Job summary
We are looking for a hard-working, team player who is compassionate and able to manage grieving relatives with empathy. This is an exciting opportunity to join an enthusiastic team who are passionate about bereavement care.
The Medical Examiner System is a nationally mandated service aiming to scrutinize the circumstances and causes of all deaths of patients who die in hospital and from April, all those who die in our community.
The Bereavement & Medical Examiner Officer (B&MEO) role is to work closely with the Medical Examiner (ME), providing advice & support to Doctors regarding the legal requirements relating to the certification of death, including referral to HM Coroner.
The B&MEO will be the first point of contact for the bereaved, providing advice & support regarding the ME process, coronial referrals, cause of death, registration of death and signposting for ongoing emotional support.
As a part of the Learning from Deaths process, the B&MEO will listen to & respond to questions or concerns, raised by staff & the bereaved, about the care or circumstances of death and highlight these concerns to the ME and Learning from Deaths team.
The service works across the Trust on 2 sites, Musgrove Park Hospital & Yeovil Hospital. Although this position will be based in Musgrove, there may be times where working on the Yeovil site is required.
For further information, please email Helen.Waldon@SomersetFT.nhs.uk
Main duties of the job
To support medical examiners in their role in scrutinising the circumstances and causes of death and be a point of contact and source of advice for relatives of deceased patients, healthcare professionals as well as coroner and registration services.
Providing consistency across the Trust for bereavement information and emotional support to families and friends of deceased patients providing person centered, evidence-based care.
The post is primarily office based, however there are regular visits to the Mortuary and other wards and departments within the hospital.
Daily duties include sitting for long periods, standing, walking and the use of computers. Meetings occur in various rooms on site.
Take an active role in maintaining effective communication with all disciplines, (eg medical staff, other allied professionals, Coroner's office staff and Funeral Directors)
Be able to juggle conflicting demands around an unpredictable workload.
About us
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is proud to provide community, mental health and learning disability services and acute hospital services from Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton.
Our mission is to deliver outstanding care through a culture of listening, learning and continuous improvement. Over 9,000 colleagues work for our trust in a very wide range of services and we aim to provide a supportive, inclusive environment in which our colleagues can thrive.
We are working towards merging our trust with Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in order to provide consistent and accessible services across Somerset and better supporting people in our county to maintain their health and wellbeing.
We are proud to be the Health Service Journal Mental Health Trust of the Year.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Communication and Key Working Relationships
Internal
- Hospital doctors
- Medical Examiners
- Service managers, nurses, clinical governance leads, infection control, Spiritual care team and mortuary staff.
External
- HM Coroner and officers
- Spiritual/Faith community leads
- Registrars of births and deaths
- GPs and practice staff
- Bereaved relatives, carers and executors/solicitors.
- Funeral Directors
- National Medical Examiner
- Regional leads for ME system
Talking over the phone and meeting face to face with relatives of deceased patients.
Making an initial assessment of bereavement needs in an empathetic manner, communicate with relatives sensitive clinical information in a way that takes into account their level of understanding and any barriers that may have an impact on the individual receiving and understanding of the information on a frequent daily basis.
Assess the bereavement needs of relatives for initial and ongoing emotional & practical support. Where appropriate establish, in a sensitive manner, any pre-existing bereavement issues and or mental illness, such as depression or anxiety states. Using clinical judgement and professional knowledge to provide emotional support to bereaved people who are in crisis. Signpost to internal or external agencies for ongoing practical & emotional support or counselling as necessary.
Liaise with the family regarding appointments with the Bereavement Office and Registration of the death.
Communicate information to the family regarding registering the death, choosing a Funeral Director, an appointment with Bereavement Support, and other information pertaining to bereavement and practicalities surrounding it.
Where necessary ensure the family are made aware of the procedure and purpose of a Coroners Postmortem.
Please see the job description for full details.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Communication and Key Working Relationships
Internal
- Hospital doctors
- Medical Examiners
- Service managers, nurses, clinical governance leads, infection control, Spiritual care team and mortuary staff.
External
- HM Coroner and officers
- Spiritual/Faith community leads
- Registrars of births and deaths
- GPs and practice staff
- Bereaved relatives, carers and executors/solicitors.
- Funeral Directors
- National Medical Examiner
- Regional leads for ME system
Talking over the phone and meeting face to face with relatives of deceased patients.
Making an initial assessment of bereavement needs in an empathetic manner, communicate with relatives sensitive clinical information in a way that takes into account their level of understanding and any barriers that may have an impact on the individual receiving and understanding of the information on a frequent daily basis.
Assess the bereavement needs of relatives for initial and ongoing emotional & practical support. Where appropriate establish, in a sensitive manner, any pre-existing bereavement issues and or mental illness, such as depression or anxiety states. Using clinical judgement and professional knowledge to provide emotional support to bereaved people who are in crisis. Signpost to internal or external agencies for ongoing practical & emotional support or counselling as necessary.
Liaise with the family regarding appointments with the Bereavement Office and Registration of the death.
Communicate information to the family regarding registering the death, choosing a Funeral Director, an appointment with Bereavement Support, and other information pertaining to bereavement and practicalities surrounding it.
Where necessary ensure the family are made aware of the procedure and purpose of a Coroners Postmortem.
Please see the job description for full details.
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Education to Bachelor's degree level or equivalent experience in a relevant field
- General knowledge of clinical/medical terminology
- Knowledge and understanding of bereavement and loss
- Evidence of a good standard of Literacy / English language and IT skills.
- Strong interpersonal skills demonstrating the ability to communicate in difficult and emotional situations with empathy and professionalism with all stakeholders
Desirable
- Counselling certificate
- General knowledge of the National Medical Examiners System
- Experience in a Healthcare setting
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Education to Bachelor's degree level or equivalent experience in a relevant field
- General knowledge of clinical/medical terminology
- Knowledge and understanding of bereavement and loss
- Evidence of a good standard of Literacy / English language and IT skills.
- Strong interpersonal skills demonstrating the ability to communicate in difficult and emotional situations with empathy and professionalism with all stakeholders
Desirable
- Counselling certificate
- General knowledge of the National Medical Examiners System
- Experience in a Healthcare setting
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.
