Medical Examiner Officer

Kings College Hospital; Orpington; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 51,000; Part time

Job summary

An established industry player in healthcare is seeking a dedicated Band 6 Medical Examiner Officer to join their team at the Princess Royal University Hospital. This part-time role focuses on providing critical oversight in the Medical Examiner's Office, ensuring transparency and accuracy in the medical certification of deaths. As a key member of the team, you will lead the office on Mondays and Tuesdays, collaborating closely with other Medical Examiner Officers to uphold high standards of service. If you are passionate about improving healthcare practices and have experience in this vital role, this opportunity is perfect for you.

Qualifications

• Experience as a Medical Examiner Officer is essential.
• Competency in IT software and handling sensitive data required.

Responsibilities

• Manage the Medical Examiner Office and lead the team effectively.
• Ensure timely scrutiny of all deaths and maintain accurate records.

Skills

Medical Examination

IT Software Competency

Data Handling

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Equivalent

Job description

Main area: Medical Examiner Service - Medical Examiner Officer Grade band 6

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Part time - 15 hours per week (Monday & Tuesdays only)

Job ref: 213-PRUH-6849372-A

Employer: King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Employer type: NHS

Site: Princess Royal University Hospital

Town: Orpington

Salary: £42,939 - £50,697 Per Annum, including high cost area (Pro-rata)

Salary period: Yearly

Closing: 30/01/2025 23:59

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£1.7 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across 5 main sites in South East London.

Job overview

We are looking for a Band 6 Site Lead Medical Examiner Officer (MEO) to join the Medical Examiner’s Office at the Princess Royal University Hospital to cover Monday and Tuesdays alongside the current Band 6 Site Lead who works Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

The Medical Examiner system became statutory as of the 9th September 2024.

The principal functions are:

• To provide the bereaved with explanation, transparency and early opportunity to ask questions or raise concerns.
• To improve accuracy and quality in all aspects of the medical certification of the cause of death.
• To ensure appropriate referral to the Coroner.
• To safeguard the public through consistent scrutiny of all non-coronal deaths.
• To support clinical governance in learning and improvement.
• The current service is scrutinising all adult, paediatric and neonatal deaths in the hospital, with expansion to the community covering Bexley and Bromley Boroughs.

Main duties of the job

The individual will be responsible for working within the Medical Examiner Offices and leading the Medical Examiner Officers Team at the Princess Hospital on a Monday and Tuesday.

The role will participate in all aspects of the department, including the completion of paperwork required for the Medical Examiner to scrutinise each death and ensuring that all deaths are scrutinised in a timely manner.

You will work closely with the Lead Medical Examiner Officer in continually developing the Medical Examiner service and will take an active role in supporting the scrutiny of coronial deaths within the community.

The post holder will also be required to have working experience of being a Medical Examiner Officer and proven experience of taking part in building the Medical Examiner Service.

The Medical Examiner Officer is central to the service and is primarily based on one site, providing a constant presence in the medical examiner office allowing day-to-day continuity.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Leadership

• To manage the Medical Examiner Office day to day.
• Work with Medical Examiner Officers in managing the team’s delegated roles within the service.
• Review performance of the staff and make recommendations for development and further training.
• Assist the Lead MEO with the provision of accurate data returns to comply with National and Regional Medical Examiner requirements.
• Attend meetings as required to represent the Medical Examiner Service.
• To maintain workflow through the Medical Examiners’ Service to ensure all targets are met.

Education and Training

• Ensure training programmes and induction training for Medical Examiner Officers are followed.
• Plan and coordinate training for staff.
• Participate in training appropriate to the role.
• Update and maintain own self-development and awareness.
• Participate in Trust mandatory training.
• Work closely with the mortuary and bereavement service manager and Lead Medical Examiner Officer to ensure excellent working relationships.

Responsibilities

• To establish the circumstances of individual patient deaths by performing a preliminary review of medical records.
• To work with the Lead Medical Examiner Officer to ensure proper scrutiny of all deaths.
• To manage own workload ensuring timescales are adhered to.
• To identify cases that may require further review by Clinical Governance pathways.
• To participate in the maintenance of accurate record-keeping systems and statistical data collection.
• Take part in service and policy development.
• Continually monitor own performance ensuring professional standards are met at all times.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Educated to Bachelor’s degree level or equivalent working knowledge in a related field.
• Completed the e-LFH MEO Training and RcPath MEO Training.

Knowledge and Experience

• Experience of working as a Medical Examiner Officer.

Skills and Competencies

• Competent in the use of IT software and handling sensitive personal identifiable data.

IMPORTANT

• Check your email account regularly as this is how we will communicate with you.
• If you delete the job from any of your accounts, you may be prevented from accessing further communications.
• To enquire about your application or inform us of any changes in your circumstances, please contact the named person on this advert.
• Please provide email addresses for referees where possible.
• Please review the documentation on our recruitment microsite, particularly the Trust’s criminal records checking policy.
• All staff have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.
• Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. On occasion, we might close a vacancy early due to a high number of applications being received.