Medical Examiner

Job description

Job responsibilities

Role Summary:

This post has been created by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in response to observations made in the Third Report of the Shipman Inquiry. The introduction of the Medical Examiner system will promote robust, transparent and independent scrutiny of death certification processes.

Medical Examiners 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. 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.

Nature of the Appointment:

The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trusts Medical Examiner should be a practising medical practitioner who has been on the General Medical Council register for a minimum of 5 years post-registration. The Medical Examiner will be appointed by the Executive Medical Director and the Trusts Lead Medical Examiner, supported by HM Coroner.

The appointment is for 3 years, subject to satisfactory performance in the role. The post-holder will receive a formal performance review after the first 6-months and then have annual PDRs on the Medical Examiner element of their role thereafter to be undertaken by the Lead Medical Examiner and the Executive Medical Director.

The time commitment for this post will be the equivalent of 2 hours per week, by agreement. If applicable, the post-holder will need to agree a revised job plan with their respective Divisional Director and/or the Executive Medical Director. Please note that all job plans above 10 PAs (1 WTE salary) are routinely subject to annual review/renewal.

There is also an expectation, in the near future, to be part of a weekend rota. MEs will need to be available for 2 hours, in the morning, on weekends and bank holidays. This will involve working from home to discuss any rapid release of body requests. This is not included within the current sessions and will be paid as extended hours working.

Key Responsibilities of the Post:

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 Examiners office.

To participate in relevant clinical governance activities relating to death certification, including audits, mortality review processes, the Learning from Deaths 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 adopt a collaborative working relationship with the Lead ME and other MEs within the Trust and the region as a whole by sharing experiences and expertise to support peer learning and set uniform standards of service delivery.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Applicants must be registered with a license to practise in the UK by the GMC, with at least five years of post-registration whole time experience of practice. The candidate must have been registered as a medical practitioner throughout the previous five years as at the date of appointment.
• Please confirm your GMC registration number
• A commitment to life-long learning and undertaking personal development opportunities.
• Candidates must have successfully completed the mandatory e-learning modules and attend a face-to-face training session within the first 3 months in post.

Safety and Quality

Essential

• Knowledge of local and national clinical governance systems and an understanding of how the ME can work collaboratively to improve patient safety by identifying sub-optimal clinical and organisational performance.
• Ability to identify available data sources to support the detection and analysis of concerns and to recognise gaps in available knowledge.
• Ability to identify and disseminate examples of good practice amongst relevant colleagues.

Communication and Teamwork

Essential

• Strong interpersonal skills demonstrating the ability to communicate in difficult and emotional situations with empathy and professionalism.
• Ability to work effectively and efficiently within own team and also closely with people in other disciplines
• Ability to work as part of a team and organise a fluctuating workload around competing priorities and numerous interruptions.

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Proactive and self-motivated with a flexible working approach.
• Have the resilience to manage own reaction to frequently distressing situations and support others within the team.
• To sustain professional integrity and independence at all times, particularly where there is the potential for a conflict of interest.

Skills

Essential

• The ME should have up-to-date knowledge of causes of death and an understanding of the legal frameworks associated with death certification processes.
• IT skills including use of email and commonly used software.
• Ability to manage and comply with sensitive information-based processes under tight timescales with a proportionate approach.
• Knowledge of the special requirements of various faith groups and respect for equality and diversity

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust

Address

The Rotherham Nhs Foundation Trust

Moorgate Road

Rotherham

South Yorkshire

S60 2UD

Employer's website

https://www.therotherhamft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)