Medical Examiners Officer

at  Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

The Medical Examiners Department is looking for a dynamic Medical Examiner Officer to join the team. We are looking for someone with excellent interpersonal skills, who can work with bereaved families and support the Medical Examiners and staff within the Trust.
An exciting opportunity has arisen at Nottingham University Hospitals Medical Examiners Service, to provide support for the continued implementation of the Medical Examiners service across both the hospital and community setting. The post holder will work with Medical Examiners and Doctors at all levels as well as senior leaders representing patient safety and risk management, clinical effectiveness and patient experience. The purpose of the role is to ensure that all non coronial deaths are appropriately scrutinised by the Medical Examiners team and any learning in relation to the deceased patients care identified and fed back to individuals or teams. The post-holder will be based in the Bereavement Service at Nottingham University Hospitals and report to the senior Medical Examiners Officer and the Lead Medical Examiner.
You will provide support, advice, information and guidance in relation to the administrative duties and legal requirements following a death.
You will be enthusiastic about being part of an evolving process and be confident to work independently and use your own initiative. You will be organised and able to prioritise your workload to ensure that all processes are completed in a timely manner. You will have excellent verbal and written communication skills and enjoy building relationships with all levels of staff both within the Trust, in the community and with other stakeholders and organisations.
With 19,000 staff, we are one of the biggest employers in the city with a central role in supporting the health and wellbeing of our local population. We play a leading role in research, education and innovation.
NUH was established in 2006 following the merger of Nottingham City Hospital and Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC). We have a budget of just under £1billion, 90 wards and 1,700 beds across three main sites: QMC, City Hospital and Ropewalk House. We deliver district general services to 2.5m residents of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and its surrounding communities. Our specialist services allow us to deliver care to 4.5m people from across the East Midlands and nationally for a handful of services. QMC is where our Emergency Department (ED), Major Trauma Centre and the Nottingham Children’s Hospital are based. It is also home to the University of Nottingham’s School of Nursing and Medical School. Nottingham City Hospital is our planned care site, where our cancer centre, heart centre and stroke services are based, and where some of our emergency admissions units are located.
As a teaching trust we have a strong relationship with our colleagues at the University of Nottingham and other universities across the East Midlands, including Loughborough University, where we are part of the Olympic Legacy project. We play a vital role in the education and training of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals.
To act as an intermediary between the bereaved and clinicians to establish and resolve any concerns relating to a patient’s death.
To work with Medical Examiners to aid them in their responsibility for overseeing the death certification process for all deceased patients in both the hospital and community setting.
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.
To assist in the collection and collation of evidence and further information for the medical examiners team, which may be used for internal case assessment or investigation, i.e. Structured Judgement Review (SJR).
To assist in the monitoring, tracking and managing performance and quality in relation to the completion of Coroner’s referrals, Medical Examiners database and mortality reviews.
Ensure all accidents and untoward incidents are reported to the manager in charge of the area and complete an incident form in accordance with Trust policy.
To work collaboratively with other multidisciplinary teams to ensure that a seamless process is maintained for the benefit of bereaved relatives, statutory requirements and to ensure that the development of future changes in the death certification processes are implemented.
To work collaboratively with the Medical Examiner’s office, PALS, the Complaints Team and other related services to ensure bereaved relatives are supported and accurately advised and to establish, resolve and escalate appropriately any concerns they may have.
To work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders for the purpose of ensuring that statutory requirements are upheld and there is engagement in changes required in the Medical Examiners and Learning from Death processes.
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 Medical Examiners and Learning form Death processes.
Maintain an awareness of the diverse needs of users of the Medical Examiner system to ensure equality to any particular group defined by sex, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or disability.
Take charge of the department on a regular basis in the absence of the Lead Medical Examiners Officer or their deputy.
Line manage the administrative team members and support with their development.
Use resources effectively in order to provide quality care whist having an awareness of budgetary issues.
Undertake formal and informal teaching sessions as required.
Be aware of personal development and be prepared to attend and undertake any necessary training

Please refer the Job description for details