Medical Examiner Officer

Job summary

The Medical Examiner Officer will:

• Strengthen safeguards for the public by providing robust, systematic and 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, supporting the Bereavement Services

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

Main duties of the job

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES:

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

Work with medical examiners to aid them in their responsibility for overseeing the death certification process for all deceased patients in the organisation.

To establish the circumstances of individual patient deaths by performing a preliminary review of medical records to identify clinical and circumstantial information, sourcing additional details where required, for scrutiny by the medical examiner.

To assist in highlighting cases for assessment by the Structured Judgement Review team (SJR), Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP), Quality and Patient Safety team and the Learning Disability Review Teams (LeDeR).

To refer patients to the coroner for further investigation on approval by the medical examiner

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.

Supports the Bereavement Officer and Mortuary Officer and works as part of the Bereavement team including covering annual leave.

About us

Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a high performing and flourishing organisation serving the population of Hackney, East London, The City and beyond.

We are extremely proud of the fact that Homerton Hospital has recently attained the highest possible rating of "Outstanding" from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Our integrated Trust provides comprehensive hospital and community health services for its local population and a range of specialist services for a wider group of patients. In addition, the Trust manages services out of St Leonard's Hospital and the Mary Seacole Nursing Home.

Homerton aims to ensure equality and value diversity, and we are committed to inclusion for all of our staff.This is reflected in our policies, procedures and People Plan.All of our staff are expected to embody our Trust values at all times.

We are also committed, through our Fair Recruitment Standards, to ensuring all applicants are treated fairly.

Homerton has a proud tradition of supporting and developing its staff, including its well regarded and valued nursing community, and all staff are able to take advantage of a great range of benefits.

Homerton is proud to have been included on the HSJ & Nursing Times Best Places to Work list.

Employer details

Employer name

Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Homerton University Hospital

Homerton Row

London

E9 6SR

Employer's website

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

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Employer details

Employer name

Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Homerton University Hospital

Homerton Row

London

E9 6SR

Employer's website

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

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