Medical Examiner (ME)

Job description

Job responsibilities

Main duties:

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.

The main responsibilities of the ME are to:-

• ensure compliance with the legal and procedural requirements associated with the current processes of certification, investigation (by coroners) and registration of deaths within the Local Authority area;
• support those doctors who call for medical advice on suspected natural causes of death before they prepare an MCCD, and provide general medical advice to the coroner;
• scrutinise the certified causes of all in-scope deaths in a way that is compliant with the proposed national protocol;
• maintain comprehensive records of all deaths scrutinised and undertake analysis and provide information as required to ONS & locally for clinical governance purposes;
• work with the other medical examiners in the QEH ME office to arrange reciprocal cover for holidays and other periods of absence and also to ensure that there is no potential conflict of interest between the medical examiner and the death being scrutinised;
• explain to bereaved relatives the cause of death in a transparent, tactful and sympathetic manner which respects different faith, cultural, ethnic and diversity considerations;
• Support the training of junior doctors in completion of MCCDs and provide feedback on accuracy of certification locally if required.

You will be expected to comply with national protocols to ensure that in each case the cause of death is scrutinised in a way that is robust, proportionate and consistent.

You must have up to date knowledge of medical conditions, treatments and medicines which may or may not have contributed to death, and be able to exercise judgement in where to seek specialist advice in order to determine the appropriate level of scrutiny required.

You must be able to distinguish between natural and unnatural causes of death and to decide where a death must be reported to, and investigated by, a coroner.

You will be required to maintain comprehensive records in an appropriate format.

You will have professional independence in scrutinising deaths but will be accountable to the Gateshead Foundation NHS Trusts Board for achieving agreed standards or levels of performance.

You will have regard to guidance issued by the National Medical Examiner when carrying out your ME functions.

You will be required to participate in an annual appraisal process as part of the GMC revalidation process, and must include the Medical Examiner duties within your scope of practice. Applicants not employed within the Gateshead NHS Foundation Trust must confirm who their Responsible Officer is prior to appointment.

Medical Examiner training is led by the Royal College of Pathologists. Online training with completion of the E-learning for Healthcare Medical Examiner Core Learning Resource is required before starting the role. A one day face to face (or online) group training by the Royal College of Pathologist must be completed within 6 months of appointment. MEs can then choose to become Medical Examiner members of the Royal College of Pathologists (RCPathME).

You will be expected to take responsibility for your own continuing professional development and take part in continuing medical education activities, in accordance with any relevant standards for maintaining your GMC licence to practice and membership of any relevant professional body.

You will be committed to the concept of lifelong learning and produce and maintain a Personal Development Plan in agreement with your appraiser. The ME role will be included in your scope of practice and reviewed within your annual appraisal and for revalidation.

You may be required to attend relevant local, and national, activities in order to maintain up to date knowledge and to ensure compliance with legal and procedural requirements associated with the current process of certification, investigation (by coroners) and registration of deaths.

You will be required to participate in any relevant governance activities relating to the scrutiny and confirmation of cause of death. This will include participating in audits and investigations where appropriate and responding to complaints within the expected timescale.

You will also be expected to:-

• Take appropriate action where other governance issues are also identified during the scrutiny process, including providing feedback to medical and nursing teams, or escalation of concerns via local clinical governance processes, where relevant;
• Share relevant information with responsible officers for doctors to remedy sub-standard clinical performance to protect patients.

You must be able to communicate with the bereaved of all faiths and communities in a sensitive and understanding manner.

You will need to be familiar with the role and function of the Coroner and Coroners Officers, and be able to present complex medical information in such a way as to assist the Coroner to decide whether to investigate a death about which they have been notified.

You will liaise with the attending medical practitioners prior to their completing a Medical Certificate on the Cause of Death, and assist them with referrals to the Coroner where appropriate. You will support and encourage learning for doctors in training where relevant opportunities arise.

You will work in a collaborative manner with the Medical Examiner Officer and other Medical Examiners, and members of the Bereavement Team.

You will collaborate with the other Medical Examiners in the QE ME office to ensure cover is provided for holidays and other commitments that would prevent completion of the scrutiny process within the prescribed timescales.

You will act in accordance with equalities and Human Rights legislation and the organisations Equality and Diversity policies.

Medical Examiners must avoid any potential conflict of interest. You will make arrangements to transfer to another ME the responsibility for the scrutiny of any death in which you have had a personal, professional or fiduciary relationship with the deceased person, the next-of-kin or near relative of the deceased, or a personal or fiduciary relationship with the attending doctor who prepared the MCCD.

You will be expected to fulfil any appropriate management and individual responsibilities in accordance with the organisations Health and Safety policy and report as necessary, any untoward accident, incident or potentially hazardous environment. You will also promote and implement the Gateshead NHS Foundation Trust Health and Safety Policy.

Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust (GHNFT) became a foundation trust in 2005 and is one of the best performing medium-sized acute trusts in the country with a long standing national reputation for providing high quality care. We have continually developed and adapted to the changing models of service provision both locally and regionally. We are proud of our history of working effectively with our partners in health and social care. Recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections rated the Trust as good overall, with outstanding ratings for our care overall and for our maternity, IVF, gynaecology and surgical services.

The Trust has revenue of around £300m and provides a range of hospital services, most of which are delivered to the 200,000 people who live in Gateshead. A number of people from the surrounding area choose to use our facilities as a range of a specialist services are provided for people from a wider geographical area. We also provide breast screening services for Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland Durham and Chester-Le-Street, and we are the North East hub for the National Bowel Cancer.

Medical Examiners are required to participate in an annual appraisal process, and GMC revalidation. They must provide details of their Responsible Officer, and include the Medical Examiner role in their scope of practice for review during appraisal, including reporting any incidents or complaints that have been raised via the Gateshead NHS Foundation Trust processes.

The Trust supports the requirements for Continuing Professional Development relevant to the Medical Examiner role, as laid down by the Royal College of Pathologists and is committed to providing time and financial support for these activities.

Medical Examiners must also participate in relevant Continuing Professional Development activities for their other clinical roles.

Person Specification

Essential

Essential

• Current GMC Registration
• 5 years experience

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

Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Sheriff Hill

Gateshead

NE9 6SX

Employer's website

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