Job summary

Posts of Medical Examiner

Applicants are invited for sessional work within the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital Medical Examiner Service (NNUH MES).

The Medical Examiner system has been developed since April 2019 and is intended to provide independent, robust and transparent scrutiny of death certification processes across all sectors of the health service. Further information about Medical Examiners may be found at https://www.rcpath.org/profession/medical-examiners.html.

The NNUH MES is comprised of part-time Medical Examiners and full-time Medical Examiner Officers who combine clinical skills, compassion and sensitivity and a commitment to engage with bereaved families in order to scrutinise (review) every death within its remit (currently all in-hospital deaths and within the next year all out of hospital/community deaths). The scrutiny identifies how the patient died (to ensured accuracy of the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death), whether the clinical teams had any concerns about care, whether the next of kin had any concerns about care and whether the case needs notification to HM Senior Coroner, or any other form of escalation.

The Medical Examiner Service aspires to scrutinise deaths within 24 hours of being notified of the death.

Main duties of the job

We invite applications from registered medical practitioners who are consultants or general practitioners who have completed the core e-learning provided by the Royal College of Pathologists (see https://www.rcpath.org/profession/medical-examiners/medical-examiner-training.html) and have already undertaken, or who will be willing to undertake the face to face training also provided by the Royal College of Pathologists (the lead medical College for Medical Examiners), within 3 months of starting in post. .

You will work with the Medical Examiner Officers and other Medical Examiners, to develop the service and regularly review and refine this over time. The service is based at the NNUH and shares an office with the Trust's Bereavement Service.

The current advert is to appoint Medical Examiners for the following sessions - Monday, am and pm, Tuesday am. The session must be worked between the hours of 0900-1300 and 1300-17.00 and will be based in the Medical Examiner Office. As this role is administrative, there is no SPA time allocated.

Consultant level staff will be appointed using a Consultant contract and pay scale, Salary: �88,364 to �119,133 pro rata per annum. (Depending on experience and length of service in the NHS). GP's appointed as Medical Examiners will be appointed using a staff grade/specialty doctor contract, salary to be based on your current GP sessional rate. Annual pay rises will be awarded in accordance with nationally agreed pay increases.

About us

We welcome all applications irrespective of age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, race or religion. Additionally, people with disabilities will be offered an interview providing they meet the minimum criteria for the post. The Trust operates job share and flexible working.

For an informal discussion please contact:

Lead Medical Examiner - Professor Jason Payne-James Jason.payne-james@nnuh.nhs.uk

Lead Medical Examiner Officer - Louise Parapanos Louise.parapanos@nnuh.nhs.uk

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see attached job description for full details of the post and Person Specification.

Closing date: 6th June 2023.

Interview date: 6th July 2023.

Person Specification

Knowledge, Skills and Performance

Essential

• Medical practitioner registered and licenced to practice in the UK by the GMC
• IT skills including use of email and commonly used software

Desirable

• Medical Consultant or GP

Knowledge, Skills and Performance

Essential

• Candidates must have successfully completed the mandatory e-learning modules by the time they start the role. Candidates must attend a face-to-face training session within the first three months in post.
• MEs should have up-to-date knowledge of causes of death and an understanding of the legal frameworks associated with death certification processes
• Knowledge of the special requirements of various faith groups and respect for equality and diversity

Safety and Quality - Clinical Governance

Essential

• Knowledge of local and national clinical governance systems and an understanding of how the ME can work collaboratively to improve patient safety by identifying sub-optimal clinical and organisational performance.

Knowledge, Skills and Performance

Essential

• A commitment to life-long learning and undertaking personal development opportunities
• Ability to manage and comply with sensitive information-based processes under tight timescales with a proportionate approach

Safety and Quality - Clinical Governance

Essential

• Ability to identify available data sources to support the detection and analysis of concerns and to recognise gaps in available knowledge
• Ability to identify and disseminate examples of good practice amongst relevant colleagues

Communication and teamwork

Essential

• Strong interpersonal skills demonstrating the ability to communicate in difficult and emotional situations with empathy and professionalism
• Ability to work effectively and efficiently within own team and also closely with people in other disciplines
• Ability to work as part of a team and organise a fluctuating workload around competing priorities and numerous interruptions

Personal qualities and behavioural attributes

Essential

• Proactive and self-motivated with a flexible working approach
• Have the resilience to manage own reaction to frequently distressing situations and support others within the team.
• To sustain professional integrity and independence at all times, particularly where there is the potential for a conflict of interest

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

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