Mortuary Assistant

Job overview

This position is a fixed term contract for 1year.

To participate in the day to day duties of Cambridge University Hospital mortuary under the guidance of the Mortuary team, providing a safe and efficient service to our patients and their families.

To receipt and release all patients from CUH mortuary, ensuring dignity is maintained throughout their length of stay.

To arrange and facilitate viewing appointments, accompanying bereaved relatives in to the Woodland Suite and ensuring next of kin wishes are adhered to.

To work as part of the post mortem team, preparing patients for examination, assisting the Pathologist and general cleaning and disinfection.

Department working hours are Monday-Friday 07:30 - 16:00.

Main duties of the job

• Receive patients, including paediatric, from the Hospital, community and other Hospitals, ensuring wristband identification and all legal documents are accurately completed. Measure and list all patients, recording any valuables or personal effects and ensuring they are stored securely.
• Record all patient storage and post mortem data on Epic, actioning requests from Funeral Directors and liaise with Bereavement Care, Medical Examiners Team, Chaplaincy, HM Coroner, Brain Banks as required.
• Suitably prepare and place deceased adults, children, infants or foetuses for viewing in the Woodland Suite, with special attention given to individual and cultural religious beliefs and accompany bereaved relatives and friends into the Woodland Suite. Sensitively support, answering queries or concerns. Obtaining appropriate contact details if required.
• Release and accurately document all movements of patients in and out of the department, obtaining appropriate paperwork and signatures as required. Under guidance from the APT team, ensure all tissue and/or organs have been reunited with the deceased as instructed by the next of kin and consent provided.
• Prepare bodies for post-mortem examination, including undressing patients, checking identification and recording property

Cont. below

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

cont.

• Prepare post mortem tables and dissection areas as required by the APT team and Pathologists and assist with general cleaning and disinfection of the post mortem room and equipment, re-stocking consumables when required
• Collect and deliver samples and paperwork to relevant Trust departments as required
• Answer telephone queries in a respectful and appropriate manner; maintaining the Trust’s confidentiality policy at all times. Undertake scanning, photocopying, filing and laminating as required.
• Undertake general housekeeping procedures for the department, including cleaning and re-stocking consumables, ensuring a clean and tidy working environment.

Please see the attached Applicant Information Pack (combined Job Description and Person Specification) for key duties and responsibilities. Please note:- Internal applicants on permanent contracts can apply for this post as a secondment or fixed term contract. For secondments you must have the approval of your line manager before applying. If you are an internal applicant currently on a fixed term contract you are able to apply for this as a fixed term position.

This vacancy will close at midnight on 9th March 2026

Interviews are due to be held on 30th March 2026

Department working hours are Monday-Friday 07:30 - 16:00.

Benefits to you

At Cambridge University Hospitals, we want to do all we can to support good working days. We offer development opportunities and a wide range of benefits, including on-site leisure facilities, shopping concourse and day nurseries. Our good work programme currently includes providing reduced cost Stagecoach bus travel to and from Cambridge University Hospital site. Park and Ride bus journeys between Babraham Road and Trumpington sites are free, as is the route to and from Cambridge train station and our hospitals. We also subsidise the cost of parking on site for eligible staff.

On CUH campus, hot food is available 24/7 and at a reduced cost for colleagues. Recently we launched the first of our staff pod break spaces. Located in the Deakin Centre, we have a purpose-created colleague-only café, with free tea and coffee, a break space and private outside area for colleagues to rest, refuel and recharge. Just one of the ways we are working hard to support good working days at CUH.

CUH is committed to assisting employees in achieving a good work-life balance irrespective of role or personal circumstances. Flexible arrangements may include, but are not limited to, part-time working, job-share, term-time working and flexible start and finish times.

Please note if you would like to discuss the required hours of this role further, you should approach the contact given. In some cases, alternative working hours will be considered.

We welcome applications from the Armed Forces.