Job summary
- Main area
- Medical Examiners Service
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 5
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 35 hours per week
- Job ref
- 213-PRUH-7190346
- Employer
- King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Princess Royal University Hospital
- Town
- Bromley
- Salary
- £34,521 - £41,956 per annum, including high cost allowance, Pro Rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 26/05/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Medical Examiner Officer
NHS AfC: Band 5
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£1.8 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across 5 main sites in South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local hospital services across its different sites, and specialist services from King’s College Hospital (KCH) sites at Denmark Hill in Camberwell and at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) site in the London Borough of Bromley.
We encourage all our staff to have a healthy work/life balance. In doing so, you can apply for flexible working from the beginning of your employment. We offer a range of options which are designed to suit different circumstances and priorities in line with service requirements.
Job overview
We are looking for a Band 5 Medical Examiner Officer (MEO) to join the Medical Examiner’s Office at the Princess Royal University Hospital Farnborough.
The Medical Examiner system is a new service, recently introduced in England and Wales, which will become statutory from September 2024.
The principal functions are:
• To provide the bereaved with explanation, transparency and an early opportunity to ask questions or raise concerns.
• Improve accuracy and quality in all aspects of the medical certification of the cause of death.
• Ensure appropriate referral to the Coroner.
• To safeguard the public through consistent scrutiny of all non-coronal deaths.
• To support clinical governance in learning and improvement.
The current service is currently scrutinising all deaths in the hospital, and community in in Bexley and Bromley area.
Main duties of the job
We are seeking an individual who will be responsible for working within the Medical Examiner Offices at the Princess Royal.
The role will participate in all aspects of the department when required, including the completion of paperwork required for the Medical Examiner to scrutinise each death and ensuring that all deaths are scrutinised in a timely manner.
You will work closely with the Lead Medical Examiner Officer in continually developing the Medical Examiner service and will take an active role in supporting the scrutiny of coronial deaths within the community and manage the Medical Examiners Service on a daily basis in the absence of the lead Medical Examiner Officer.
· Assist the Lead MEO with the provision of accurate data returns to comply with National and Regional Medical Examiner requirements.
Attend meetings as required to represent the Medical Examiner Service.
To maintain workflow through the Medical Examiners’ Service to ensure all targets are met.
Working for our organisation
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£1 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King’s to another level.
We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.
King’s is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone’s contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust’s carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To act as an intermediary between the bereaved and clinicians to establish and resolve any concerns relating to a patient’s death. Work with Medical Examiners to aid them in their responsibility for overseeing the death certification process for all deceased patients in the organisation.
To establish the circumstances of individual patient deaths by performing a preliminary review of medical records to identify clinical and circumstantial information, sourcing additional details where required, for scrutiny by the Medical Examiner.
To assist in highlighting cases for assessment by the Structured Judgement Review team (SJR), Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP), Clinical Governance teams and the Learning Disability Review Teams (LeDeR).
To refer patients to the coroner for further investigation on approval by the Medical Examiner
Maintain an awareness of the diverse needs of users of the medical examiner system to ensure equality to any particular group defined by sex, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or disability.
Person specification
EDucation and Qualification
Essential criteria
- Educated to Batchelor’s degree level or equivalent working knowledge in related field.
- A commitment to life- long learning and able to demonstrate undertaking of personal development opportunities relevant to the post
- Completed e-learning MEO core training modules prior to starting in the post
Knowledge and Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of working with patients families and staff forming good relationships
- Experience of working with people in sensitive and emotional situations
- The ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders, including the recently bereaved
Skills and Competencies
Essential criteria
- Strong interpersonal skills demonstrating the ability to communicate in difficult and emotional situations with empathy and professionalism with all stakeholders
- Proactive and self-motivated. Ability to deputise for Senior Medical Examiner Officer
Desirable criteria
- Ability to be able to work flexibly across all Trust sites
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Amy Calder
- Job title
- Head of Mortuary, Bereavement and ME Office
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01689 863344
- Additional information
Denmark Hill number 0203 299 2943
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