Medical Examiner

Job overview

We are looking to appoint experienced General Practitioners or Hospital Doctors (Consultants or Specialty Doctors) to join the existing Medical Examiner (ME) service.

This is aimed at completing recruitment to the existing team. The current vacancy is for Thursdays, but applications can be considered from doctors who are available on other days as there may be some flexibility possible.

This role is primarily aimed at providing timely scrutiny of deaths within the Calderdale & Kirklees area, including deaths within the community and the acute trust. The successful applicants will be expected to provide 4 hours of ME time per week. In addition to these 4 hours, an "extended hours" service will be developed prior to September 2024 to support the urgent release of MCCDs during weekends and Bank Holidays.

Main duties of the job

Scrutiny of medical records for allocated deaths to arrive at an agreed cause of death & identify any concerns. All MEs will scrutinise community & inpatient deaths alike, regardless of their clinical background is in Primary or Secondary care.

To ensure that any concerns are dealt with appropriately.

To communicate the cause of death to the bereaved relatives.

To liaise with partner organisations (coroner's office, local registrars, etc) in order to ensure smooth processes in support of death certification & regsistration.

To contribute to training & clinical governance procedures where necessary.

To ensure the independence of the ME service.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Successful candidates will be expected to have completed the online ME training prior to commencing their employment. There is also face-to-face training which should be completed within 6 months of taking up the post.

To deliver 4 hours' ME work per week, as agreed with the lead ME & ME service manager.

To provide proportionate scrutiny of available medical records and arrive at a proposed cause of death & identify any concerns.

To discuss these with the relevant clinicians, to agree a cause of death (where appropriate) and sanction completion of the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD)

To offer guidance to clinicians on the completion of MCCDs, coroner's referrals etc.

To "signpost" specified deaths to appropriate clinical governance processes

To recommend appropriate cases for referral to the coroner.

To liaise with partner organisations such as His Majesty's Coroner for West Yorkshire (West) & his officers, local authority registrars, colleagues within the clinical governance, risk & legal teams to ensure that smooth processes are followed, and to promote learning from deaths wherever possible.

To discuss the circumstances & cause of death with the bereaved relatives, or to support the MEOs in so doing in straightforward cases, and to advocate on their behalves where concerns are raised.

To deal with all colleagues, partner organisations, bereaved relatives and any other service users with respect and lack of discrimination at all times.

To ensure the independence and impartiality of the ME service.

To maintain accurate and meaningful records of ME scrutiny within the ME IT systems, complying with information governance regulations.

To contribute to data sharing with the national ME office, local trust & ICB, and where deemed necessary and appropriate by the lead ME & ME service manager.

To contribute to training of medical colleagues as appropriate.