Job summary
Medical Examiners
NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership is looking to recruit a team of Medical Examiners to work in the newly established Medical Examiner Service for Wales.
The Medical Examiner Service will aim to:
Strengthen safeguards for the public, by providing robust and independent scrutiny of the medical circumstances and cause of deaths, and ensuring that the right deaths are referred to a Coroner or care organisation for further investigation where appropriate.
Improve the quality of death certification, by providing expert advice to doctors based on a review of relevant health records
Avoid unnecessary distress for the bereaved, that can result from unanswered questions about the certified cause of death, or from unexpected delays when registering a death
Main duties of the job
In order to do this Medical Examiners, supported by Medical Examiner Officers, will:
Scrutinise all deaths not referred directly to the Coroner.
Review all Medical Certificates of the Cause of Death and issue a Confirmation of the Cause of Death to allow Registration of death to take place
Refer to Coroner Service deaths that require a Coroner's investigation
Refer to Care Organisation deaths that require a Stage 2 Mortality ReviewProvide Analysis and Reports to relevant stakeholders
To become a Medical Examiner you need at least 5 years' experience as a fully registered medical practitioner;
Hold a licence to practice with the GMC; and be currently practicing or have retired within the last 5 years.
You will also have needed to complete or are committed to completing the mandatory online and face to face training delivered by the Royal College of Pathologists.
The ability to speak Welsh is desirable for this post; English and/or Welsh speakers are equally welcome to apply.
This post is fixed term for 12 months due to - meet the needs of the service
About us
At NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership we have high standards and expect everyone to embrace our values of Listening & Learning, Working Together, Taking Responsibility & Innovating, whilst ensuring trust, honesty and compassion are implicit in everything that we do.
We are adaptable, agile and flexible and pride ourselves on being a learning organisation - one where it is safe to make mistakes, where blame is replaced by opportunity, learning and improvement. Innovation is built into everything that we do.
We recognise our people regularly and have an Appreciation Station, to encourage staff to applaud exemplary behaviour in one another, alongside an Annual Staff Recognition Award ceremony aligned to our values.
We respect and value our people and strive for a culture of compassion and inclusivity. We are a bilingual organisation, and we have a team of Change Champions who advocate 'This is Our NWSSP' our principal change programme. Similarly, PROUD is our new staff network welcoming LGBT+ colleagues and allies to come together in a safe space for discussions, event planning and the opportunity to build supportive networks.
We have a comprehensive benefits package where there is something for everyone, supporting health, engagement and wellbeing and includes an Employee Assistance Programme. We have over 30 Mental Health First Aiders and work in partnership with local and national organisations to ensure the well-being and resilience of our people.
Job description
Job responsibilities
You will be able to find a full Job description and Person Specification attached within the supporting documents or please click Apply now to view in Trac
Job description
Job responsibilities
You will be able to find a full Job description and Person Specification attached within the supporting documents or please click Apply now to view in Trac
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Medical practitioner registered and licensed to practise in the UK by the GMC (minimum 5 years post registration)
- Successfully completed the mandatory e-Learning for Medical Examiners
- Successfully completed or provide a confirmed date of attendance at the Royal College of Pathologists face to face ME training
- A commitment to the concept of lifelong learning and undertaking personal development opportunities
Knowledge/Experience
Essential
- Medical Examiners should have up-to-date knowledge of causes of death and an understanding of the legal frameworks associated with death certification processes including registration rules, Births and Deaths Registrations Act (1953) and the Statutory Notification of Deaths Regulations (2019).
- IT skills including use of email and commonly used software.
- Knowledge of the special requirements of various faith groups and respect for equality and diversity
- Knowledge of local and national clinical governance systems and an understanding of how the Medical Examiner can work collaboratively to improve patient safety by identifying sub-optimal clinical and organisational performance.
Desirable
- The ability to converse and communicate in Welsh
Skills
Essential
- Ability to manage and comply with sensitive information-based processes under tight timescales with a proportionate approach.
- Ability to identify available data sources to support the detection and analysis of concerns and to recognise gaps in available knowledge.
- Ability to identify and disseminate examples of good practice amongst relevant colleagues
- Ability to work effectively and efficiently within own team and also closely with people in other disciplines to avoid isolated working
- Strong interpersonal skills demonstrating the ability to communicate in difficult and emotional situations with empathy and professionalism.
- Ability to work as part of a team and organise a fluctuating workload around competing priorities and numerous interruptions.
Personal attributes/qualities
Essential
- Proactive and self-motivated with a flexible working approach
- Have the resilience to manage own reaction to frequently distressing situations and support others within the team.
- Sustains professional integrity and independence at all times, particularly where there is the potential for a conflict of interest.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Medical practitioner registered and licensed to practise in the UK by the GMC (minimum 5 years post registration)
- Successfully completed the mandatory e-Learning for Medical Examiners
- Successfully completed or provide a confirmed date of attendance at the Royal College of Pathologists face to face ME training
- A commitment to the concept of lifelong learning and undertaking personal development opportunities
Knowledge/Experience
Essential
- Medical Examiners should have up-to-date knowledge of causes of death and an understanding of the legal frameworks associated with death certification processes including registration rules, Births and Deaths Registrations Act (1953) and the Statutory Notification of Deaths Regulations (2019).
- IT skills including use of email and commonly used software.
- Knowledge of the special requirements of various faith groups and respect for equality and diversity
- Knowledge of local and national clinical governance systems and an understanding of how the Medical Examiner can work collaboratively to improve patient safety by identifying sub-optimal clinical and organisational performance.
Desirable
- The ability to converse and communicate in Welsh
Skills
Essential
- Ability to manage and comply with sensitive information-based processes under tight timescales with a proportionate approach.
- Ability to identify available data sources to support the detection and analysis of concerns and to recognise gaps in available knowledge.
- Ability to identify and disseminate examples of good practice amongst relevant colleagues
- Ability to work effectively and efficiently within own team and also closely with people in other disciplines to avoid isolated working
- Strong interpersonal skills demonstrating the ability to communicate in difficult and emotional situations with empathy and professionalism.
- Ability to work as part of a team and organise a fluctuating workload around competing priorities and numerous interruptions.
Personal attributes/qualities
Essential
- Proactive and self-motivated with a flexible working approach
- Have the resilience to manage own reaction to frequently distressing situations and support others within the team.
- Sustains professional integrity and independence at all times, particularly where there is the potential for a conflict of interest.
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.
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).
Additional information
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).
