Medical Examiner Officer | North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust

We are expanding our team of Medical Examiner Officers to enable scrutiny of all patient and community deaths.

The Medical Examiner Officer supports the Medical Examiner in scrutinising the circumstances and causes of death.

In addition, they are a point of contact and source of advice for relatives of deceased patients, healthcare professionals and coroner and registration services.

The nature of the job is such that it demands high standards of integrity. It is essential that you have good interpersonal skills with the ability to show empathy and deal sensitively with bereaved families

We welcome applications from candidates educated to Batchelor’s degree level, or evidence of study/equivalent practical experience at an advanced level; this might include nursing and/or other clinical experience.

Please note, candidates must have completed the mandatory e-learning MEO core training modules (free of charge) prior to starting in the post.

Although currently delivered between 8am and 5pm Monday to Friday, this is subject to change as the service develops and may include evening and weekend working.

*Please note this post will be closed early once a sufficient amount of applications have been received

To work as part of a team to aid medical examiners in their responsibility for overseeing the death certification process for all deceased patients in the organisation and wider community.

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).

Maintain an awareness of the diverse needs of users of the medical examiner system to ensure equality to any particular group defined by sex, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or disability.

To discuss likely content of medical certificate of cause of death with relatives of deceased and in all cases, collect additional information. This may include the need to communicate sensitive information and offer explanations but would be fully supported by the Medical Examiner of the day and Lead MEO.

To ensure any concerns raised by the relatives are dealt with in a timely manner and forwarded to the appropriate support service such as Patient Safety or Patient Experience for further investigation or input.

South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust have come together to form University Hospitals Tees. As a result, post holders may be required to work across sites within both organisations.

Across University Hospitals Tees, our ambition is to be the best place to work, ensuring we have the right staff in the right roles at the right time to deliver outstanding patient care and experience.

We are committed to supporting our staff through an inclusive and supportive working environment, offering health and wellbeing initiatives, staff benefits, and opportunities for personal and professional development.

We support the 'Making Every Contact Count' approach to behaviour change in the promotion of health and wellbeing of individuals and communities.

Job Purpose

To support medical examiners and MEO’s in their role in scrutinising the circumstances and causes of acute and primary care deaths. To be a point of contact and source of advice for relatives of deceased patients, healthcare professionals, Coroner and registration services, bereavement services and mortuary.

Key Duties/Responsibilities

To work as part of a team to aid medical examiners in their responsibility for overseeing the death certification process for all deceased patients in the organisation and wider community.

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).

Maintain an awareness of the diverse needs of users of the medical examiner system to ensure equality to any particular group defined by sex, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or disability.

To discuss likely content of medical certificate of cause of death with relatives of deceased and in all cases, collect additional information. This may include the need to communicate sensitive information and offer explanations but would be fully supported by the Medical Examiner of the day and Lead MEO.

To ensure any concerns raised by the relatives are dealt with in a timely manner and forwarded to the appropriate support service such as Patient Safety or Patient Experience for further investigation or input.

Demonstrate commitment to IWL principles and flexible working patterns, to meet the needs of the service and staff

Tackle discrimination and harassment, and promote equality and diversity in the workplace

Reduce sickness absence; work place accidents; and promote zero tolerance on violence against staff

Take responsibility for personal development and education and the development of a Personal Development Plan.

Knowledge, skills and experience required

Educated to Batchelor’s degree level, or evidence of study/equivalent practical experience at an advanced level; this might include nursing and/or other clinical experience.

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Empathetic and self-awareness skills to deal with bereaved families who may have barriers to understanding information due to grief or disability.

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.

Knowledge of the statutory process around death certification legal frameworks and how the medical examiner system aligns with other related organisations and NHS initiatives.

The ability to work in a highly pressurised, unpredictable environment where bereavement care is central to the service delivery.

Knowledge of various faith groups’ funeral wishes/practices to enable respectful compliance with tight and specific timescales and procedures.

Computer literate to use multiple IT software for recording personal identifiable data and producing statistical information.

Key Result Areas

Ability to manage conflicting demands, prioritise tasks and deal with queries as they arise.

Identify relatives’ concerns and escalate them appropriately.

Accurate and timely, preliminary review of medical records to identify clinical and circumstantial information, sourcing additional details where required, for scrutiny by the medical examiner.

Full compliance with secure handling of patient identifiable data is essential.

Proactive and self-motivated

Communications and Key Working Relationships

Internal

Hospital doctors

Medical Examiners.

Bereavement Support Officers

Service managers, nurses, clinical governance leads, infection control and mortuary.

External

Primary care doctors and practice staff.

HM Coroner and officers.

Spiritual/Faith community leads.

Registrars of births and deaths.

Bereaved relatives, carers and executors/solicitors.

Funeral Directors.

National Medical Examiner.

Regional ME teams.

Control of Infection

Be aware of, and comply with, all Trust infection prevention and control policies, to include hand hygiene, personal hygiene, environmental and food hygiene. To undertake annual training/updates in infection prevention and control.

To be accountable for implementation of Code of Practice within own department/area of responsibility.

The most challenging part of the job

Regular interaction with the bereaved relatives in person or over the telephone. The post holder must have the ability to demonstrate empathy and remain professional at all times.

Physical Effort and Working Conditions

There is significant emotional effort associated with dealing with bereaved families.

To use a computer for prolonged periods of time daily.

This advert closes on Thursday 22 Oct 2026