Medical Examiner

at  Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

We are seeking to appoint a proactive and self-motivated Medical Examiner to join our team of Medical Examiners to provide independent scrutiny of the causes of death. Currently this involves all hospital deaths, along with a proportion of deaths in non-acute and community setting. From 9 September 2024 the Medical Examiner Service will become statutory and all non-coroneral deaths will come through the Medical Examiner Service.
You will work closely with the Medical Examiner Officers and will report to the Lead Medical Examiner.
An individual ME works on average 4 hours per week, which could be 4 hours on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday or 2 hours per day on two other weekdays, provided flexibly.
MEs are senior doctors in secondary and primary care, and we are building a team with a broad mix of skills. You could be a Consultant or SAS doctor from within or outside of the Trust, or a General Practitioner.
The successful applicant will
provide greater safeguards for the public by ensuring independent scrutiny of all non-coronial deaths
ensure the appropriate direction of deaths to the coroner
provide a better service for the bereaved and an opportunity for them to raise any concerns to a doctor not involved in the care of the decreased
improve the quality of death certification
improve the quality of mortality data
Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the major provider of hospital services to the population of North and mid Hampshire and surrounding areas. The hospitals in Basingstoke and Winchester provide a comprehensive range of acute services as well as being a tertiary referral centre for colorectal, liver, peritoneal carcinomatosis, haemophilia and pseudomyxoma surgery.
The Medical Examiner (ME) must be a medical practitioner registered with a licence to practise in the UK by the GMC, with at least five-years of experience. The post-holder must have been registered as a medical practitioner throughout the previous five years as at the date of appointment.

ensure compliance with the legal and procedural requirements associated with the current processes of certification, investigation (by coroners) and registration of deaths
support those doctors who call for medical advice on suspected natural causes of death
scrutinise the certified causes of all in-scope deaths
maintain comprehensive records of all deaths scrutinised and undertake analysis for clinical governance purposes
explain to bereaved relatives cause of death in a transparent, tactful and sympathetic manner
support the training of junior doctors in completion of MCCDs
engage with relevant governance activities relating to death certification
support the Medical Examiner Officers in carrying out their role and with their continuing professional development
Attend remotely once every three weeks a brief meeting of all the MEs and MEOs Teams, currently 8-8.30am on a Tuesday
For further details / informal visits or to arrange a conversation with our Lead ME, contact: Lisa Birket