Bereavement & Medical Examiner Officer (Band 5)

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Job OverviewThis is an exciting opportunity to join an enthusiastic team who are passionate about bereavement care. We are looking for a hard-working, team player who is compassionate and able to manage grieving relatives with empathy.The Medical Examiner System is a nationally mandated service aiming to scrutinize the circumstances and causes of all deaths of patients who die in hospital and, in due course, all those who die in our community.The B&MEO will be the first point of contact for bereaved relatives/carers, providing advice & support regarding the ME process, coronial referrals, registration of death and signposting for ongoing emotional support. You will also work closely with the Medical Examiner (ME), reviewing cases with the clinical team and providing advice & support to Junior Doctors regarding the legal requirements relating to the certification of death, including referral to HM Coroner and documentation for cremations.This is a challenging but rewarding role which combines some clinical knowledge, skilled communication and IT skills. Although the base will be at Musgrove Park Hospital, with the upcoming merger with Yeovil District Hospital there may be the occasional requirement to cover across both sites should the need arise, however this is something which we will have more information about once the merger progresses.Main duties of the jobTo support medical examiners in their role in scrutinising the circumstances and causes of death and be a point of contact and source of advice for relatives of deceased patients, healthcare professionals as well as coroner and registration services.Providing consistency across the Trust for bereavement information and emotional support to families and friends of deceased patients providing person centered, evidence-based care.In the absence of the Lead Bereavement & Medical Examiner Officer provide effective day to day running of the Bereavement & Medical Examiner Service.The post is primarily office based, however there are regular visits to the Mortuary and other wards and departments within the hospital.Daily duties include sitting for long periods, standing, walking and the use of computers. Meetings occur in various rooms on site.Take an active role in maintaining effective communication with all disciplines, (eg medical staff, other allied professionals, Coroner’s office staff and Funeral Directors)Be able to juggle conflicting demands around an unpredictable workload.Working for our organisationSomerset NHS Foundation Trust is proud to provide community, mental health and learning disability services and acute hospital services from Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton.Our mission is to deliver outstanding care through a culture of listening, learning and continuous improvement. Over 9,000 colleagues work for our trust in a very wide range of services and we aim to provide a supportive, inclusive environment in which our colleagues can thrive.We are working towards merging our trust with Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in order to provide consistent and accessible services across Somerset and better supporting people in our county to maintain their health and wellbeing.We are proud to be the Health Service Journal Mental Health Trust of the Year.Our values are simple: Outstanding Care, Working Together, Listening and Leading.BenefitsWith this in mind, we offer a range of colleague benefits includingWe recognise that our colleagues are our most valuable resource, we are proud of the excellent levels of service our Trust provides to our service users and the dedication and conscientious of our colleagues.Excellent annual leave entitlementEnhanced rates of payNHS Pension SchemeFree parking on most of our sitesNHS discountsTraining and developmentFlexible workingPaid registration fees for the 1st year for newly qualified colleaguesFor more information please contact the recruitment team via email: SomersetNHSJobs@SomersetFT.nhs.ukBy submitting your application to NHS Jobs/Trac, you are giving your consent for elements of your application data to be transferred to the NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR) and other secure, internal NHS Workforce systems in order to support and manage your recruitment and employment within your employing organisation; to be used by Recruitment for purposes of checking your Professional Registration online (where applicable), any previous NHS service details including all electronically held sickness information, via the Inter Authority Transfer process on the national Electronic Staff Record (ESR).These processes are in line with Fair and Lawful processing and with the Data Protection Act (2018) standards especially those in relation to your personal or sensitive personal data ( sensitive personal data is defined as any declared physical or mental health conditions, racial or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, trade union membership, political opinion, religious beliefs). Other principles under Data Protection will be observed such as use of data for specific, defined purposes, and use of data that is relevant and not excessive whilst practicing data accuracy and security of all held personal identifiable information (PII).Our trust has been awarded HSJ Mental Health Trust of the Year for 2021, This award follows a busy time for Somerset FT, now in its second year as a trust providing mental health and learning disability services, community and acute hospital services following a merger in April 2020. For more information on this fantastic award, please click herePlease Note: Our Trust is undergoing a merger to enable Yeovil Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust to become one combined organisation in April 2023. If you are successful in securing employment with the Trust we wanted to make you aware of this proposed merger. If this merger is confirmed, your employment will continue as part of the newly formed Trust.