Job summary
- Main area
- Medical Examiner Office
- Grade
- Specialist or Consultant Grade
- Contract
- Permanent: 1 Programmed Activity (4 hours) per week, provided flexibly Monday - Friday
- Hours
- Part time
- Flexible working
- Job ref
- 251-MD24095-A
- Employer
- Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Hampshire Hospitals
- Town
- Basingstoke/Winchester
- Salary
- £83,945 - £131,964 per annum pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 25/07/2024 23:59
Employer heading
Medical Examiner
Specialist or Consultant Grade
Our cultural ambition is to have a culture that places people at the heart of all we do, where we all belong, and where learning, improvement and excellence thrive.
Job overview
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.
Main duties of the job
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
Working for our organisation
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.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
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.
The main responsibilities are to:
- 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 Birkett
Person specification
Training and Qualifications
Essential criteria
- • Medical Practitioner registered and licensed to practise in the UK by the GMC
Desirable criteria
- • Successfully completed the mandatory e-learning modules before the start of the role and attend a face-to-face training within the first 3 months in post
Experience and Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Up to date knowledge of medical conditions, treatments and medicines which may or may not have contributed to death, and be able to exercise judgement in where to seek specialist advice in order to determine the appropriate level of scrutiny required
- Knowledge of local and national clinical governance systems and an understanding of how the ME can work collaboratively to improve patient safety by identifying sub optimal clinical and organisational performance
- Up to date knowledge of causes of death and an understanding of the legal frameworks associated with death certification
- Knowledge of special requirements of various faith groups and respect for equality and diversity
Desirable criteria
- Be familiar with the role and function of the Coroner and be able to present complex medical information in such a way as to assist the Coroner to decide whether to investigate a death about which they have been notified
Skills and Ability
Essential criteria
- IT skills including use of email and commonly used software
- Ability to assimilate information quickly and summarise succinctly
- Strong interpersonal skills demonstrating the ability to communicate in difficult and emotional situations with empathy and professionalism
- Commitment to lifelong learning and undertaking personal development opportunities
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Lisa Birkett
- Job title
- Lead Medical Examiner Officer
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01962 824073
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