Medical Examiner

Job overview

Medical examiners (MEs) are appropriately trained doctors who will verify clinical information on Medical Certificates of Cause of Death (MCCDs) and ensure that the right referrals are made to the coroner for further investigation. A practising medical practitioner who has been on the general medical council register for a minimum of five years post registration can apply to be a medical examiner.  It is recommended that medical examiners are consultant grade doctors from a range of disciplines (including GP principals).  MEs will take a consistent approach to the formulation of MCCD content, which must be clinically accurate and reflect any discussions with the next of kin/informant.  MEs must not have been involved in the care of the deceased patients for deaths they scrutinise.

Main duties of the job

MEs should be aware of how their personal communication style impacts on others and be able to adapt their approach to suit a variety of situations and audiences.  This will require:

• Highly evolved self-awareness and empathetic skills to liaise effectively and sympathetically with bereaved families.
• The ability to demonstrate and combine appropriate levels of compassion with professionalism and discretion.
• Being open to constructive criticism, ideas, and solutions
• Acting as a positive role model and interacting appropriately with all stakeholders including MEOs, other MEs, the bereaved and the coroner
• Having the integrity to gain trust and comply with the independent nature of the ME role in the context of other clinical specialty duties.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

MEs must have up-to-date knowledge of medical conditions and treatments and be able to exercise judgement about when to seek specialist advice.

MEs must have detailed knowledge of the relevant legislation and processes which apply to:

• The determination of whether a death is natural or unnatural.
• Deaths that must be reported to the coroner.
• Deaths abroad where bodies are returned to England and Wales for disposal.
• Deaths where relatives wish to transport the body abroad for disposal.
• Certifying and registering deaths and the regulations to authorise cremation or burials of stillbirths abroad.   Quality and Audit  MEs will be required to participate in any relevant governance activities relating to scrutiny and confirmation of the cause of death where concerns have been raised by the next of kin/informant of the deceased and/or clinical staff and ME scrutiny. MEs will facilitate routine analysis of MCCD information to identify trends, patterns and unusual features of deaths and report, as required, firstly to the regional Lead ME and ultimately to the National Medical Examiner’s office. MEs will provide information to local Child Death Overview panels in respect of all child deaths which are not being investigated by the coroner.