Job Description

To provide practical help and advice to the relatives of those who have recently died within the hospital; to include return of property and valuables and handing over the Medical Certificate and Cause of Death when one is issued. To support bereaved relatives by providing advice and information on a wide range of bereavement issues including registration of the death and signposting relatives to other sources of advice including Coroner's Office and bereavement support as necessary.

The Bereavement Team works as part of the wider Quality Governance Team, which contributes to the delivery of outstanding patient care by engaging at all levels of the organisation to ensure quality standards are being met.



To liaise with Medical Examiner's Service, Medical Examiners, Medical Examiner Officers and attending practitioners regarding the issuing of the medical certificate of the cause of death (MCCD) and pre-cremation certification To provide good communication to relatives and ensure that they are contacted as soon as possible following the death of the patient and kept sufficiently up to date Respond to telephone calls from bereaved families, where callers may be highly emotive and distressed To ensure that appropriate records are kept in relation to the handover of deceased patient property, in compliance with the relevant financial procedures To facilitate meetings between bereaved relatives and nursing/medical staff, where relatives wish to discuss the care of the deceased To coordinate the necessary requirements for consent and hospital postmortem examinations To liaise with mortuary staff and external agencies as appropriate, where the deceased or their family have expressed a wish for tissue/organ donation or medical research To support and, when appropriate, accompany families wishing to view the deceased in the hospital mortuary To present a professional image of the Trust to patients, visitors and staff, in particular by protecting the confidentiality of information and providing an effective point of contact with the Trust

The Trust are advertising for 1.8 WTE Bereavement Officers. This is one post at 1WTE and one at 0.8WTE.



To provide practical help and advice to the relatives of those who have recently died within the hospital; to include return of property and valuables and handing over the Medical Certificate and Cause of Death when one is issued. To support bereaved relatives by providing advice and information on a wide range of bereavement issues including registration of the death and signposting relatives to other sources of advice including Coroner's Office and bereavement support as necessary.

The Bereavement Team works as part of the wider Quality Governance Team, which contributes to the delivery of outstanding patient care by engaging at all levels of the organisation to ensure quality standards are being met.