St George's Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Bereavement Services & Medical Examiner Officer Manager

This job is now closed

Job summary

Responsible for the management and development of Bereavement Services within the Trust and will be required to develop and maintain an efficient and compassionate service to relatives after the death of a patient.
Expert resource and primary point of contact for clinicians and other senior staff, in providing advice on all areas of death certification, and Coroners' referrals in order to meet statutory requirements.
Responsible for facilitating funeral services for families following pregnancy loss, stillbirth and neonatal death, which is sensitive to individual wishes and complies with all statutory requirements.
Support the Trust in meeting the needs of local ethnic and religious groups in relation to death and mourning.
Support development of a professional Medical Examiner Service through management of Medical Examiner Officers and support of 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.
To deputise for the Group Head of service as required.

Main duties of the job

With the Medical Examiner system becoming a statutory service, which puts the bereaved at the centre of processes following death, this is an ideal time to join out ME and Bereavement Service to make a real difference. An exciting opportunity has arisen to lead the well-established Bereavement Service, alongside managing our Medical Examiner office.

You will manage a dedicated team of Bereavement Officers and Medical Examiner Offices to ensure the provision of an effective, sensitive and timely service to those recently bereaved whose loved-ones have died at the Trust. You will be an important point of contact for clinicians and other senior staff, in providing advice on all areas of death certification, the Medical Examiner service and the Coroners' Office.

Alongside this you will play a vital role in embedding and strengthening new procedures which support the statutory requirements of the Medical Examiners' service, providing a seamless service to the bereaved.

This role will have a wide impact and provide opportunity to be involved in an evolving national agenda which at St George's we will use to improve the experience of families and carers, to support clinicians and to contribute to the continuous learning culture of the Trust.

About us

We are one of the country's largest and busiest acute NHS trusts, serving a diverse population of more than 3.5 million people across south London and beyond.

Our main hospital site in Tooting and other healthcare locations provide a modern, dynamic, caring environment for excellent clinical care, education and research.

We employ around 9,000 dedicated staff across more than 40 different services and specialties. Every day, more than 2,000 attend our sites, mainly for outpatient appointments, elective surgery and in our Emergency Department, made famous as the previous home of '24 hours in A&E'.

We work together to provide outstanding care every time for patients, and the communities we serve. We are committed to offering excellent learning and development opportunities and to supporting rewarding careers.

Date posted

14 August 2024

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£54,320 to £60,981 a year Per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

200-NN-6486686-A&C-Y

Job locations

St George's Hospital

London

SW17 0QT

Job description

Job responsibilities

To be responsible for the management of Bereavement Services across the Trust ensuring that a high standard of service is maintained in accordance with current legislation and Trust policies and procedures.

To support the Group Head of Mortality, Clinical Audit & Effectiveness in all aspects of the Medical Examiner Service, deputising as required.

To be responsible for the line management of the administration staff within the service, including recruitment, induction, management of leave, providing or facilitating access to training, undertaking objective setting and individual performance reviews.

To manage Medical Examiners Officers ensuring the service operates in line with statutory legislation and Trust policies and procedures.

To be the Bereavement Services lead on relevant groups and committees such as the Mortuary Meeting and the End of Life Care Steering Group.

To support the development and implementation of policies and procedures for all areas of the Bereavement and Medical Examiners service.

To act as an intermediary between the bereaved and clinicians to establish and resolve any concerns relating to a patients death.

To ensure the cause of death certificate and the medical records are received from the wards and all documentation is in order for medical and nursing staff.

To assist the Medical Examiner to establish the circumstance of individual patient deaths by performing a preliminary review of medical records to identify clinical and circumstantial information, sourcing additional details where required.

To work with Medical Examiners to aid them in their responsibility for overseeing the death certification process for all deceased patients under the remit of the St Georges Medical Examiner Office.

To contribute to improving governance and learning from deaths supporting processes established to review and learn from cases highlighted by the Medical Examiner

To refer patients to the Coroner for further investigation on approval by the Medical Examiner.

To work closely with the local Coroners officers in providing information and communication with the next of kin on cases referred to the Coroner.

To provide advice and information on registration of death, in line with the Coroners Office, the Registrar Generals regulations and Trust policies.

To manage a coordinated approach and support the bereaved through the Trust bereavement process.

To offer advice and information for funeral arrangements as appropriate.

To manage Public Health funeral referrals in line with local authority requirements under section 46 of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984

In collaboration with the Chaplaincy Service, to be responsible for arranging funerals for pregnancy loss, still births and neo-natal death, liaising with parents in a sensitive and appropriate manner.

To manage and monitor the provision of service as described in the baby funeral services contract which encompasses responsibility for management of the departmental budget associated with this contract

To have delegated responsibility for the departmental budget, including ensuring all invoices received within the department are checked and processed for payment in a timely manner

To ensure that all policies and procedures of dealing with the bereaved are disseminated throughout the Trust.

To ensure that the department meets internal audit recommendations in dealing with the bereaved and the department fulfils current national requirements in dealing with the bereaved.

To be aware of the possible needs of newly bereaved people, so that support in terms of counselling or other help may be made available, either inside the hospital or by referral or signposting to other organisations.

To develop sound knowledge base of the religious needs of people of different faiths, cultures and traditions, and make provision to meet those needs appropriately.

To receive the property of deceased patients from the ward, keeping it in safe custody prior to returning it to the patients relatives. Ensuring that documentation regarding this property is up-to-date and items are correctly accounted for. Liaise with the cashier to ensure that all monies are returned to relatives in accordance with laid down hospital procedures.

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.

Manager the development of the Eden database to improve the efficiency and accuracy of bereavement and related processes. This involves designing bespoke elements of the database, acting as a super-user and administrator of the Trust system, delivering training and leading change management processes within Bereavement Services

To maintain accurate data collection and database systems within the Trust in order to meet national requirements and to support improvements to mortality data and governance.

To lead on regular evaluation of the service through design, implementation, analysis and reporting of audits and surveys, including service user evaluations.

To formulate and deliver high quality reports and performance information to the appropriate committees and senior staff with the Trust.

To maintain close working links with the Mortuary, Chaplaincy, Social Services staff, Clinicians, Funeral directors and local religious advisers as appropriate.

Build and maintain good relationships with clinical and non-clinical staff in the clinical services and corporate department.

Ensure systems are in place to communicate key issues identified by Bereavement Services to related functions within the Trust, contributing to effective governance. Such functions include PALS and Complaints and Improvements, Patient Safety, Health and Safety, Legal Services, Patient Experience and Engagement, Divisional Governance Teams