Medical Examiner
The closing date is 01 March 2026
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
Candidates must have successfully completed the mandatory e‑learning modules online (free of charge) by the time they start the role and attend a face‑to‑face training session at the Royal College of Pathologists, London, paid for by the Trust, within the first three months in post.
The Medical Examiner(s) will be expected to screen and review deaths (from the preceding weekend or working day) to an agreed policy and timeframe, liaise with the Coroner to develop a robust process for referrals, which minimises delays to bereaved families, and enables further investigations as appropriate. The job description and person specification attached are modelled from the Royal College of Pathologists in line with a national requirement to develop a method for reducing inaccuracies in death certificates and achieving greater confidence in learning from deaths.
About us
St George's, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group cares for a population of four million people in South West London and North East Surrey. Our sites include St George's Hospital, one of 11 major trauma centres in the UK and the largest healthcare provider and major teaching hospital in the area; St Helier Hospital, home to the South West Thames Renal and Transplantation Unit and Queen Mary's Hospital for Children; and Epsom Hospital, home to the South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre (SWLEOC).
After years of collaboration, our two Trusts became a hospitals group in 2021. While remaining as two separate Trusts, being a hospitals group will help us to collaborate more closely on research, and the development, education, and training of our 17,000‑strong workforce.
We are looking to fill 1.0 PA sessions (0.1WTE), ideally on a Monday at Epsom Hospital for the ESTH Medical Examiner service, during working hours. We would welcome applications from all speciality areas.
We invite applications from Trust Consultants and experienced Specialty Doctors or General Practitioners who are naturally curious, data friendly and ready to lead the way in developing our understanding of the impact of the care we provide. The service will be on both acute sites and share an office with the Trust's Mortality Reviewers and the Bereavement Service.
Job 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 predominantly 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 Examiners office. 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 work with medical examiner officers (MEOs), delegating duties as appropriate. To engage with lead ME and lead MEO for the region. 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.
Person Specification
Qualifications
* Medical practitioner registered and licensed to practise in the UK by the GMC. It is recommended that GPs should have the equivalent level of experience to consultants undertaking this role e.g. several years experience as a GP, or General Practitioner Principal level.
* A commitment to life‑long learning and undertaking personal development opportunities.
* Completion of the ME Core e‑learning modules.
Experience
* Experience of supporting and implementing change in an organisation.
* Experience of working with patients, families and staff, forming good relationships.
* Experience of working with people in sensitive and emotional situations.
Knowledge
* Knowledge of local and national clinical governance systems and an understanding of how the ME can work collaboratively to improve patient safety by identifying suboptimal clinical and organisational performance.
* Up‑to‑date knowledge of medical conditions and treatments and be able to exercise judgement about when to seek specialist advice.
* Knowledge of the special requirements of various faith groups and respect for equality and diversity.
* Up‑to‑date knowledge of causes of death and an understanding of the legal frameworks associated with death certification processes.
Skills
* IT skills including use of email and commonly used software.
* Ability to work as part of a team and organise a fluctuating workload around competing priorities and numerous interruptions.
* Ability to identify available data sources to support the detection and analysis of concerns and to recognise gaps in available knowledge.
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.
Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust
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