Bereavement Officer

The Bereavement Office is the first point of contact for relatives of recently deceased patients and administers the provision of the relevant documentation to allow relatives to proceed with registration of the death.

The post holder will co-ordinate the administration of the processes involved whilst acting as a point of contact for the bereaved relatives.

We are a small friendly team with a friendly atmosphere. Will be required occasionally to travel to RLI for holiday cover.

Assist in the provision of an identifiable, accessible service to support bereaved relatives through the initial processes they must follow after the death of their relative.

Identify the relevant doctor to complete the required documents and arrange with them to attend the Bereavement Service for completion and liaison with the Medical examiner service.

Ensure that the doctors complete the relevant parts of the paperwork, providing advice where appropriate and directing them to where they can obtain specific advice on the information they are providing.

Provide comprehensive advice to bereaved relatives regarding the next steps they will have to follow that lead to death registration.

Be able to use of the hospital computer system and constantly update and share information.

More details on the attached Job description

We operate from three main hospitals-Furness General Hospital (FGH) in Barrow, the Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI), and Westmorland General Hospital (WGH) in Kendal, as well as a number of community healthcare premises including Millom Hospital and GP Practice, Queen Victoria Hospital in Morecambe, and Ulverston Community Health Centre.

FGH and the RLI have a range of General Hospital services, with full Emergency Departments, Critical/Coronary Care units and various Consultant-led services.

WGH provides a range of General Hospital services, together with an Urgent Treatment Centre, that can help with a range of non-life threatening conditions such as broken bones and minor illnesses.

All three main hospitals provide a range of planned care including outpatients, diagnostics, therapies, day case and inpatient surgery. In addition, a range of local outreach services and diagnostics are provided from community facilities across Morecambe Bay.

RLI and FGH have a mortuary on site. Deaths that require admission to the UHMBT hospital mortuary that occur in WGH are transferred to RLI.