SGH Bereavement Officer

St George's University Hospitals; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

St George's University Hospitals is seeking a Bereavement Services Administrator to provide expert guidance to medical and managerial staff on post‑death administrative procedures, ensuring MCCD completion and reducing distress for relatives. You will coordinate necessary documentation and support families through death registration and related community services.

The role also involves liaising with Coroner's officers, recording deaths in the Eden database, accompanying relatives to the

Responsibilities

• To be a source of expert advice and support to medical and managerial staff on the administrative procedures following death, for example to ensure that all MCCD are completed correctly to prevent added distress to the relatives.
• To coordinate the completion documentation required after the death of a patient.
• To provide detailed information for the bereaved relatives on the practical procedures involved with death registration and to advise on the availability of community support where necessary.
• To advise the NOK on the process and legal requirements for repatriation of the deceased if requested.
• To ensure that all deceased patients' details are recorded on the Eden database, including neonatal and paediatric deaths.
• To accompany relatives to mortuary to facilitate viewing the body in the viewing suite when required.
• To work closely with the local Coroner's officers in providing information and documentation for cases referred to the Coroner, liaising with clinicians where necessary.
• To be conversant with the necessary documentation and policies to release bodies from the Mortuary to the funeral directors.
• To ensure that general practitioners and any outside agency involved with the patient's care is informed of the death as soon as possible, including the production of standard letters.
• To support the arrangement of funeral services for pregnancy losses.

Job description

Main duties of the job

• To be a source of expert advice and support to medical and managerial staff on the administrative procedures following death, for example to ensure that all MCCD are completed correctly to prevent added distress to the relatives.


• To coordinate the completion documentation required after the death of a patient.


• To provide detailed information for the bereaved relatives on the practical procedures involved with death registration and to advise on the availability of community support where necessary.


• To advise the NOK on the process and legal requirements for repatriation of the deceased if requested.


• To ensure that all deceased patients' details are recorded on the Eden database, including neonatal and paediatric deaths.


• To accompany relatives to mortuary to facilitate viewing the body in the viewing suite when required.


• To work closely with the local Coroner's officers in providing information and documentation for cases referred to the Coroner, liaising with clinicians where necessary.


• To be conversant with the necessary documentation and policies to release bodies from the Mortuary to the funeral directors.


• To ensure that general practitioners and any outside agency involved with the patient's care is informed of the death as soon as possible, including the production of standard letters.


• To support the arrangement of funeral services for pregnancy losses.

Management and Leadership

• To support the Bereavement Services Manager with operational and administrative issues and to assist the Manager in the development of the Bereavement Service and day to day running of the Bereavement Services Office.


• To facilitate excellent communication within the department by effectively disseminating all information received to the team and by feeding back relevant comments and queries to the Bereavement Services Manager.


• To assist the Manager of Medical Examiner & Bereavement Services through maintaining processes relating to the smooth cohesive running of the departments.


• To act as first point of contact for queries and concerns from patients, carers, visitors, etc., and assisting in investigations as required.

Financial & Resource Management

• To take responsibility for producing reports and dealing with general queries.


• To participate in budget control as specified by the Bereavement Services Manager by ensuring that all orders placed are necessary and within budget.

At gesh we are committed to supporting flexible working arrangements. Applicants are encouraged to discuss any flexibility they may need during the recruitment process.

St George's, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group cares for a population of four million people in South West London and North East Surrey.Our sites include St George's Hospital, one of 11 major trauma centres in the UK and the largest healthcare provider and major teaching hospital in the area; St Helier Hospital, home to the South West Thames Renal and Transplantation Unit and Queen Mary's Hospital for Children; and Epsom Hospital, home to the South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre (SWLEOC).

After years of collaboration, our two Trusts became a hospitals group in 2021. While remaining as two separate Trusts, being a hospitals group will help us to collaborate more closely on research, and the development, education, and training of our 17,000-strong workforce.