An exciting opportunity is available at University Hospital Sussex (UHSx) NHS Foundation Trust for a further part-time Medical Examiner Officer to join our team to work cross-site between St Richards hospital and Worthing Hospital. After successful implementation of the Medical Examiner (ME) Service in our acute hospitals, we are expanding into the Community and Primary Care Settings in West Sussex.
We are looking for enthusiastic, motivated, and compassionate Medical Examiner Officers (MEO) to help support the continued delivery of the Acute ME Service across our hospital sites and within the community. You will be key in supporting the Medical Examiner process, the Trust's mortality process, and provide support to a range of staff within the Trust around mortality and the ME Service.
It will be vital that the applicant can manage their own workload and work well within the team managing a high volume of referrals in a timely manner, putting the bereaved at the center of the role, with excellent communication skills.
Please contact uhsussex.medicalexaminersoffice@nhs.net for further details.
Secondment opportunities will be considered. We are advertising 15 hours per week but we may be in a position to increase this at a later date.
Main duties of the job
This role will incorporate clinical and administrative skills in ensuring necessary paperwork is accurate and complete, but also excellent communication skills during liaison with doctors, nurses, families, and where appropriate, the Coroners' services. Part of the day-to-day work will also involve investigation work and perusal of patient notes so a good working knowledge of medical terminology is important together with relevant clinical experience in an acute/community setting.
We have set up Medical Examiners Offices at 4 sites within the Trust. This enables the Medical examiners to scrutinise every applicable inpatient death in the Trust as well as developing the service to take on the responsibility of reviewing the circumstances of all community deaths in West Sussex as the statutory national programme rolls out in September 2024. To do this, we have aimed to develop a responsive and fluid service which is adaptable to the needs of the Trust, our patients, community, and our workforce. An element of cross-site working between Worthing and St Richards Hospitals is expected in consideration of work base preference at recruitment.
Successful applicants will be expected to complete formal training appropriate to the role when in post; online training produced by the Royal College of Pathologists should be completed prior to commencement of the post.
About us
At UHSussex, diversity is our strength, and we want you to feel included to help us always put the Patient First. Your uniqueness and experiences will be part of our creative and innovative community where everyone is encouraged to succeed. We have a range of Staff Networks to help break down barriers and can offer a buddy to help new members settle in. We're proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2) and a Veteran Aware Trust.
We treat our patients and staff with the same compassion and empathy we expect for ourselves. We're here for them when they need us, and we go above and beyond to meet their needs. This can be seen in our Wellbeing Programme for staff which is extensive and designed to support you when you need it, including where possible, flexible working to support work-life balance - because we know that to look after others we must first look after ourselves.
As a university trust and a leader in healthcare research, we value learning, teaching, and training so that we can be the best that we can be. From the moment you start with us and throughout your career, we will help you to grow and develop. We hope that in choosing UHSussex you are choosing a long and happy career where you will be able to see the difference you make and feel valued for all that you do.
We look forward to receiving your application and the start of your journey with UHSussex.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Effective verbal, non-verbal, and written communication with all members of the multidisciplinary team within own department and relevant departments and both internal and external to the Trust. To discuss content of medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD) with relatives of deceased and in all cases, collect additional information. This may include the need to communicate sensitive information and offer explanations. Communicate via all mediums with families, carers, clinical teams, in relation to medical examiner scrutiny and the outcomes of any discussions.
Please see Job Description for more information.
Person Specification
Essential
* Registered Nurse/Allied Health profession or equivalent professional qualification/experience
* Experience of working in a healthcare or related setting with multi-disciplinary teams and of working across organisational boundaries
* To have an understanding of medical terminology that enables informed discussions about causes/circumstances of death with bereaved families, clinicians, coroner and registration service staff.
* Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to engage at all levels including senior clinicians/coroners etc about sensitive issues
* Computer literate to use multiple IT software for recording personal identifiable data and producing statistical information for the National Medical Examiner's office and Public Health surveillance. To include Access, Word, Excel
Desirable
* Experience as Medical Examiners Officer
* Completion of the Royal College of Pathologists Medical examiners Officers e-Learning
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Essential
* Evidence of having undertaken own development to improve understanding of equalities issues
* Evidence of having championed diversity in previous roles (as appropriate to role)
Employer details
Employer name
University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (279)
Address
St Richards and Worthing
St Richards Hospital, Spitalfield Lane
Chichester
PO19 6SE
Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.
279-6807836-DEC24
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