Medical Examiner Officer

The Medical Examiner Service became statue law on 9 th September 2024, meaning that all deaths in England and Wales that are not taken for investigation by the Coroner, are required to be secondarily independently reviewed by the Medical Examiner.

The Medical Examiner Service at the West Suffolk Hospital are responsible for reviewing deaths from within the Hospital and surrounding community, including care homes, Hospices and Coroner referred cases.

The role of the Medical Examiner Officer is vital for ensuring deaths are received, reviewed and action in a timely and professional manner, providing administrative support to the Medical Examiner, and a compassionate and efficient service to the bereaved.

The Medical Examiner Officers work closely with the Hospital Mortuary and Bereavement services, and including, but not limited to, hospital medical teams, Patient Advise and Liaison Services and Learning from Deaths Team. We also work very closely with external stakeholders at the GP practices aligned with our service, the Coroner Services and Registrar Services.

To act as an intermediary between the bereaved and clinicians to establish and resolve any concerns relating to a patient's death.

Work with medical examiners to aid them in their responsibility for overseeing the death certification process for all deceased patients in the organisation/community, as determined by the National Medical Examiner's Officer.

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.

To assist in highlighting cases for assessment by the Structured Judgement Review team (SJR), Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP), Clinical Governance teams and the Learning Disability Review Teams (LeDeR).

To refer patients to the coroner for further investigation on approval by the medical examiner

Maintain an awareness of the diverse needs of users of the medical examiner system to ensure equality.

We are a busy, friendly, rural NHS Trust providing high-quality care and compassion to more than a quarter of a million people across west Suffolk. We care for, treat and support people in hospital, at home and in various community settings.

The West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds provides acute and secondary care services (emergency department, maternity and neonatal services, day surgery unit, eye treatment centre, Macmillan unit and children's ward). It has 500+ beds and is a partner teaching hospital of the University of Cambridge.

Adult and paediatric community services, provided in collaboration with West Suffolk Alliance partners, include a range of nursing, therapy, specialist, and ongoing temporary care and rehabilitation, some at our Newmarket Community Hospital.

We do our utmost to achieve outstanding clinical outcomes for patients and our values of fairness, inclusivity, respect, safety and team work guide how we work and behave as a team.

With nearly 5,000 staff, from all over the world, we strive to make our organisation a great place to work. Whatever your role or ambition, we want to help you be the best you can be.

We promote a diverse and inclusive community where everyones voice counts and you can #BeKnown for whoever you are.

Join us. What will you #BeKnown for?

Please see the full job description for further information

Job responsibilities:Key Tasks & Responsibilities:

• Ensuring deaths are received, reviewed and action in a timely and professional manner, providing administrative support to the Medical Examiner, and a compassionate and efficient service to the

bereaved.

• To act as an intermediary between the bereaved and clinicians to establish and resolve any concerns relating to a patient's death.
• Work with medical examiners to aid them in their responsibility for overseeing the death certification process for all deceased patients in the organisation/community, as determined by the National Medical Examiner's Office