Deputy Lead Medical Examiner Officer

Here at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, we are proud to provide expert, compassionate care for our local population. We are ranked as the third in the country for research, embedding education and training across the organisation. Our main hub is the Queen Alexandra Hospital, which is one of the largest hospitals on the south coast employing over 8,700 staff.

Our patients come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds because it makes our hospital stronger. If you share our values and our enthusiasm for getting it right for patients, colleagues, and our community, you will find a home at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust.

Band: NHS Agenda for Change Band 6 - £37,338 to £44,962 per annum pro rota

Hours: Full time

Contract Type: Permanent 

Interview Date: Thursday 18th September 2025

Portsmouth Medical Examiner Service has been providing scrutiny for over 5 years and providing support to the bereaved. Now that the statutory system is well underway, we are looking for a Deputy Lead MEO to manage the office day to day, take responsibility for staff education and development and support the Lead MEO in developing our service further. Our aims and ethos are to ensure quality, consistent scrutiny and nurture a learning environment where real change can be facilitated.

As Deputy Lead Medical Examiner Officer you will: 

• support the management and leadership of the MEO team.
• support the co-ordination the Medical Examiner service to ensure timely and efficient completion of certification processes required after a death.
• support medical examiners in their role in scrutinising the circumstances and causes of death.
• be a point of contact and source of advice for relatives of deceased patients, healthcare professionals, HM Coroner and registration services, involved in the death certification process.
• support the Lead MEO and Lead ME in developing protocols, guidelines and policies for the development and delivery of the Medical Examiner Service across the acute trust and the community

All MEOs support medical examiners in their role in scrutinising the circumstances and causes of death and have a vital role in explaining cause(s) of death proposed for the death certificate to the bereaved. This includes answering their questions, clarifying any terminology or misunderstandings, and signposting appropriately in cases of disagreement or concern. 

All roles within our service are provided with ongoing support and professional development according to your individual needs.

As a large acute hospital, there are many opportunities for development and these are encouraged, you will be given excellent benefits as well. We warmly welcome your applications and should you have any queries, please get in contact with [email protected]

For more information, please see the full Job Description

Essential:

• Educated to Degree Level and/or significant experience in a relevant field
• Advanced communication skills with a wide range of stakeholders, including the recently bereaved and senior level professionals.
• Qualified Medical Examiner Officer with experience working in the role

Desirable:

• If a registered professional, to maintain an effective and valid professional registration.
• Leadership or management qualification

Skills and Knowledge

Essential:

• Excellent knowledge of clinical/medical terminology that enables informed discussion about causes and circumstances of death
• Knowledge of the Coroner and Justice Act 2009 with reference to the medical examiner system. 
• Full understanding of the medical examiners system operational remits and working relationships with Bereavement services.
• Approachable and supportive to all levels of staff and bereaved families in a non-judgemental and discreet manner.
• Ability to lead a team and organise own and the team’s fluctuating workload around competing priorities. 
• Competent in the use of IT software systems (including Microsoft Excel, Outlook, Teams) and handling sensitive personal identifiable data, with understanding of Caldicott Principles

Desirable:

• Knowledge of the special requirements of various faith groups and respect for equality and diversity of issues around formalities following a death.

Experience

Essential:

• Leading and influencing teams to achieve objectives.
• Working with people in sensitive and emotional situations (both professional colleagues and service user)
• Managing and implementing change in complex clinical environments.
• Experience of working in a healthcare setting with multi-disciplinary teams across organisational boundaries.
• Experience of preparing, developing, and delivering training of staff from different levels and disciplines.
• Writing reports and presentations.
• Familiarity with HR and governance procedures.
• Experience of working as a Medical Examiner Officer.
• Experience of supporting the bereaved.

The health and wellbeing of our staff is at the forefront of everything we do. We are proud to be able to offer our staff some fantastic benefits including our on-site Nursery, access to our free Beach Hut for those long summer days, our on-site Wellness Centre including a gym and a swimming pool, access to our fantastic staff networks including LGBTQ, Race Equality and DisAbility, and awards ceremonies to recognise your achievements. We believe we can offer support to all of our staff when they need it the most.

We welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of your education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, colour, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs.