Medical Examiner Officer

CDDFT Charity; Darlington; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A pivotal role at County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust as a Medical Examiner Officer, where you will oversee death certification processes and provide critical support to medical examiners. Your responsibilities include liaising with healthcare professionals and families while ensuring compliance with national guidelines in a sensitive environment.

Qualifications

• Experience of working in a healthcare or related setting with multi-disciplinary teams.
• Knowledge of Quality Care Commission requirements.

Responsibilities

• To work with medical examiners to oversee death certification.
• Assist in referrals to the coroner for medical investigations.
• Develop and maintain information for the Medical Examiner service.

Skills

Communication

Empathy

Problem Solving

Education

Degree or equivalent experience in a relevant discipline

GCSE level Maths & English

Job description

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

Medical Examiner Officer

The closing date is 04 July 2025

This is an important role at County Durham and DarlingtonNHS Foundation Trust, supporting the Medical Examiner Service across CountyDurham and Darlington, both in the acute setting and primary care.

This is a national service to provide a voice to thebereaved, whilst also ensuring accuracy of the Medical Cause of DeathCertification. The successful applicant will work within a multi-disciplinaryteam, supporting doctors across the organisation and primary care.

The Medical Examiner system will greatly enhance governance,accuracy and service to grieving friends and families, working closely with theTrust Bereavement Service.

For further information please contact DonnaJohnston [e-mail]

Main duties of the job

To work with the Medical Examiner Service within CountyDurham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust.The post holder will support the Medical Examiner to scrutinise thecircumstances and causes of death. Theywill participate in the implementation of the reforms of death certificationwith the aim of improving the processes of death certification and referrals tothe Coroner.

To be a lead specialist as a source of advice and knowledgefor relatives and health care professionals involved in the process. To liaisewith and advise relatives of deceased patients, healthcare professionals andcoroner and registration services.

The post holder will work closely with thebereavement services and mortality review team in ensuring a seamless service.

About us

If you are being interviewed you must accept an interview slot in the system to continue, even if you have arranged with the manager

You must be able to produce ALL certificates stated essential in the person specification or you will not be able to complete pre-employment checks

We provide hospital services from two acute sites - Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham. We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester-le-Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community based settings and providing care in patients' homes.

We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under-represented

Full Job Descriptions can be found in the adverts supporting documents

Over reliance onAI-generated content is discouraged and may diminish the applicant's chances ofsuccess

For the most up-to-date information on visa requirements and eligibility, please check online to determine whether you can apply.

From April 9th 2025 - Healthcare assistants - You must have a minimum of two yearsof experience working within the NHS as a HCA for the Trust to considersponsorship (we will only consider sponsorship if you meet this criteria andhave a current visa expiring within 3 months)

Job responsibilities

To work withmedical examiners to support them in their responsibility for overseeing thedeath certification for all deceased patients within the Trust

To assist in thereferral of deceased patients to the coroner for further medical investigation

To act as inintermediary to the medical examiners and the clinical teams to ensure all keymessages are communicated in a timelyand effective manner

To take a lead roleto improve the process of death certification and referrals to the Coroner

To develop andmaintain information for the Medical Examiner service and support structures,to support research and development

Ensure thatfinancial requirements of the medical examiners service are monitored andmaintained by monitoring the service budget and financial initiatives.

Analysis andassessment of progress against and compliance with the Quality Care Commissionrequirements for medical examiners service,providing advice and support to Associate Directors, Clinical Leads asrequired on adapting plans to achieve objectives and meet emerging priorities.

Use computersoftware to develop and produce statistical reports using appropriate formulaeon a regular basis

Be responsible forcompletion of regular, at least monthly, complex audits to ensure compliancewith local and national guidelines and requirements as directed by the Ministryof Justice and Department on Health and Social Care

Facilitatesmulti-agency cohesion between Medical Examiner, Coroners Officers, HealthPractitioners, the Local Authority and General Registration Officer

To lead and providetraining on the Medical Examiners system for Junior Doctor Inductions and anyother agency that request i.e. Registration services, coroners office, andnursing staff.

Develop, lead andimplement training packages to meet department/corporate needs and tocontinually improve the knowledge and experience of stakeholders.

Work to providespecialist support service which enables Medical Examiners to perform theirrole of scrutinising the circumstances and causes of death.

Plan, co-ordinateand manage the rota for medical examiners

Keep up to datewith national guidance in relation to the medical examiners service andpropose changes to policies and working practices which impact across theTrust.

Ensure that Trustpolicies and guidelines in relation to the medical examiners service areadhered to and ensuring staff are updated as changes occur

Maintain currentrecords and progress reports on individual projects and initiatives.

Support andfacilitate the implementation of change in practice relating to the medicalexaminers service as directed by national organisations.

Represent theMedical Examiners service at internal meetings where applicable

The post holderwill be a point of contact and source of advice for relatives of deceasedpatients, healthcare professionals and coroner and registration services. Theywill need to be able to adapt their approach to suit a variety of situationsand audiences which will require highly developed communication skills.

To ensure anyconcerns raised by the relatives are escalated in line with Trust policy

To analyse complexdata and situations and identify any trends, interpret information and reporton findings and escalate according to Trust policy

Ensure trendsrelevant to risk and threats are managed and shared with relevant stakeholdersand support in the re-alignment of operational plans to meet increased risk.

To participate inmeetings with relatives alongside the medical examiner and other membersof the multidisciplinary team

Plan, co-ordinate and participate in Lessons Learnedevents and ensure they are communicated and implemented across relevantdepartments and with appropriate stakeholders.

The post holderwill work with autonomy, planning and managing own workload and that of theMedical Examiner to effectively deliver a wide and complex range of dutiessometime with competing demands and often of a sensitive and confidentialnature. The post holder will be required to maintain an awareness of diverseneeds of users of the medical examiner system to ensure equality to anyparticular group defined by sex, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation,gender reassignment or disability. The post holder will be required to developthe ability to work in a highly pressurized, unpredictable environment where bereavementis central to the service delivery.

To maintainconfidentiality in line with Trust policy

To support thedepartment and Trust by carrying out any other duties that reasonably fitwithin the broad scope of a job of this Band and type of work.

Interviews will be held on Thursday 17th July 2025.

Person Specification

Special Requirements

• Discreet and able to work confidentially
• Flexible working approach and a team player.
• Must have a professional manner, attitude and appearance.
• Highly evolved self-awareness and communication skills to communicate in difficult situations with empathy and professionalism.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills to produce accurate correspondence.
• Self-motivated and proactive.
• Ability to travel between Trust sites.
• Ability to be flexible to meet the needs of the team, the service and the Trust.

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent experience in a relevant discipline.
• Experience of working in a healthcare or related setting with multi-disciplinary teams of working across organizational boundaries.
• To have qualifications/skills in day-to-day operational/process management of a customer-facing service where users may have unpredictable and emotionally charged needs.
• Education to GCSE level Maths & English
• Aware of the National Quality Board Learning from deaths framework.
• Risk Management experience or qualification.

Experience

• Specialist in depth experience at advanced level, this may include professional experience within a nursing/clinical background.
• Experience of delivering training.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to engage at all levels including senior clinicians/coroners etc about sensitive issues.
• Abe to work to a high standard.
• Experience of change management.
• Excellent verbal and written skills with evidence of good quality report writing, logic problem solving and analytical skills.
• To have an understanding of medical terminology that enables informed discussions about causes/circumstances of death with bereaved families, clinicians, coroner and registration staff.
• Knowledge of the special requirements of the various faith groups with an awareness of equality and diversity issues surrounding death certification and arrangements.
• Ability to work effectively and credibly with multidisciplinary teams.
• Ability to work to deadlines and achieve agreed objectives.
• Ability to organize work around changeable competing demands and fluctuating workloads.
• Knowledge of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and its relation to the Death Certification process.
• Experience of working with bereaved relatives
• Able to influence and negotiate change.
• Able to assess, plan, implement and evaluate own and others training needs.
• Knowledge of the statutory process around death certification legal frameworks and how the medical examiner system aligns with other related organisations and NHS initiatives.
• Experience of clinical audit/promoting quality issues within healthcare.

Special Skills and Knowledge

• Experience of working with bereaved relatives
• Able to influence and negotiate change.
• Able to assess, plan, implement and evaluate own and others training needs.
• Knowledge of the statutory process around death certification legal frameworks and how the medical examiner system aligns with other related organisations and NHS initiatives.
• Experience of clinical audit/promoting quality issues within healthcare.
• Knowledge of Trust patient admission system
• Report writing skills

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.

Employer name

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust