Job overview
An opportunity has arisen to join our Bereavement team based at St Richards Hospital with flexibility to work in our Worthing Hospital office as required. The post holder will require excellent customer service, communication and organisational skills with the ability to manage a variety of tasks throughout the working day. The work involves dealing with people at an extremely difficult time in their lives and you must be able to complete the necessary tasks whilst acting in a caring and compassionate way. The post holder must be able to work effectively within a team and autonomously.
Main duties of the job
To co-ordinate the day to day functioning of the bereavement service, ensuring prompt and correct documentation relating to the death of a patient within the trust.
The post holder’s key working relationships will be with:
Internal:
1. Patients and families
2. Medical Examiners and Medical Examiner Officer
3. Mortuary services
4. Wider patient experience teams
5. Clinical divisions
6. Reception and other patient facing teams on site
External:
7. Coroner’s office
8. Funeral directors
9. Registrars
Working for our organisation
At UHSussex, diversity is our strength, and we want you to feel included to help us always put the Patient First, as shown in our Outstanding for Caring CQC rating. Your uniqueness and experiences will be part of our creative and innovative community where everyone is encouraged to succeed. We have a range of Staff Networks to help break down barriers, and can offer a buddy to help new members settle in. We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2) and a Veteran Aware Trust.
We treat our patients and staff with the same compassion and empathy we expect for ourselves. We’re here for them when they need us, and we go above and beyond to meet their needs. This can be seen in our Wellbeing Programme for staff which is extensive and designed to support you when you need it - because we know that to look after others we must first look after ourselves.
As a university trust and a leader in healthcare research, we value learning, teaching and training so that we can be the best that we can be. From the moment you start with us and throughout your career we will help you to grow and develop. We hope that in choosing UHSussex you are choosing a long and happy career where you will be able to see the difference you make and feel valued for all that you do.
We look forward to receiving your application and the start of your journey with UHSussex.
Candidate information pack - University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Communication
10. To be point of access to bereavement services maintaining an in-person, telephone patient help line and email support for the bereavement office.
11. Offering compassionate support and information to relatives particularly in relation to registration of deaths, funeral arrangements, post mortems and organ donation both over the telephone and in person when they arrive to collect the paperwork.
12. Contacting wards to access records
13. Notifying GPs of the death of a patient
Service Delivery and Improvement
14. Arranging for the medical staff to speak to relatives if any concerns or questions about the death are raised to ensure these are resolved quickly and with a satisfactory outcome.
15. Witnessing the consenting procedure to a hospital post mortem examination with the designated consultant.
16. Providing full support to the Patient Services Supervisor and assumes day to day responsibility during annual leave and sickness
17. Managing the process of completion of the certificate of death through liaison with doctors of all grades, pathologists, Coroner's officers and risk manager, where appropriate.
18. Liaising with the hospital chaplain and the contract funeral directors to arrange a funeral where there is no next of kin.
19. Being aware of the requirements of the Human Tissue Act in relation to hospital post mortems and the associated consent process
20. Being responsible for the safekeeping of deceased patients' property including valuables and money ensuring associated documentation is properly completed and the property is in a condition acceptable to be handed over to the relatives.
21. Store cheques received for doctors
22. Maintaining compliance with the legal requirements in relation to the issue of cause of death certificates, the registration of deaths and the requirements for referral to the coroner's office.
23. Advising doctors on forms ensuring they are completed in a timely way, correctly and the necessary processes are followed.
24. Recording all deaths and relevant information on the PANDA database
25. Documenting all lost property either when it comes to the office or when it is reported lost
26. Ensuring sufficiency of HTA consent taking training
27. Completing Free from Infection forms to be used with bodies being repatriated to another country.
28. Overseeing body donations calls and relevant paperwork sent to bereavement from donor recipient organisation, also for School of Anatomy
29. For contract funerals, locating any NOK, registering death at local Registrar office and buying a death certificate. Obtaining by any means bank details/ cards/statements, all utility bills, any valuable items, gain access to property with HA or council appointee or second member of bereavement team. Notification to landlords or Housing Assoc of rental properties now being empty and Section 21 to be served by them.
30. Managing deceased patients' property - Ensure collection, re contact family after 2 weeks if not collected and dispose if requested.
Patient Care Delivery
31. Supporting relatives if they are distressed when they arrive and escorts relatives to the mortuary to view the deceased when a request to view is made.
32. Witnessing wills and/or power of attorney when requested and when a doctor has confirmed that the patient is of sound mind, having assessed that the patient knows what they are signing.
Person specification
Essential
Essential criteria
33. Good level of general education
34. Experience and learning in relevant fields e.g. customer service, patient and public involvement
35. Experience of working effectively in customer care services in a health or social care or voluntary sector setting where handling difficult and stressful situations was necessary
36. Experience of office systems, problem solving and the use of organisational skills
37. Ability to organise own workload and act on own initiative
38. Able to follow a standard operating procedure for a bereavement office
39. Excellent written and verbal English
40. Good IT skills (standard office software), data management and inputting
Desirable criteria
41. Willingness to seek out new concepts and ideas
42. Self-motivated with a flexible and adaptable approach
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
Essential criteria
43. Evidence of having championed diversity in previous roles (as appropriate to
44. Evidence of having undertaken own development to improve understanding of equalities issues
Important information for applicants:
A Note on AI Use in Applications
We value the individuality and authenticity that each candidate brings to the application process. While AI tools are increasingly accessible, we strongly discourage their use in completing your application. Your responses should reflect your own voice, experiences, and motivations—elements that are essential to a fair and accurate evaluation.
Applications that rely heavily on AI-generated content may misrepresent your abilities and could result in your application being rejected. We encourage you to take the time to present your genuine self, as this helps us better understand your potential and ensures a transparent selection process.
Closing Adverts Early: In the event of exceptional interest, we may close adverts earlier than specified.
Some of our adverts are capped for a limited number of applications; therefore, the advert will close once the cap has been reached. We therefore encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible if you are interested in the position to prevent you from missing out on applying for the opportunity.
Flexible Working: If you would like to explore potential options regarding flexible working please speak with the appropriate recruiting/line manager.
DBS Checks: As part of our commitment to a safe working environment, we undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service check on all new employees where the role is eligible for a criminal record check. We make offers in line with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1975.
Skilled Worker Visa: Applications for Skilled Worker sponsorship are welcome for the roles that meet the Visa and Immigrations eligibility criteria. For further information please visit the gov.uk website searching for Skilled Worker. It is your responsibility as the applicant to ensure that you meet this criteria.
UHSussex reserves the right to close the role early if we receive a high volume of applications