Bereavement Officer
Job summary
Provide a Trust-wide service for newly bereaved relatives, ensuring that newly bereaved familiesunderstand procedures for registration of death and provide support to families advising on thearrangements and facilitating mortuary viewings in a professional and caring manner. To facilitate the production and distribution of the medical certificate of death through liaison withMedical Examiner Service and engagement with medical teams. The postholder will have excellentcommunication skills and maintain regular liaison with family, mortuary, coroner's office, and funeraldirectors in order that families can proceed with funeral arrangements in a timely fashion.
Main duties of the job
Answering phones and providing practical and emotional support to bereaved relatives, offering expert guidance on death certification and funeral arrangements. Supporting relatives who wish to view their next of kin in the Chapel of Rest, including families of hospital deaths and those affected by sudden or tragic deaths under the coroner's jurisdiction.
Liaising with the Medical Examiner team and clinical staff to ensure correct paperwork, booking appointments, assisting doctors with required documents and coronial referrals, and distributing completed documentation to relevant stakeholders. Authorising release paperwork for transfer of the deceased to the appointed funeral director. Registering deaths on behalf of relatives unable to attend a registration office, in line with legislation.
Providing police constables with information required for the Coroner's G28 post-mortem form when acting as Coroner's Officer, and facilitating next-of-kin identification visits in line with Trust policy. Completing referrals and communicating with environmental health when the deceased has no next of kin, supporting enquiries related to hospital admission. Delivering bereavement education sessions at junior doctor induction and Trust study days.
Recording all deaths daily on the Summary Care Record Application as required by the Data Provisional Notice. Providing cross-site cover during staff absences.
About us
Our vision is to provide outstanding care for every patient. Patient care is at the heart of what we do at our three sites: Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester and Andover War Memorial Hospital. Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides medical and surgical services to a population of approximately 600,000 people across Hampshire and parts of West Berkshire.
Our cultural ambition is to have a culture that places people at the heart of all we do, where we all belong, and where learning, improvement and excellence thrive. We provide specialist services to people across the UK and internationally. We are one of only two centres in the UK treating pseudomyxoma peritonei (a rare form of abdominal cancer) and we are leaders in the field of tertiary liver cancer and colorectal cancer.
The trust employs more than 9,000 staff and has a turnover of over £500 million a year. As a Foundation Trust, we are directly accountable to our members through the governors. The Council of Governors represent the interests of their constituencies and influence the future plans of the Foundation Trust.
Job responsibilities
Happy to Talk Flexible Working - all requests for flexible and part time working will be considered. Further information about the Trust and this role can be found on the Job Description and Person Specification document attached.
Person Specification
Training and
Qualifications · Essential
Good standard of general education including English Language and Maths of GCSE grades A C Training in working with Bereaved relatives, deceased patients and/or the process of death certification or equivalent experience. Basic IT training Experience and
Knowledge · Essential
Knowledge of the support required for bereaved families and the statutory requirements. Knowledge of good practice in relation to support for bereaved families and relatives. Experience with managing and resolving difficult situations with members of the public. Able to adapt and implement change positively.
Desirable
Experience of working within the NHS Experience with working with the bereaved Experience with completion of medical certificate of cause of death and cremation 4 documents Skills and Ability
Essential
Excellent organisation skills essential Effective communication skills both verbal and written Ability to deliver information in a caring, empathetic manner.
Other · Essential
Ability to cross site work when required. Ability to adapt and implement change positively.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab) . From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab) .
