We want talented and enthusiastic people from all backgrounds to join #TeamMWL, with us you can learn, grow and develop yourself and your career, realising your true ambitions and aspirations.
Whatever you’re looking for in your career, you’ll find it here at MWL.
After applying via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred Third-party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. You will not be able to track the progress of your application or receive messages through the NHS Jobs website, and furthermore, as an employer, we will not be able to respond to any e-mails sent to us via the NHS Jobs website. By applying for this post you are agreeing to "name of trust" transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are appointed to a post information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.
Job overview
Medical examiners (MEs) are appropriately trained doctors who will verify clinical information on Medical Certificates of Cause of Death (MCCDs) and ensure that the right referrals are made to the coroner for further investigation. A practising medical practitioner who has been on the general medical council register for a minimum of five years post registration can apply to be a medical examiner. It is recommended that medical examiners are consultant grade doctors from a range of disciplines (including GP principals). 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 for deaths they scrutinise.
Main duties of the job
MEs should be aware of how their personal communication style impacts on others and be able to adapt their approach to suit a variety of situations and audiences. This will require:
* Highly evolved self-awareness and empathetic skills to liaise effectively and sympathetically with bereaved families.
* The ability to demonstrate and combine appropriate levels of compassion with professionalism and discretion.
* Being open to constructive criticism, ideas, and solutions
* Acting as a positive role model and interacting appropriately with all stakeholders including MEOs, other MEs, the bereaved and the coroner
* Having the integrity to gain trust and comply with the independent nature of the ME role in the context of other clinical specialty duties.
Working for our organisation
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.
Our services:
Acute Care
Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.
Primary Care
Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.
Community Services
Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.
Specialist Regional Services
We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.
Achievements:
* Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
* Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
* National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme.
You will be expected to undertake the Trusts' commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
MEs must have up-to-date knowledge of medical conditions and treatments and be able to exercise judgement about when to seek specialist advice.
MEs must have detailed knowledge of the relevant legislation and processes which apply to:
* The determination of whether a death is natural or unnatural.
* Deaths that must be reported to the coroner.
* Deaths abroad where bodies are returned to England and Wales for disposal.
* Deaths where relatives wish to transport the body abroad for disposal.
* Certifying and registering deaths and the regulations to authorise cremation or burials of stillbirths abroad.
Quality and Audit
MEs will be required to participate in any relevant governance activities relating to scrutiny and confirmation of the cause of death where concerns have been raised by the next of kin/informant of the deceased and/or clinical staff and ME scrutiny.
MEs will facilitate routine analysis of MCCD information to identify trends, patterns and unusual features of deaths and report, as required, firstly to the regional Lead ME and ultimately to the National Medical Examiner’s office.
MEs will provide information to local Child Death Overview panels in respect of all child deaths which are not being investigated by the coroner.
Person specification
Qualifications
* Full registration with the GMC and license to practice in the UK
* MBBS or equivalent medical qualification
* Minimum 5 years’ experience as a fully registered medical practitioner
Skills
* Completion of the 26 RCPath core e-learning modules (prior to appointment) 10 CPD credits
* Up-to-date knowledge of medical conditions, treatments and causes of death
* Understanding of the legal frameworks associated with death certification processes
* Knowledge of local and national clinical governance systems and how they affect the work of professionals and organisations.
* Ability to identify available data sources to support the detection and analysis of concerns and to recognise gaps in available knowledge
* Ability to identify good practice and ensure the spread of knowledge among relevant colleagues
* Ability to report sub‑standard clinical and organisational performance to relevant colleagues to protect patients.
* IT competent, for the purposes of efficient scrutiny and routine analysis of information
* Completion of the face‑to‑face training day (mandatory within 6 months of appointment) 6 CPD credits
* Agreement to complete the remaining 61 RCPath e‑learning modules within 1 year of appointment
* Awareness of equality and diversity issues within the community and a demonstrable ability to understand the requirements of diverse faith groups
Other
* Have the resilience to manage own reaction to frequently distressing situations and support others within the team
* Ability to communicate effectively and respectfully within own team and with people in other disciplines (medical examiner’s officer, attending practitioner, senior coroner, the police, funeral director, & Registrar)
* Ability to communicate effectively, with empathy, professionalism, and discretion with the relatives or representatives of the deceased, in difficult and emotional situations
* Ability to demonstrate proportionate and professional judgement to sustain integrity and independence, particularly where there is the potential for a conflict of interest
* Ability to work as a part of a multidisciplinary team with a fluctuating workload, competing priorities and numerous interruptions.
* Ability to manage and comply with sensitive information‑based processes under tight timescales
* Proactive and self‑motivated with a flexible working approach
* Ability to assist or deliver training to enhance skills within the ME’s team and junior doctors in the process of death certification
Thank you for considering an application to work for Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust. MWL is an exciting and forward‑thinking NHS Trust who are one of the best places to work for in England.
Given sometimes we receive a high volume of applications to work for us, please be aware, that we may close a vacancy earlier than stated should a sufficient number of applications be received from which a shortlist can be confirmed. Therefore, you are advised to apply at your earliest convenience.
The Trust may contact you during the recruitment process for your feedback on your experience. We always aim for continuous improvement in our practice.
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
We actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity, and respect for all individuals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and value the unique skills, perspective and experience you bring. We are grounded in the belief that diversity enhances our collective strength, fostering innovation and excellence within our workforce. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and in particular those from under–represented groups.
As a Disability Confident Leader, we commit to offering an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.
If you are having difficulty completing an online application, or require any disability reasonable adjustments, to the application process, please contact Recruitment@merseywestlancs.nhs.uk
We also commit to offering an interview to all armed forces veterans who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.
The Trust operates anonymous shortlisting where no personal information about you, including your name or personal details are shared with the recruiting manager. No equality information is shared at any time during the recruitment process with the recruiting manager or other people involved in the decision‑making process.
The equality monitoring information you provide is used in the following situations: to review our recruitment practices; where a job is limited to a specific person to verify their eligibility to apply; and to offer disability reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Following the recent update on UK immigration policy for those on a Health and Care Visa or Skilled Worker Visa, please click here to check your eligibility before applying for this post as we may be unable to provide sponsorship.
eVisa Update
For successful candidates on selected work and study visa routes, who have completed and paid for their applications will no longer receive a visa vignette in passport as evidence of their permission to enter the UK.
Instead, you will be issued with an eVisa only, which is accessed by creating a UKVI account.
Before travelling to the UK, we advise applicants to:
* Understand how to generate an eVisa share code
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
If this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Please note if applicable, applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment.
If you have not already done so, you are therefore encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service to which a small annual fee of £13 per year applies.
Flexible Working
We actively support flexible working patterns throughout MWL. Changes made to the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook mean that:
* All employees have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment.
* There is no limit on the number of requests they can make.
* Employees have the right to make requests, have them considered, regardless of the reason.
At Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, we will consider requests for flexible working. We would also encourage you to also discuss flexible working options at interview stage.
Working for Team MWL
Staff recognition is especially important to us; as well as performance reviews and appraisals, we recognise staff through Employee of the month. Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.
The Trust is a non‑smoking across all our sites. Failure to follow this rule could lead to disciplinary action. For more information, see the Smoke Free NHS website.
You will be expected to undertake the Trusts' commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.
You must ensure that your application, including personal statements and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.
The Trust will not accept applications which are found to be AI generated and will check all applications against AI detection software.
Additional Information
Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trusts Values and Behaviours which are We are KIND, We are OPEN, We are INCLUSIVE, which can be found here.
An applicant guide to help and support you with your application and what to expect during our recruitment journey can be accessed in the supporting documents.
Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team MWL very soon.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
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