Medical Examiner/Bereavement Officer

Job overview

Medical Examiner/ Bereavement Officer

Department: Bereavement

Band 5

Hours: 7.5 per week, all MKUH roles will be considered for flexible working

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a highly motivated person to assist the Medical Examiner Lead in supporting the Medical Examiner Service hosted by the trust. We are seeking to appoint a Medical Examiner Officer (MEO) Band 5, who is a committed and highly organised individual with leadership skills, to be the point of contact for staff and bereaved relatives in respect of the Medical Examiner Service providing a polite, friendly and professional approach with all grades of staff and external professions.

The job will involve supporting the medical examiners in their role in scrutinising the circumstances and causes of death. To be a point of contact and source of advice for relatives of deceased patients, healthcare professionals and Coroner and registration services. In this challenging post, the post holder will be required to handle a diverse workload and demonstrate a proficiency in prioritising work schedules, working autonomously to support the Medical Examiners Service in the scrutiny of the cause of death of deceased patients.

The post holder is expected to demonstrate leadership skills and aptitude in the care of the bereaved. The nature of the post requires the post holder to convey complex information in a clear, concise, and appropriate manner.

Interview date 04 May 2026.

Main duties of the job

We care We communicate We collaborate We contribute

“- NHS Survey, 2024'' Strong 81.2% of additional clinical services feel care of patients is their top priority.

Purpose of Post:

To support medical examiners in their role in scrutinising the circumstances and causes of death.  To be a point of contact and source of advice for relatives of deceased patients, healthcare professionals and coroner and registration services.

Medical Examiner Officers manage cases from initial notificati0n through to completion and communication with the registrar. They will be a constant presence in the office, enabling consistency across medical examiners who usually work part-time and come from a range of specialties.

Medical Examiner Officers will obtain and carry out a preliminary review of all medical records (and additional details where required) to develop a case file setting out the circumstances of each death for the Medical Examiner. This will require them to work with the Cornoer’s officer, Registrars, Bereavement Officers, Complaints Manager, Legal Serivces and others. Their work is analogous to that of Coroner’s Officers assisting the Coroner.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To act as an intermediary between the bereaved and clinicians to establish and resolve any concerns relating to a patient’s death.  Work with medical examiners to aid them in their responsibility for overseeing the death certification process for all deceased patients in the organisation.
• To establish the circumstances of individual patient deaths by performing a preliminary review of medical records to identify clinical and circumstantial information, sourcing additional details where required, for scrutiny by the medical examiner.
• To assist in highlighting cases for assessment by the Structured Judgement Review team (SJR), Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP), Clinical Governance teams and the Learning Disability Review Teams (LeDeR).
• To refer patients to the coroner for further investigation on approval by the medical examiner
• Maintain an awareness of the diverse needs of users of the medical examiner system to ensure equality to any particular group defined by sex, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or disability.
• Discuss proposed causes of death with the qualified attending practitioner and advise about coroner referral.
• To have a good understanding of medical records and disease pathology.
• To be able to provide advice on terminology and causes of death, and to explain these and the Medical Examiner’s rational to Coroner’s Officers, Doctors, and those with no medical understanding.
• To have strong interpersonal skills and be comfortable with working with those who have had a bereavement.

Please refer to the job description for further details.