Medical Examiner Officer | The Shrewsbury And Telford Hospital Nhs Trust

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a full time Medical Examiner Officer to join the Medical Examiner service at The Shrewsbury and Telford HospitalNHS Trust (SaTH). We are currently progressing with the expansion of our service to include review of deaths from the non-acute sector of our health community as the Medical Examiner Service is expected to become statutory from April 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. In addition, 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.
Candidates must have completed the mandatory e-learning MEO core training modules (free of charge).
This post will primarily be based from the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital however applicants will be required to work from the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford as and when required to meet the needs of the service and should have reliable transport plans in place to facilitate this.
The hours are 37.5 week to be worked Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.
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.
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.
For full duties and responsibilities please refer to the attached document entitled Job Description.
This advert closes on Thursday 18 Jan 2024