Medical Examiner Officer

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Medical Examiner Officer to join the Medical Examiner service at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH). We are progressing the expansion of our service to include review of deaths from the non-acute sector of our health community as the Medical Examiner Service will become statutory from 9th September 2024.
You will be assisting Medical Examiners in carrying out their duty of independent scrutiny of deceased patient's medical records to review the patient's care and ascertain a cause of death. You are a point of contact and source of advice and support for relatives of deceased patients, healthcare professionals and coroner and registration services.
The nature of the job is such that it demands high standards of integrity. It is essential that you have good interpersonal skills with the ability to show empathy and deal sensitively with bereaved families in highly emotive situations, whilst maintaining professional standards.
We have two vacancies, one post is based at The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and one post is based at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford. However applicants will be required to work from either of our hospital sites as and when required to meet the needs of the service and should have reliable transport plans in place to facilitate this.
Previous applicants need not apply., To establish the circumstances of individual patient deaths by performing a preliminary review of medical records to identify clinical and circumstantial information, sourcing additional details where required, for scrutiny by the medical examiner. Assist in highlighting cases that require referral to the Coroner and discuss with bereaved relatives why this might be necessary.
To assist in highlighting cases for assessment by the Structured Judgement Review team (SJR), Clinical Governance teams and the Learning Disability Review Teams (LeDeR).
To discuss likely content of medical certificate of cause of death with relatives of deceased and in all cases, collect additional information. This may include the need to communicate sensitive information and offer explanations but would be fully supported by the Medical Examiner of the day and the lead MEO.
To ensure any concerns raised by the relatives are dealt with in a timely manner and forwarded to the appropriate support service such as Patient Safety or Patient Experience for further investigation or input.
The nature of our work means you can be exposed to distressing and upsetting detail. The role of the MEO can be demanding with a sizable workload and requires an applicant with resilience and the ability to cope under pressure amongst their skill set., The Medical Examiner Office is a team of knowledgeable & dedicated staff who are committed to helping and supporting family members following the death of a patient. You will benefit from joining a small and friendly team who look out for each another and due to the nature of our work we ensure our colleagues are supported in their roles. We work with staff at all levels and with various internal and external stakeholders and in doing so, you will build a rapport with interdependent departments and services which will expand your knowledge base, skills and experience.

We are committed to offering an interview to applicants from the Armed Forces community who meet the minimum criteria for the position. In addition, for those who are successfully appointed from the Armed Forces community, the Trust are committed to recognising previous service and rank in terms of pay, annual leave and other terms and conditions.
We are committed to equal opportunities in employment. The policies and practices of the Trust aim to promote an environment that is free from all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination and values the diversity of all people. At the heart of our policy, we seek to treat people fairly, flexibly and with dignity and respect.
We are committed to making the Trust a great place to work, where all staff can reach their full potential and bring their whole self to work. We believe in promoting and enhancing inclusion, diversity and equality and welcome and encourage applications from all areas of the community, who meet the criteria for the role, regardless of age, gender, disability, race, religion or sexual orientation.
Don't meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people from an Ethnic minority background are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
We aim to create a trusting, flexible workplace, that attracts talent and enables everyone to be their best working self. Many of our colleagues work flexibly in many different ways, including part-time. Please talk to us at interview about the flexibility you need. We can't promise to give you exactly what you want, but we do promise a fair and equitable process that balances your needs, the needs of our patients and service delivery.
Thank you for your interest in The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, we look forward to receiving your application for employment.