Job Description

ELHT Mortuary service is seeking a full time Mortuary Manager, AFC band 7.



The post holder will lead and be responsible for the effective and efficient delivery of the Trust-wide and community Mortuary service and include the line management of the medical examiner service.



The post holder will work with the senior management teams in the areas of service development, continuity, resilience, staff and budgetary management, liaison with external and internal service users, compliance to all relevant accreditation and regulatory bodies and staff training . There is a managerial element to this role however, there is an expectation that the post-holder will take an active involvement in the routine work of the department.



The work requires a high degree of skills and proficiency in all aspects of mortuary work. These include hospital consented, Coroners and possible forensic examinations. The post holder will assist in all aspects of post-mortem examination procedures, the care of all patients, liaising with external and internal service users, developing working relationships with these users and bereaved families.



It is anticipated that you will spend time in the mortuary and bereavement services, including the ME service. As manager of the department you are responsible for identifying the training needs of staff i.e. mandatory training, manual handling, health & safety and the development of specialist skills such as high-risk post mortem examination and CTPM procedures. Managerial duties of the role include maintaining and updating all documentation such as SOPs, risk assessments, financial documentation and ensuring audit schedules are adhered to in line with ISO 15189 and HTA standards. Fostering good working relationships within the mortuary with all internal and external users of the service including medical staff, wards, undertakers, the coroner and his officers' and independent pathologists is an essential requirement of the post. Develop and maintain a mass fatality and major incident facility on behalf of the Trust for East Lancashire coronial jurisdictions and liaise with councils via the extra deaths group.

At East Lancashire Hospitals Trust, our vision is to be widely recognised for providing safe, personal and effective care. We currently provide high quality services and treat over 700,000 people across East Lancashire and the surrounding area. We employ over 8,000 staff, many of whom are internationally renowned and have won awards for their work.



TECHNICAL DUTIES



Ensure that accurate records are kept and maintained including mortuary registers and information on IT systems. Perform external examinations and accurately record findings To meet the needs of relatives and users if the service. To ensure high standards within the Bereavement Care Service within the mortuary setting ensuring families are supported through viewing the deceased and understanding of Coroners post mortems, and CTPM procedures. To have a working knowledge of the systems in place relating to death certification. To ensure systems are in place for the return of property and valuables to the next of kin. This will include secure storage of valuables and a robust audit trail of such items. To ensure systems are in place for supported viewings of deceased by their families To ensure systems are in place for forensic identification 24/7 from Lancashire police murder investigation teams To ensure high standards of technical services to pathologists and other service users. To ensure all bodies received and released from the mortuary are properly and correctly identified. To ensure the dignity of the deceased is maintained at all times. To be responsible for managing a timely and effective body release procedure for undertakers, ensuring all documentation is maintained and correct. To assist pathologists in performing post-mortem examinations, evisceration and reconstruction of bodies including high-risk cases. To participate in the on-call rota. To ensure that the preparation and reconstruction of the deceased prior to release or viewing is carried out to the highest possible standards using prosthetics where possible to reconstruct skeletal disruption and cosmetic camouflage and plastic surgery techniques on facial reconstruction following trauma To develop and maximise the use of the teaching facilities within the postmortem suite promoting a service for education and training of surgical procedures on cadaveric specimens. To deliver a high risk autopsy service within the mortuary providing a service to other coroners from the north/north west of England To develop the service to meet the needs of the coroner, police and forensic pathologists and local authorities in and around the North West. To develop the forensic services within the mortuary covering East Lancashire. Provide a provisional service to Lancashire and Cumbria in the event of a large incident. Develop and maintain the safe use of all the equipment within the department At the request of the coroner act as the lead technician in the event of a mass fatality or major incident within Merseyside and Lancashire areas Attend and liaise with all local authorities within East Lancashire and act as the principle lead for the trust in mass fatality, excess deaths and major incident planning for mortuary services. To liaise with tissue transplant team as necessary.

MANAGERIAL DUTIES



To monitor performance of the mortuary and bereavement service in line with agreed KPIs To ensure there are adequate stocks of consumables maintained for use within the mortuary. Providing and receiving complex, sensitive or contentious information To assess the need for new equipment within the mortuary reporting to the directorate manager. Ensure all equipment used in the mortuary (including specialist equipment such as saws etc) is maintained and is fit for purpose including all temperature checks are undertaken on body storage areas To ensure the provision of a 24/7 on call service is delivered and maintained in line with the European Working time Directive. To ensure SOPs and policies are written, maintained and implemented across all sites. To ensure all documentation relating to organ retention is implemented and maintained. To implement an audit system of documentation and/or processes and procedures. To develop liaisons with internal and external users of the service. To develop a co-ordinated approach to bereavement services Maintain a database for the receipt, use and disposal of cadaveric specimens Act as the mortuary and bereavement services lead for mass fatality or major incident within Lancashire attending relevant meeting/workshops and be able to advise and implement the contents of such policies Assist in the planning of Highly Complex forensic cases with the highest ranking officers within the police force. * To act as liaison with other Trust committees as appropriate e.g. tissue services and organ transplant.