At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust we put our patients at the heart of every element of health and care that we provide. The Trust works together as a community to deliver its vision which is "Working together to provide outstanding care for our community."
Royal Berkshire Hospital are pleased to announce that following our CQC inspection we have been rated 'Good' with inspectors reporting that we have made significant improvements. The Trust's overall rating has also improved to 'good'.
We are Compassionate in our thoughts, words and actions
We are Aspirational and have a true desire to be dynamic and to innovate
We are Resourceful and responsible in the way we work and live
We are Excellent in our development, fairness and sharing best practice
At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, we value candidates who bring their unique personalities, skills, and experiences to the Trust. When completing your application, we encourage you to highlight your individual achievements and strengths, showing us how they align with the requirements outlined in the job description and person specification. While we recognise that some applicants may use AI tools during the process, please be mindful that AI-generated responses can often lack the personal detail and relevance needed to demonstrate your suitability for the role. AI generated content is discouraged by the Trust and may diminish the candidates chances of success.
Amazing things happen at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust; delivered by amazing people so why don't you come and join us. We offer a range of learning and development for all employees may you be clinical or non-clinical.
Job overview
We are seeking to expand our pool of Medical Examiners (ME). The team sits within the Networked Care Division with professional oversight by the Medical Associate Director, Patient Safety.
The ME posts have been created by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in response to observations made in the Third Report of the Shipman Inquiry. The introduction of the statutory ME system on September 9th 2024 promotes robust, transparent and independent scrutiny of non-coronial deaths, and hold a vital role in the learning from deaths agenda. MEs report, via the lead ME, to the regional ME, and they work closely with the Coroner and Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
Further information regarding the role of MEs can be found on the RCpath website. Applications from GP's and Paediatricians are encouraged.
We are looking for an ME to work 4 hours every other week. Remote working options are also available although staff will be expected to be on-site for their training/induction. The MEs are supported by the ME Officer team based at the Royal Berkshire Hospital. Successful candidates would be expected to attend quarterly half-days in support of their learning and development.
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Dimensions of role
Medical examiners (MEs) are appropriately trained doctors who, through a process of independent scrutiny, will verify clinical information on Medical Certificates of Cause of Death (MCCDs), support identification of cases requiring coronial referral, and highlight cases where further scrutiny may be of benefit. A practicing medical practitioner who has been on the general medical council register for a minimum of five years post registration can apply to be a ME. MEs will take a consistent approach to the formulation of MCCD content, which must be clinically accurate and reflect any discussions with the next of kin/informant. MEs must not have been involved in the care of the deceased patients whose deaths they scrutinise.
Working for our organisation
The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust achieved Foundation Trust status on 1st June 2006 and was the first Foundation Trust in the South Central Strategic Health Authority. The Trust has a successful track record of delivering high quality acute medical and surgical services for 500,000 patients across West Berkshire, an area extending from Newbury in the west to Henley-on-Thames in the east, and including Wokingham and parts of Hampshire to the south and parts of Oxfordshire to the north. The Trust is one of the largest general hospital Trusts in the country and is Reading's biggest employer.
Royal Berkshire Hospital are pleased to announce that following our most recent CQC inspection we have been rated as 'Good' with inspectors reporting we have made significant improvements.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
* Ensure compliance with the legal and procedural requirements associated with the current processes of certification, investigation by coroners and registration of deaths.
* Scrutinise the certified causes of death offered by attending doctors in a way that is proportionate, consistent and compliant with the proposed national protocol.
* Discuss and explain the cause of death with next of kin/informants in a transparent, tactful and sympathetic manner. It is anticipated that such discussions will be predominately conducted through telephone conversations where barriers to understanding information may exist.
* Ensure that all users of the ME system are treated with respect and are not discriminated against on the grounds of sex, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or disability.
* Maintain comprehensive records of all deaths scrutinised and undertake analysis to provide information to the National Medical Examiner's office.
* Participate in relevant clinical governance activities relating to death certification including audits, mortality review processes and investigations regarding formal complaints about patient care.
* Support the training of junior doctors in their understanding of death certification and promote good practice in accurate completion of MCCDs.
* Work with medical examiner officers (MEOs), delegating duties as appropriate.
* Engage with Trust ME Lead, Regional ME and MEO Leads where necessary.
* Adopt a collaborative working relationship with other MEs by sharing experiences and expertise to support peer learning and set uniform standards of service delivery.
We are NOT able to carry out telephone interviews thus applicants must be prepared to travel for an interview.
All new appointments to the Trust, with the exception of executive positions, are subject to a probationary period.
No unsolicited recruitment agency telephone calls or emails.
All applicants must be able to speak fluent English to an appropriate standard which will be assessed at Interview. This is in order to comply with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016.
IMPORTANT:
1. Please ensure you check the email account (including junk/spam boxes) from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.
2. Due to the high volumes of applications we receive for certain posts, we reserve the right to close any adverts before the published closing date once we have received a sufficient number of applications.
3. All vacancies followed by INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY have been classified as an internal role and only internal candidates will be considered.
4. All staff identified as AT-RISK who meets the requirements of the post will be prioritised accordingly. Priority will initially be given to Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust employees.
5. All applicants who have a disability and meet the minimum criteria for the post can opt for a guaranteed interview.
Applications from Tier 2 candidates who require Tier 2 immigration status to work in the UK are welcome but such candidates will not be appointed to the post if there are a sufficient number of other suitable and available candidates, as the employing body will in those circumstances be unable to satisfy the Resident Market Labour Test as required by the Border Immigration Authority.
*The Trust operates a smoke-free policy*