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Job description

The post holder will work alongside the Senior Medical Examiner Officer in supporting the Hospital Medical Examiners, in ensuring a robust death certification system, providing assurance to the bereaved relatives through appropriate discussion regarding circumstances and cause of death. The post holder will support the Medical Examiners in the legislative requirements following a patient and community death, working in close association with the Senior Medical Examiner Officer and Medical Examiners in scrutinising the circumstances and causes of death, reporting deaths to the District Coroner and liaising with the coroner's service on a daily basis.

To act as an intermediary between theBereaved families, Senior MEO and Medical Examiners in order to assess/establish if there are any concerns relating to death/hospital care.

To give support in the integration and implementation of systems and processes relating to the ME role service and the national learning from death strategy. To work in liaison and communicative links between the Senior MEO, Medical Examiners, Consultants, Juniors doctors and bereavement officers.

Will liaise with Consultants and junior doctors in relation to the circumstances of death and to assist in training, giving guidance to junior doctors in the death certification process.

To work collaboratively with the Senior MEO, Medical Examiner's and Trust leads with internal and external stake holders for the purpose of ensuring statutory requirements are maintained.

To ensure that the Medical Examiner Service and LFD processes, principles and standards are maintained, engaging and accessing information required for contributing to national and internal death reporting requirements.

While also doing the Mandatory Scrutiny of Community Deaths, working with GPs, care homes and any other community providers.

The new Medical Examiner system was introduced here at the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust in January 2019, this reformed process is designed to ensure a more robust death certification process providing additional assurances to bereaved relatives, through appropriate discussion, regarding circumstances and cause of death the post holder will participate in the new death certification processes alongside existing bereavement processes associated with many legislative requirements following the death of a patient, working in close association with the Senior Medical Examiner Officer in supporting the Medical Examiners in their role in scrutinising the circumstances and causes of death.

Purpose of Post:
To support medical examiners in their role in scrutinising the circumstances and causes of death. To be a point of contact and source of advice for relatives of deceased patients, healthcare professionals and coroner and registration services.

Duties/Responsibilities of the role

• To welcome and assist personal visitors to the Medical Examiner's Office and to receive incoming enquires from internal and external
• Prepare cases for scrutiny by Medical Examiner as directed by the senior MEO, by deciphering and highlighting clinical and other relevant information from deceased patient's medical records in order to carry out an initial screening of circumstances prior to the issuing of Medical Death Certificate.
• Provide support to the Senior ME Officer and to build and develop a service that will meet the service requirements under the Learning from Deaths programme.
• Give assistance and support in the co-ordination, develop and training, in providing the required knowledge and understanding of the Bereavement and MEO in support of the end of life processes.
• To support the hospital chaplaincy team and Spiritual/Faith community leads in support of the religious and cultural beliefs of the deceased and their families

work collaboratively with teams currently managing the death certification processes ensuring seamless processes are maintained for the benefits of bereaved relatives and statutory requirements and the development of future changes in the death certification processes are implemented.

• To work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders for the purposes of ensuring statutory requirements are maintained engagement in changes in the ME and I-FD processes and principles are implemented and accessing information required to contribute to national and internal reporting requirements, Coroner, Legal department, PALS, Registrar, LeDeR are achieved
• To support in the development of trust wide IT systems, including national IT systems to ensure effective and efficient inputting, extracting and collation of data relating to the ME and I-FD Processes.

To work collaboratively with trust lead for mortality and clinical and governance teams in developing and embedding robust governance processes for assuring reviewing deaths, identifying and sharing lessons learnt is delivered.

• To assist in the preparation of reports to be submitted to the national

ME

• As directed by the Senior ME Officer to support the trust lead for mortality in preparing reports for Mortality Surveillance Group (MSG) and Quality Patient Experience and Safety Committee (QPES)
• In the absence of the Senior ME Officer to represent at regional and national forums.

To contribute to and review assist in the departmental policies and procedures to reflect best practice in the delivery of a medical examiner system.

• To give support in the development and deliver appropriate training packages for stakeholders relating to the ME Service and Learning from Death Strategy.
• Oversee the administration team member/s and support their training and development

4. OTHER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES;

• The information supplied above is intended to summarise the key responsibilities and duties of the role. The post holder may be required from time to time to carry out other reasonable request and duties as required consistent with the responsibilities of their Banding and development as agreed between employee, Senior MEO and line manager.

Assist and evaluate the effectiveness of service in the provision of data for the effective evaluation of service provided against National Standards-DOI-1 2005 and NICE Guidance 2004.

• To support the Senior ME Officer in the training and induction at ward level for Nurses and Health Care assistants.

5. PHYSICAL & WORKING CONDITIONS

The post holder will be working in an emotionally demanding area, dealing with people who are often anxious and unable to think logically during a time of bereavement. This often involves the post holder being exposed to unbearable behaviour including extreme distress either via telephone or in person.

To assist in ensuring the smooth, reactive and accurate completion of existing legal procedures for a high volume of deaths. degrees of distress/grief.

To be self-motivated and able to manage own workloads and effectively apportion cases to numerous rotation based medical examiners, ensuring the continuity of tasks being carried out is to tight timescales yet maintaining a meticulous eye for detail and accuracy.

Competent keyboard skills with a working knowledge of Microsoft

Office.

Working in close association with mortuary and bereavement colleagues. Ensuring communicative links are maintained, continuity of time scales and ensuring proportionate scrutiny for all certificates.

To be self-motivation and supportive to junior staff in prioritising workloads.

Participate in extremely difficult conversations demonstrating advance communication skills in sensitive situations with vulnerable acutely bereaved families/relatives.

Be co-ordinator in the liaison and completion of hospital/Clinical post mortem process, in obtaining consent for post mortem in line with HTA and other related mandatory legislation.

Daily PC/Keyboard, Copying/Scanner and telephone use.
1. DECISIONS & JUDGEMENTS• To work autonomously in the absence of Senior MEO, ME's and Line manager.

To work autonomously whilst on occasion attend the hospital out of hours for the purpose of death certificate completion.

• To be decisive and assertive in the guidance and instruction of medical death certificates in accordance with the ME's requirements
• To supervise junior administration staff.
• To investigate and work to resolve issues that are causing delays in the death completion of documentation process.

Alert the Senior MEO and ME to any concerns about the care, complexity of family dynamics, and requirements for urgent release of a body due to religious or other concerning issues
1. COMMUNICATIONS & RELATIONSHIPS

Internal Relationships:
Mortuary & Bereavement Services Manager

Lead Medical Examiner Senior Medical Examiner Officer

ME Officers/ Bereavement staff.

Mortuary Staff

Nursing Staff & Ward Staff

PALS/Patient Experience Team

Junior Doctors

Hospital Consultants

General Managers and Heads of Departments

Hospital Chaplaincy

External Relationships

Patients and Clients

Bereaved Relatives

Cares and Relatives

Local Registration Offices

Local Authority

H.M Coroner's Office
GPs

Funeral Directors

Cemeteries/Crematoria/Burial Parks

Multi Faith Representatives

Social Services
1. PHYSICAL DEMANDS OF THE JOB Constant Keyboard working

• Walking/Standing
• Lifting of Patient Note/Files

9. MOST CHALLENGING/DIFFICULT PARTS OF THE JOB

• Dealing with distressed Relatives.
• Dead lines
• Local resolution with support of clinical teams of bereaved families who raise concerns.
• Communication with Juniors Doctors in the Completion of Medical Death Certificates.
• Escalation to senior clinicians when areas of concern around compliance with completion of medical death certificates
• Ensuring timely completion of medical death certificates to support bereaved families.
• Overcoming ME/Medical rota challenges.
• Occasional 'Out of Hours' work.

1. Person Specification for Medical Examiners’ Officer

Requirements

Essential/

Desirable

Assessment

Method

Qualifications

• Educated to Batchelor’s degree level or equivalent working knowledge in related field.

Essential

Application form

• A commitment to life-long learning and undertaking personal development opportunities.

Essential

Application form

• The ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders, including the recently bereaved.

Essential

Application form

• Completed e-learning MEO core training modules prior to starting in the post

Essential

Interview

Knowledge and Experience

Experience of working with people in sensitive and emotional situations.

Essential

Application form/interview

Experience of working in a healthcare setting with multi-disciplinary teams across organisational boundaries.

Desirable

Application form/interview

General knowledge of clinical/medical terminology.

Essential

Interview

Knowledge of the special requirements of various faith groups and respect for equality and diversity of issues around formalities following a death.

Desirable

Interview

Knowledge of the Coroner & Justice Act 2009 reference to the medical examiner system. Full understanding of the medical examiner system operational remit when incorporated within Bereavement Services or as a stand-alone office.

Desirable

Interview

Skills

Strong interpersonal skills demonstrating the ability to communicate in difficult and emotional situations with empathy and professionalism with all stakeholders.

Essential

Interview

Ability to work as part of a team and organise fluctuating workload around competing priorities.

Essential

Interview

Competent in the use of IT software systems and handling sensitive personal identifiable data .

Desirable

Interview

Personal qualities

Proactive and self-motivated with the ability to deputise for senior MEO often at short notice.

Essential

Interview

Approachable and supportive to all levels of staff and bereaved families in a non-judgemental and discreet manner.

Essential

Interview

Professional appearance, manner and awareness of impact of own behaviour on others.

Essential

Interview

Ability to maintain a calm manner in a range of challenging and emotive circumstances .

Essential

Interview