To support Medical Examiners in their role in scrutinising the circumstances and causes of death. To be a point of contact and source of advice for relatives of deceased patients, healthcare professionals and Coroner and Registration services.
Responsibilities
Act as an intermediary between the bereaved and clinicians to establish and resolve any concerns relating to a patient's death.
Be a point of contact and source of advice for relatives of deceased patients, healthcare professionals and the Coroner and Registration services.
Support medical examiners in scrutinising the circumstances and causes of death.
Aid them in overseeing the death certification process for all deceased patients in the organisation.
Perform a preliminary review of medical records to identify clinical and circumstantial information.
Source additional details where required for scrutiny by the medical examiner.
Highlight cases for assessment by Structured Judgement Review (SJR), Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP), Clinical Governance teams and Learning Disability Review Teams (LeDeR).
Send Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) to registration services and discuss causes of death with the bereaved.
Maintain awareness of diverse needs of users to ensure equality for all groups.
Support the roll out and implementation of the service across Stockport, East Cheshire and High Peak.
Deal with bereaved families who may have barriers to understanding information due to grief or disability.
Regularly interact with bereaved relatives in person or over the telephone, demonstrating empathy and professionalism at all times.
Liaise with the coroner's service and doctors to ensure completion of coroner referrals for further investigation, on approval by the medical examiner.
Understand medical terminology to enable informed discussions about causes and circumstances of death with bereaved families, clinicians, the coroner and registration service staff.
Use specialist knowledge of various faith groups, funeral wishes and practices to enable respectful compliance with tight and specific timescales and procedures.
Assist in highlighting cases for assessment by the learning-from-deaths review.
Collect relevant fees and create financial reports.
Support the medical examiners in any relevant governance activities relating to scrutiny and confirmation of the cause of death where concerns have been raised by next of kin or clinical staff.
Contribute to and review departmental policies and procedures to reflect best practice in the delivery of a medical examiner system.
Take responsibility for own continuing professional development in accordance with any standards for maintaining any relevant professional body.
Attend local and national activities to maintain up-to-date knowledge.
Participate in appraisal processes.
Use IT software for recording personal identifiable data and producing statistical information for the National Medical Examiners Office and Public Health surveillance.
Ensure full compliance with secure handling of patient identifiable data.
Assist in collection of data for national and local returns.
Deal with the significant emotional effort associated with dealing with bereaved families.
Use a computer for prolonged periods daily.
Act as a car driver to enable travel between sites.
Benefits
* Between 27-33 days of annual leave plus bank holidays
* Salary sacrifice schemes for lease cars, home electronics and more, to make your salary go further
* Cycle to work scheme
* Salary finance – for loans, savings, budget planning and tips on managing debt
* Stockport Credit Union – for local financial advice
We actively encourage applications irrespective of race, age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage & civil partnership, or pregnancy or maternity. Recognising those communities that are under‑represented within our workforce, we would particularly welcome applications from you.
We recognise that flexible working is important. We take requests for flexible working seriously, consider any request we receive and try to work with you, so we can explore if your request may fit with the needs of the service.
Salary: £32,073 to £39,043 a year pro rata per annum.
Person Specification
Education & Qualifications
* Educated to Bachelor’s degree level or evidence of study/equivalent practical experience at an advanced level; this might include nursing and/or other NHS experience, or experience as a Bereavement Officer or equivalent working knowledge in a related field such as Coroner Officer, Bereavement Officer, NHS, GP surgery, etc.
* A commitment to lifelong learning and undertaking personal development opportunities.
* The ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders, including those who are recently bereaved.
* Completed free e‑learning for health MEO core training modules prior to starting in the post.
Knowledge
* Knowledge of the statutory process around death certification legal frameworks and how the medical examiner system aligns with other related organisations and NHS initiatives.
* General knowledge of clinical/medical terminology.
* Knowledge of the special requirements of various faith groups and respect for equality and diversity issues around formalities following a death.
* Knowledge of the Coroner & Justice Act 2009 reference to the medical examiner system. Full understanding of the medical examiner system operational remit when incorporated within Bereavement Services or as a stand-alone office.
Experience
* Experience working with people in sensitive and emotional situations.
* Experience working in a healthcare setting with multi‑disciplinary teams across organisational boundaries.
Skills and Abilities
* Excellent interpersonal and communication skills demonstrating the ability to communicate in difficult and emotional situations with empathy and professionalism with all stakeholders.
* Ability to work as part of a team and organise fluctuating workload around competing priorities in a fast‑paced environment.
* Competent in the use of IT software systems such as Excel, and handling sensitive personal identifiable data.
* Approachable and supportive to all levels of staff and bereaved families in a non‑judgemental and discreet manner.
* Professional appearance, manner and awareness of impact of own behaviour on others.
* Ability to maintain a calm manner in a range of challenging and emotive circumstances.
* Use own car for travel between Stepping Hill Hospital and Macclesfield District General Hospital.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such 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.
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