Mortuary & Bereavement Assistant

We are recruiting for a Mortuary & Bereavement Assistant who share our vision to be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service to our patients.

To provide support to the Mortuary Service for the needs of the East & North Herts NHS Trust Hospitals, HM Coroner and the community. To have responsibilities and active involvement with the day-to-day office administration and record keeping.

The admission and discharge of the deceased patients from the mortuary in accordance with departmental Standard Operational Procedures.

The preparation of deceased patients for viewings under the guidance of qualified APT Mortuary staff.

At the heart of everything we do are our core values: Include, Respect, and Improve. We encourage you to embrace these values throughout the recruitment process and in your role with us.

Main duties of the job

1. Oversee the admission and discharge of the deceased patients to and from the mortuary.
2. Keep and maintain accurate computer and document records of the deceased patients' details including name and address, valuables, clothing and property found on or with the deceased patient.
3. Utilise Information Technology skills for database entry and to access Eden and Q Pulse Systems when required. Training will be provided for the use of these systems.
4. Assist with carrying out departmental audits to maintain quality systems.
5. Provide information daily for Funeral Companies as required.
6. To liaise and maintain good working relationships with the Bereavement Office, Coroner's Office, Police, Scenes of Crime Officers, Undertakers, Nursing Staff, Radiology Dept, Chaplaincy, relatives and any other department or persons met in the course of duty.

About us

At East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general and specialist services we provide and our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible and innovative in the way in which we work and deliver our services to our catchment has never been more important than it is now.

We run the following hospitals:

• The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
• New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
• Hertford County, Hertford

We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation and our staff and patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.

We are committed to a positive work-life balance for our employees. This means that any employee is entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns and we are committed to listen and consider all requests. Such requests, of course, have to be made and considered formally, and will need to be balanced against service needs, but our starting point will always be to find ways to support making them happen.

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification applicant pack for further detailed information regarding this role.

Person Specification

Qualifications / Training

• Relevant NVQ level 3 or equivalent experience.
• Bereavement Training or relevant experience.

Previous Experience

• Experience of working within a team.
• Experience of working within a customer-based environment.
• Frontline NHS experience in mortuary services.
• Experience of working with and the requirements of HM Coroner.
• Experience in writing and amending processes and procedures in accordance with internal and external regulations.
• Practical Bereavement Office experience.

Skills

• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Ability to motivate others.
• Practical and creative approach to problem solving.
• Ability to make decisions on a day-to-day basis.
• Excellent organisational, time management and prioritisation skills.
• Ability to work on own initiative.
• Dealing appropriately with sensitive and confidential information.
• Ability to resolve conflicts.

Knowledge

• Proficient in Microsoft Office, Internet, Email and use of databases.
• Experience with using databases and spreadsheets.
• Knowledge of NHS Trust Policies.
• Working knowledge of Human Tissue Authority regulations.
• Working knowledge of Medical Examiner system and processes.
• Comprehensive understanding of death certification procedures and the relevant legal framework and the roles of other agencies.
• Experience of databases such as Eden.

Other requirements

• Understanding of, and commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Ability to empathise with the bereaved and deal with sensitive issues.
• Flexibility with hours of work and approach.
• The necessary fitness and experience to manage the physical demands of the role.
• Understands the impact on equality, diversity and inclusion issues in all aspects of service delivery and planning.
• Role model our Trust values every day.

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.