Medical Examiner Officer

Job overview

Medical Examiner Officer for Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire - Band 5

Would you like to be part of a specialist team with responsibility across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire?

Do you have an interest in improving care for patients at the end of their life, informing public health policy, and providing bereaved families with support and peace of mind?

As a Medical Examiner Officer, you'll be part of a recently implemented service that provides independent scrutiny of all deaths across the area. You’ll work with a multidisciplinary team both internally and externally including Medical Examiners and other medical staff, HM Coroner’s Office, and Registration Services, as well as having close contact with bereaved families.

Why apply for this role?

• You will be part of a new, developing NHS service with plenty of opportunity for personal and professional growth and an impact on service improvement
• Highly rewarding role contributing to patient safety, improving the experience of bereaved families, and informing national health policy by ensuring accurate cause of death statistics
• Chance to be part of a varied and skilled multidisciplinary team with a high level of autonomy and responsibility

Main duties of the job

The role of the Medical Examiner Officer

The role of the Medical Examiner Officer is to support Medical Examiners in scrutinising the circumstances and causes of death. As a Medical Examiner Officer, you will:

• Undertake a review of patients’ medical records to assist the Medical Examiner in their scrutiny;
• Discuss the case and assist in the formulation of causes of death with the qualified attending medical practitioners (QAPs) and Medical Examiners;
• Provide an explanation of the cause of death to the bereaved, identifying and gathering information and answering questions relating to their concerns;
• Relay the Medical Examiner’s thoughts and give advice to medical professionals, Coroner’s Offices, Registration Services, and the bereaved;
• Be a point of contact and source of advice for relatives of deceased patients, healthcare, coroner, and registration services about the Medical Examiner function.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Skills required for this role

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to liaise with colleagues across ME Offices over the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) area, multidisciplinary teams of doctors and nurses, bereaved families, and Coroners' and Registration services
• Strong administrative and computer skills with good attention to detail
• A good working knowledge of medical terminology and clinical understanding is essential
• Experience in clinical or bereavement care, working with people in sensitive and emotional situations
• Excellent time management skills, with the ability to work with competing demands and changing priorities
• A commitment to personal development and the development and maintenance of a highly successful Medical Examiner Service across BNSSG.

The Medical Examiner Officer role is a highly responsible, challenging, and involved role, and will therefore also require a dedicated and driven applicant.

Applicants must have undertaken the mandatory Royal College of Pathologists’ Medical Examiner e-learning modules (available here: https://www.rcpath.org/profession/medical-examiners/train-to-become-a-medical-examiner-officer.html). Once in post, Medical Examiner Officers will undergo formal training appropriate to the role, as provided by the Royal College of Pathologists and via completion of a training programme portfolio and competence assessment, which must be completed within 12 months of starting in post. The role requires continuous training as part of a lifelong learning role and continuous professional development.

The successful candidate(s) will be primarily based at the Community Medical Examiner Office in Frenchay. The role will require multi-site working and travel to other sites in Bristol and Weston to provide cover across the system, dependent on staffing and the location of cases.