboratively to ensure our healthcare workforce has the right knowledge, skills, values and behaviours to deliver accessible, compassionate care
- Optimising the use of digital technology, research, and innovation
- Delivering value for money
Earlier this year, the Government announced that NHS England will gradually merge with the Department of Health and Social Care, leading to full integration. The aim is to create a smaller, more strategic centre that reduces duplication and eliminates waste.
If successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the recruitment process.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To provide professional leadership and guidance to medical examiners within the specified region.
- To act as the representative of the National Medical Examiner within the specified region, including formally deputising on their behalf whererequired.
- Toadvisethe National Medical Examiner on the operation of the medical examiner system withintheNorth Westregionand to highlight any issues that require national attention.
- To provide support and guidance where necessary to resolve any local issues that may arise in relation to the running of medical examiner systems.
- To ensure that all medical examiners and medical examiner officers within the regioncomply withthe legal and procedural requirements of the statutory processes of death certification, investigation by coroners and registration of deaths.
- To ensure that all medical examiner offices in the regionmaintaincomprehensive records of all deaths scrutinised and that they undertake the required collection and analysis of information as specified by the National Medical Examiner.
- To provide an independent line of professional accountability for all medical examiners in the region.
- Toprovideprofessional advice in complex cases whichare not able tobe handled at local level in terms of relevant clinical governance activities relating to death certification processes. This may include requesting audits, studying mortality review processes and investigationsregardingformal complaints about patient care.
- To support local and regional analysis of Medical Certificate Cause of Death information toidentifytrends,patternsand unusual features of deaths, ensuring that this information is shared across the medical examiner offices with the NHS England region and reported, asrequired, to the National Medical Examiners office.
- To provide information and reports on mortality related issues to the NHS England Regional Medical Director and their team and toparticipatein regional mortality governance arrangements.
- To link with other programmes that review and investigate deaths (e.g. Child Death Overview Panels, mental health, Learning Disabilities Mortality Reviews, maternal deaths) to ensureappropriate governanceand that learning is shared.
- To work with the National Medical Examiner to ensure that best practice and learning themes are shared and embedded between and across regions.
- To link with the National Medical Examiner to share any trends or patterns of concernregardinga locality or an organisationin order tofacilitateprompt consideration,investigationand action.
- To adopt a collaborative working relationship with the other regional lead medical examiners and the lead medical examiner for Wales, by sharing experiences andexpertiseto support peer learning.
- To support and to work effectively with the regional medical examiner officer, delegating duties asappropriate.
- To support the training of junior doctors across the region in their understanding of death certification and promote good practice inaccuratecompletion of Medical CertificateofCause of Death.
- To undertake site visits to medical examiner offices in their region and to support them to share learning and best practice
You can find further details about the role, including key responsibilities and accountabilities, alongside the organisational structure and person specification in the attached Job Description and other supporting documents.
Secondments
Applicants from within the NHS will be offered on a secondment basis only, agreement should be obtained from their employer prior to submitting the application.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To provide professional leadership and guidance to medical examiners within the specified region.
- To act as the representative of the National Medical Examiner within the specified region, including formally deputising on their behalf whererequired.
- Toadvisethe National Medical Examiner on the operation of the medical examiner system withintheNorth Westregionand to highlight any issues that require national attention.
- To provide support and guidance where necessary to resolve any local issues that may arise in relation to the running of medical examiner systems.
- To ensure that all medical examiners and medical examiner officers within the regioncomply withthe legal and procedural requirements of the statutory processes of death certification, investigation by coroners and registration of deaths.
- To ensure that all medical examiner offices in the regionmaintaincomprehensive records of all deaths scrutinised and that they undertake the required collection and analysis of information as specified by the National Medical Examiner.
- To provide an independent line of professional accountability for all medical examiners in the region.
- Toprovideprofessional advice in complex cases whichare not able tobe handled at local level in terms of relevant clinical governance activities relating to death certification processes. This may include requesting audits, studying mortality review processes and investigationsregardingformal complaints about patient care.
- To support local and regional analysis of Medical Certificate Cause of Death information toidentifytrends,patternsand unusual features of deaths, ensuring that this information is shared across the medical examiner offices with the NHS England region and reported, asrequired, to the National Medical Examiners office.
- To provide information and reports on mortality related issues to the NHS England Regional Medical Director and their team and toparticipatein regional mortality governance arrangements.
- To link with other programmes that review and investigate deaths (e.g. Child Death Overview Panels, mental health, Learning Disabilities Mortality Reviews, maternal deaths) to ensureappropriate governanceand that learning is shared.
- To work with the National Medical Examiner to ensure that best practice and learning themes are shared and embedded between and across regions.
- To link with the National Medical Examiner to share any trends or patterns of concernregardinga locality or an organisationin order tofacilitateprompt consideration,investigationand action.
- To adopt a collaborative working relationship with the other regional lead medical examiners and the lead medical examiner for Wales, by sharing experiences andexpertiseto support peer learning.
- To support and to work effectively with the regional medical examiner officer, delegating duties asappropriate.
- To support the training of junior doctors across the region in their understanding of death certification and promote good practice inaccuratecompletion of Medical CertificateofCause of Death.
- To undertake site visits to medical examiner offices in their region and to support them to share learning and best practice
You can find further details about the role, including key responsibilities and accountabilities, alongside the organisational structure and person specification in the attached Job Description and other supporting documents.
Secondments
Applicants from within the NHS will be offered on a secondment basis only, agreement should be obtained from their employer prior to submitting the application.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Medical degree
- Membership or fellowship of relevant royal college
- Must be a registered medical practitioner at the time of appointment and have been throughout the previous 5 years
- Completed the RCPath medical examiner training
Desirable
- Higher degree and/or postgraduate management qualification and/or equivalent experience
Knowledge & experience
Essential
- Clinical leadership experience whereby supervising a team and setting and maintaining quality standards of practice measures has been required.
- An understanding of mortality review processes and an appreciation of and commitment to the wider learning from deaths agenda and how this contributes to safer care and increased accountability for the bereaved.
- Experience of leading a medical examiner service
Desirable
- Experience of working within NHS/regional or ICB systems
Skills Capabilities & Attributes
Essential
- Well-developed leadership skills and the ability to provide professional leadership and support for medical examiners within their region
- Excellent interpersonal and presentation skills to engage and influence a range of stakeholder groups
- Ability to resolve conflict and difficult situations.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Medical degree
- Membership or fellowship of relevant royal college
- Must be a registered medical practitioner at the time of appointment and have been throughout the previous 5 years
- Completed the RCPath medical examiner training
Desirable
- Higher degree and/or postgraduate management qualification and/or equivalent experience
Knowledge & experience
Essential
- Clinical leadership experience whereby supervising a team and setting and maintaining quality standards of practice measures has been required.
- An understanding of mortality review processes and an appreciation of and commitment to the wider learning from deaths agenda and how this contributes to safer care and increased accountability for the bereaved.
- Experience of leading a medical examiner service
Desirable
- Experience of working within NHS/regional or ICB systems
Skills Capabilities & Attributes
Essential
- Well-developed leadership skills and the ability to provide professional leadership and support for medical examiners within their region
- Excellent interpersonal and presentation skills to engage and influence a range of stakeholder groups
- Ability to resolve conflict and difficult situations.
Additional information
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
