Medical Examiner Officer

Job summary

Location: North & Mid Hampshire Medical Examiner (ME) Service, hosted by HHFT provides a ME Service to all acute sites and primary healthcare settings, including community deaths across our geographical footprint. We have two offices, one situated in Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, and another situated in Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Winchester. You will be primarily located at Basingstoke site with requirement for cross-site working.

This role is part of the national implementation of the ME service in England and Wales and we invite applications from anyone with degree level education or equivalent experience, either with a professional clinical background or relevant experience in the bereavement or coroner service.

The successful candidate would be joining an existing small & friendly team who work collaboratively to provide support for bereaved families and to improve patient safety. You would work closely with the MEs and report to the Lead MEO. The ME offices are currently open weekdays Monday - Friday, between the hours of 0730-1530.

The successful applicant will

Provide greater safeguards for the public by ensuring independent scrutiny of all deaths not referred directly to the coroner

Improve the quality of death certification, providing advice based on a review of relevant health records

Avoid unnecessary distress for the bereaved by answering questions about the care given or certified cause of death

Main duties of the job

Working under delegation from the Medical Examiner (ME) or Lead MEO; the MEO will support the end process of death certification within the Medical Examiner Service. This will require a combination of skills and knowledge, compassion, sensitivity, and a commitment to engage with bereaved families.

The MEO will review patient records to gather information for the Medical Examiner, so a good working knowledge of medical terminology and clinical understanding are necessary of both the Electronic Record and the existing paper-based processes.

The post holder will provide administrative skills to support Medical Examiners in scrutinizing deaths ensuring necessary paperwork is accurate and complete.

The MEO will contact the next of kin to discuss the death, to enquire about any concerns they may have about care, and to explain the proposed wording of the Death Certificate. This requires excellent communication skills. They will additionally be a point of contact and source of advice for healthcare professionals from elsewhere in the organisation and, where appropriate, Coroners' and Registration services.

About us

Our vision is to provide outstanding care for every patient. Patient care is at the heart of what we do at our three sites: Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester and Andover War Memorial Hospital. Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides medical and surgical services to a population of approximately 600,000 people across Hampshire and parts of West Berkshire.

Our cultural ambition is to have a culture that places people at the heart of all we do, where we all belong, and where learning, improvement and excellence thrive.

We provide specialist services to people across the UK and internationally. We are one of only two centres in the UK treating pseudomyxoma peritonei (a rare form of abdominal cancer) and we are leaders in the field of tertiary liver cancer and colorectal cancer.

The trust employs more than 9,000 staff and has a turnover of over £500 million a year. As a Foundation Trust, we are directly accountable to our members through the governors. The Council of Governors represent the interests of their constituencies and influence the future plans of the Foundation Trust.