Medical Examiner

Job overview

This post has been established by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) following recommendations from the Third Report of the Shipman Inquiry, to strengthen the death certification process across England and Wales. The introduction of the Medical Examiner (ME) system aims to promote robust, transparent, and independent scrutiny of deaths.

Medical Examiners are appropriately trained senior doctors responsible for reviewing the clinical information recorded on Medical Certificates of Cause of Death (MCCDs). They ensure that MCCDs are accurate, consistent, and completed to a high clinical standard, and that appropriate referrals are made to the Coroner where required. The role includes scrutiny of the circumstances and documentation relating to the majority of deaths, as well as engaging with bereaved families to ensure clarity and transparency regarding the cause of death.

Medical Examiners must be registered medical practitioners with a minimum of five years’ post registration experience with the General Medical Council. Typically, they are consultant-level doctors or experienced General Practitioners. To maintain independence and objectivity, Medical Examiners must not have been involved in the care of the deceased individuals whose deaths they review.

Main duties of the job

• To ensure compliance with the legal and procedural requirements associated with the current and proposed reformed processes of certification, investigation by coroners and registration of deaths.
• To scrutinise the certified causes of death offered by attending doctors in a way that is proportionate, consistent and compliant with the proposed national protocol.
• To discuss and explain the cause of death with next of kin/informants in a transparent, tactful and sympathetic manner. It is anticipated that such discussions will be predominately conducted through telephone conversations where barriers to understanding information may exist.
• To ensure that all users of the ME system are treated with respect and are not discriminated against on the grounds of sex, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or disability.
• To maintain comprehensive records of all deaths scrutinised and undertake analysis to provide information to the National Medical Examiner’s office.
• To participate in relevant clinical governance activities relating to death certification including audits, mortality review processes and investigations regarding formal complaints about patient care.
• To support the training of junior doctors in their understanding of death certification and promote good practice in accurate completion of MCCDs.
• To work with medical examiner officers (MEOs), delegating duties as appropriate.
• To engage with lead ME and lead MEO for the region.
• To adopt a collaborative working relationship with other MEs by sharing experiences and expertise to support peer learning and set uniform standards of service delivery.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

See attached job description

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.