Bereavement Officer

Job overview

To provide a high quality co-ordinated bereavement service to the relatives, carers and friends of patients who have died in hospital or in the Accident and Emergency Department, ensuring that they are dealt with in a caring, helpful and sympathetic manner. To facilitate the issuing of necessary documentation including Medical Certificates of Cause of Death to allow registration and organisation of funerals and the referring of cases to the coroner where required.

The post holder will be required to help, advise and support the relatives and carers of the deceased with any queries or bereavement issues they may have by liaising with the appropriate staff within the Group and with other appropriate agencies.  They will frequently have to deal with members of the public who may be emotional and distressed.

The post holder will work closely alongside the Medical Examiner Service which is co-located within the Bereavement Office at both Epsom and St Helier Hospitals. There will be a requirement to work cross-site.

Main duties of the job

An opportunity has arisen to join the well-established Bereavement Team working at Epsom and St Helier Hospitals, part of the St George's, Epsom and St Helier University Hospital and Health Group (GESH)

The Bereavement team play a key role in the Group’s commitment to delivering outstanding care, every time.

The role of Bereavement Officer is interesting and varied.

Working in a busy unpredictable environment, you will require excellent customer service, communication and organisational skills and be computer literate.

You must be able to work independently and also flourish in a team.

You will work closely with relatives of deceased patients, a wide range of healthcare professionals and external stakeholders.

You must be able to respond appropriately and sensitively to a diverse group at a difficult time in their lives and be capable of working with competing demands in a calm and professional manner.

You will be able to deliver information in a clear and precise way.

We are looking for an individual that is keen to learn and play a vital role in developing and improving the service we provide to colleagues and to the bereaved. Working within a supportive team, this is a challenging, but rewarding post.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To provide a high quality co-ordinated and professional bereavement service, working closely with relatives of deceased patients, a wide range of healthcare professionals and external stakeholders, dealing with competing demands in a calm and professional manner.

To maintain accurate records of all deaths in hospital and Emergency Departments (Adult, Child & Babies) using the Bereavement Offices Teams Spreadsheet.

To inform the deceased patient’s GP as soon as possible of their death using the GP Death Notification app to provide a standard letters.

To be a point of contact and source of advice for the bereaved, funeral directors, mortuary staff, hospital staff and coroner and registration services, delivering information in a calm, clear and precise way.

To provide detailed information for bereaved relatives on the practical procedures involved with death registration and to advise on community support where necessary, responding appropriately and sensitively to a diverse group at a difficult time in their lives

To offer advice and information to the bereaved with respect to funeral arrangements/repatriation appropriately.

To accurately record details of the next of kin/person who will be acting as informant when the death is registered.

To liaise with the doctor/s in order to ensure that the Medical Certificate may be issued, or that the case is referred to the Coroner in a timely manner.

To support the collation and preparation of documentation in preparation for review by the Medical Examiner Service.

To be conversant with the types of deaths required by law to be reported to the Coroner’s Office, ensuring that all documentation is made available when required.

To update files and hospital system in relation to a patient’s death, recording the finalised cause of death as part of the process to generate a 2nd letter to the GP providing the cause of death.

To work collaboratively with all departments and other external agencies to ensure arrangements for those with faith requirements take place in a timely way.

To work in close collaboration with local transplantation service and anatomy school in relation to requests for tissue donation and body donation.

To facilitate arrangements for the bereaved to view the deceased in the Chapel of Rest/Viewing Room when requested and to also accompany them to the viewing.

To arrange adult contract funerals for patients with no next of kin or the means to pay,  liaising with families, relatives, Chaplains, Estate research firms and Contract funeral directors.

To arrange baby contract funerals including still born and young babies and non-viable foetuses, liaising with Chaplains and Contract funeral directors.

To be conversant with the necessary documentation required to release bodies from the Mortuary to the funeral directors.

To be responsible for the general administrative functions of the Bereavement office, including effective and efficient use of IT systems.

To work collaboratively with other Trust departments including Mortuary, Safeguarding, PALS, and Complaints service to ensure timely access to required information and medical records.

To undertake appropriate training to enhance skills where required for continued delivery of the service role as a Bereavement Officer.

To support the Bereavement Lead to provide education to staff and other groups about the bereavement service as required.

To support the Bereavement Lead with service development projects as appropriate.

Maintain an awareness of the diverse needs of the deceased and the bereaved to ensure equality to any particular group defined by sex, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or disability.

Any other duties of comparable responsibility related to the role.

To ensure that all duties described above are carried out in accordance with office procedures and in a timely and efficient manner.