Medical Examiner Officer Winchester, England
Job description
Our Trust provides a Medical Examiner Service to all acute sites and we are currently extending into all healthcare settings to include community death scrutiny across our geographical footprint. We have two offices, one situated in Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, Basingstoke, and another situated in Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Winchester. You will be primarily located at one of these offices with requirement for cross-site working.
This role is part of the national implementation of the Medical Examiner service in England and Wales and we invite applications from anyone with degree level education or equivalent experience, and either with a professional clinical background or relevant experience in the bereavement or coroner service.
The successful candidate would be joining an existing small and friendly team who work collaboratively to provide support for bereaved families and to improve patient safety. You would work closely with the Medical Examiners and report to the Lead Medical Examiner Officer. The medical examiner offices are currently open weekdays Monday – Friday, between the hours of 0730-1530.
Working under delegation from the Medical Examiner (ME) or Lead MEO; the MEO will support the end process of death certification within the Medical Examiner Service. This will require a combination of skills and knowledge, compassion, sensitivity and a commitment to engage with bereaved families
The MEO will review patient records to gather information for the Medical Examiner, so a good working knowledge of medical terminology and clinical understanding are necessary of both the Electronic Record and the existing paper-based processes
The post holder will provide administrative skills to support Medical Examiners in scrutinizing deaths ensuring necessary paperwork is accurate and complete
The MEO will contact the next of kin to discuss the death, to enquire about any concerns they may have about care, and to explain the proposed wording of the Death Certificate. This requires excellent communication skills. They will additionally be a point of contact and source of advice for healthcare professionals from elsewhere in the organisation and, where appropriate, Coroners' and Registration services.
Our vision is to provide outstanding care for every patient. Patient care is at the heart of what we do at our three sites Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester and Andover War Memorial Hospital. Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides medical and surgical services to a population of approximately 600,000 across Hampshire and parts of West Berkshire.
We provide specialist services to people across the UK and internationally. We are one of only two centres in the UK treating pseudomyxoma peritonei (a rare form of abdominal cancer) and we are leaders in the field of tertiary liver cancer and colorectal cancer.
The trust employs over 8,600 staff and has a turnover of over £450 million a year. As a Foundation Trust, we are directly accountable to our members through the governors. The Council of Governors represent the interests of their constituencies and influence the future plans of the Foundation Trust.
‘At Hampshire Hospitals, patients are at the forefront of everything we do’
An exciting and new opportunity to join a small and friendly team who work collaboratively to provide support for bereaved families and to improve patient safety. Medical examiner officers (MEOs) support medical examiners (ME) in their role to provide independent scrutiny of causes of death and will liaise with clinical teams and bereaved families under delegated authority from the ME.
MEOs come from a wide range of backgrounds, including nurses, midwives, biomedical scientists, allied health professionals and highly experienced bereavement officers who can bring a broad mix of skills to the team.
MEOs will participate in a service to improve the processes of death certification and referrals to the coroner; to ensure that the next of kin understand the cause of death; and to help identify, and where possible to address, concerns the next of kin may raise about the clinical care provided.
To act as a source of expertise, advice, and knowledge for relatives of the decreased patient, health care professionals and coroner and registration services.
Will be primarily located at one of the two hospital based Medical Examiner Offices with requirement for cross-site working.
Key Responsiblities:
Work with medical examiners to aid them in their responsibility for overseeing the death certification process for all deceased patients in the organisation and in the community as the role evolves
To carry out proper and proportionate preliminary scrutiny of medical notes of deceased patients working with the Medical Examiner, and maintaining a robust database to capture the deaths scrutinised each day
Reviewing the proposed cause of death and whether the coroner needs to be notified with the doctor completing the MCCD
To act autonomously (within agreed escalation parameters) in reporting cases to HM Coroner when medical staff/Medical Examiner are not available
Explain to bereaved relatives cause of death in a transparent, tactful, and sympathetic manner, which reflects different faith, cultural, ethnic and diversity considerations. This will often include the need to communicate sensitive information and offer explanation
Asking the bereaved whether they have any questions about the care before death and ensure any concerns about care raised by the relatives are passed to the Medical Examiner in a timely fashion before MCCD is released to relatives
To offer support and pastoral care to families and colleagues and to facilitate effective communication between families and health care professionals alongside Bereavement Office staff
To act as an intermediary between the bereaved and clinicians to establish and escalate any concerns relating to a patient’s death. Assist relatives in identifying appropriate information and additional/further advice and support e.g. Patient Advice Liaison Service contacts, Bereavement Office information
To establish clear and effective channels for communicating and co-operating with all departments, wards, and relevant professionals
To maintain an accurate and effective record keeping system and data collection, having due regard to legal aspects, confidentiality, and managerial information/project requirements.
Contribute to the development and introduction of protocols, guidelines, and policy as appropriate and lead on QI projects
To continually monitor and reflect on one’s own performance in the provision of care, ensuring professional standards are always met. Take responsibility for continuing professional development and attend yearly appraisals (minimum)
Where the postholder is a registered professional, to maintain an effective and valid professional registration and to fulfil the role in accordance with professional Code of Professional Conduct
Provide advice and maintain effective relationships with: -
Internal
- Hospital doctors
- Medical Examiners
- Service managers
- Clinical team
- Clinical governance leads
- Mortuary staff
- HM Coroner and officers
- Spiritual/Faith community leads
- Registrars of births and deaths
- GPs and practice staff
- Bereaved relatives, carers and executors/solicitors
- Funeral directors
- National and Regional Medical Examiners
- Regional Lead Medical Examiner Officer
