Non Clinical - Medical Examiner Officer

  • Department Medical Examiner Service
  • Salary £29,970.00 – £36,483 per annum
  • Closing Date 31/10/2024
  • Location The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and The Princess Royal Hospital, Telford
  • Grade NHS AfC: Band 5
  • Job ref 223-MEO-539-A
  • Pension NHS Pension
  • Holidays Generous Holiday Allowance
  • NHS discount Eligible for NHS Discounts
  • Contract Permanent
  • Hours Part time - 30 hours per week

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Medical Examiner Officer to join the Medical Examiner service at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH). We are progressing the expansion of our service to include review of deaths from the non-acute sector of our health community as the Medical Examiner Service will become statutory from 9th September 2024.

You will be assisting Medical Examiners in carrying out their duty of independent scrutiny of deceased patient's medical records to review the patient's care and ascertain a cause of death.  You are a point of contact and source of advice and support for relatives of deceased patients, healthcare professionals and coroner and registration services.

The nature of the job is such that it demands high standards of integrity. It is essential that you have good interpersonal skills with the ability to show empathy and deal sensitively with bereaved families in highly emotive situations, whilst maintaining professional standards.

We have two vacancies, one post is based at The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and one post is based at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.  However applicants will be required to work from either of our hospital sites as and when required to meet the needs of the service and should have reliable transport plans in place to facilitate this.

Previous applicants need not apply. 

Main duties of the job

To establish the circumstances of individual patient deaths by performing a preliminary review of medical records to identify clinical and circumstantial information, sourcing additional details where required, for scrutiny by the medical examiner. Assist in highlighting cases that require referral to the Coroner and discuss with bereaved relatives why this might be necessary.

To assist in highlighting cases for assessment by the Structured Judgement Review team (SJR), Clinical Governance teams and the Learning Disability Review Teams (LeDeR).

To discuss likely content of medical certificate of cause of death with relatives of deceased and in all cases, collect additional information. This may include the need to communicate sensitive information and offer explanations but would be fully supported by the Medical Examiner of the day and the lead MEO.

To ensure any concerns raised by the relatives are dealt with in a timely manner and forwarded to the appropriate support service such as Patient Safety or Patient Experience for further investigation or input.

The nature of our work means you can be exposed to distressing and upsetting detail. The role of the MEO can be demanding with a sizable workload and requires an applicant with resilience and the ability to cope under pressure amongst their skill set.

Working for our organisation

The Medical Examiner Office is a team of knowledgeable & dedicated staff who are committed to helping and supporting family members following the death of a patient. You will benefit from joining a small and friendly team who look out for each another and due to the nature of our work we ensure our colleagues are supported in their roles. We work with staff at all levels and with various internal and external stakeholders and in doing so, you will build a rapport with interdependent departments and services which will expand your knowledge base, skills and experience.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For full duties and responsibilities please refer to the attached document entitled Job Description.

The well-being of our staff is of the upmost importance to us.  If you are offered a role at our Trust, and fall into the increased and higher risk categories as set out by Public Health England (PHE) and NHSI/E, your line manager will complete an risk assessment with you.  This will be completed in conjunction with the latest guidance from Public Health England in relation to Covid-19.

By submitting your application to Trac, you are giving your consent for parts of your application data to be transferred to the NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR) and other secure, internal NHS Workforce systems. This is to support and manage your recruitment and employment within your employing organisation. 

If successful, by completing the NHS Jobs application form you authorise the Trust to obtain any previous NHS service details including all electronically held sickness information, via the Inter Authority Transfer process on the national ESR.

If the role requires a qualification/professional registration, you will need to provide proof during the recruitment process. By submitting your application you are giving the Trust permission to check the qualification certificates provided back to the source provider. Please note that a sample of all applicant’s qualifications will be checked with the educational institution or provider.

In the event of a high response to this advertisement, this post will be closed. Early applications are advised.
 
Unfortunately we do not accept CVs or keep them on file. If you are unable to apply online please contact the person named in the advertisement for the post you are interested in.
 
We are committed to offering an interview to all applicants with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for the above position and will support reasonable adjustments wherever possible.  In addition, whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from candidates who are male, from black and minority ethnic backgrounds or who have a disability, as these are currently under-represented in our workforce.
 
We are committed to equal opportunities in employment. The policies and practices of the Trust aim to promote an environment that is free from all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination and values the diversity of all people. At the heart of our policy, we seek to treat people fairly, flexibly and with dignity and respect.

Thank you for your interest in The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, we look forward to receiving your application for employment.

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