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). Accreditation as a Medical Examiner is through the Royal College of Pathology and has two components: e-learning and face-to-face training. It is expected that the elearning is completed before interview and it is expected that face to face training, if not already completed, should take place within 6 months of starting the role.
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* To ensure compliance with legal and procedural requirements relating to current and reformed processes for death certification, coroner investigation, and registration.
* To scrutinise causes of death provided by attending doctors in a proportionate, consistent manner in line with national protocols.
* To discuss and explain causes of death to next of kin/informants sensitively, transparently, and tactfully, mainly via telephone where barriers to understanding exist.
* To ensure all users of the Medical Examiner (ME) system are treated with dignity and without discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, or disability.
* To maintain accurate records of all deaths reviewed and provide analysis and information to the National Medical Examiner's Office.
* To identify deaths that may require reporting as serious incidents and ensure referral for structured judgement reviews where appropriate.
* To participate in clinical governance activities, including audits, mortality reviews, investigations, and complaints relating to patient care.
* To support and train junior doctors in death certification and promote accurate completion of MCCDs.
* To countersign AP MCCDs and issue ME MCCDs following receipt of CN1B forms from the Coroner.
* To work collaboratively with Medical Examiner Officers (MEOs), site medical directors, and fellow Medical Examiners, sharing expertise to support peer learning and consistent service standards.
Working for our organisation
We are one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with three acute hospitals and community sites serving a local population of around 800,000. We also provide specialist services for Kent and Medway.
We're on an exciting journey of transformation. With a new Medical School at the centre of our community, a focus on research, clinical leadership and making our trust a rewarding
and friendly place to work, there's never been a better time to join us.
At East Kent, we will do all we can to help you grow a career around you, your family, your location and your interests.
We offer flexible and fulfilling career solutions that work for you and unique opportunities to innovate and inspire – all in a county where you can enjoy your life to the full, whatever your interest.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
* To ensure compliance with the legal and procedural requirements associated with the current and proposed reformed processes of certification, investigation by coroners and registration of deaths.
* To scrutinise the certified causes of death offered by attending doctors in a way that is proportionate, consistent and compliant with the proposed national protocol
* To 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.
• To 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.
* To maintain comprehensive records of all deaths scrutinised and undertake analysis to provide
information to the National Medical Examiner's office.
* To identify deaths that could potentially be reported as untoward serious incidents via the trust governance systems and ensure referral for structured judgement reviews of mortality where indicated.
* To participate in relevant clinical governance activities relating to death certification including audits, mortality review processes and investigations regarding formal complaints about patient care.
* To support the training of junior doctors in their understanding of death certification and promote good practice in accurate completion of MCCDs.
* To countersign AP MCCDS and issue ME MCCDs on receipt of CN1Bs from the Coroner
* To work with medical examiner officers (MEOs), delegating duties as appropriate.
* To engage with the site medical director, fellow MEs and the MEOs
* To adopt a collaborative working relationship with other MEs by sharing experiences and expertise to support peer learning and set uniform standards of service delivery.
Staff and patients from across East Kent Hospitals are the feature of the biggest NHS recruitment drive in its 70 year history.
Filmed in William Harvey and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother hospitals, the 'We are the NHS' campaign highlights the extraordinary work that staff across EKHUFT do every single day. As one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five hospitals and community clinics serving a population of over one million people, EKHUFT was perfectly placed to demonstrate the care, cutting-edge treatments, research, innovations and life-saving operations that the campaign needed.
There are lots of great opportunities at East Kent Hospitals, where staff are caring and put patients first, innovation flourishes and you can develop your career. We're on an exciting journey of transformation. With a new Medical School at the centre of our community, a focus on research, clinical leadership and making our trust a rewarding and friendly place to work,
there's never been a better time to join us. To find out more about east Kent visit our website at. The Trust fully supports the SAS Doctors Charter and is committed to their development through its CPD Framework.
We'll close this job advert once we've received sufficient applications which may be before the closing date so please apply as soon as possible. We only accept online applications. If you have any difficulty with this please contact our Resourcing Team on who are happy to help.
We have a relocation policy for eligible candidates, parking available at Trust sites but we encourage other options, like car sharing or public transport.
The Trust is committed to supporting flexible working to fulfil our pledge as part of The Trust's People Strategy to help staff to achieve a healthy work/life balance. Please speak with your Recruiting Manager for further information on how this can be managed alongside department expectations and requirements.
The ability to converse easily and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for all customer facing roles.
Most positions require a Disclosure and Barring check and will be exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Posts working regularly or unsupervised with children or vulnerable adults require an enhanced check.
Applicants for eligible roles requiring Tier 2 sponsorship must meet UK Visas and Immigration eligibility criteria.
We operate a no-smoking policy on all our sites and grounds.
You can search for and apply for roles directly on our website.
If you are applying via NHS Jobs your application will be sent to our recruitment system TRAC. All subsequent information will be generated from TRAC so you won't be able to see the progress of your application or receive messages through NHS Jobs and we won't be able to respond to e-mails sent to us via the NHS Jobs website. By applying for this post you are agreeing to us transferring your application and details to our system. If you are offered a job information will also be transferred into the NHS Electronic Staff Records. Good luck with your application, we'll contact you via email so please check your junk/spam folders.