Date posted: 14 July 2026
Pay scheme: Hospital medical and dental staff
Grade: Consultant
Salary: £113,565 to £150,569 a year pa pro rata
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Part-time
Reference number: 435-MQ106-26
Job locations: RBH, Haslingden Rd, Blackburn, BB2 3HH, United Kingdom

Job summary
The Medical Examiners service at ELHT is looking to fill a 1.25PA. The roles include a weekday 4 hour session per week plus weekend cover on a rota equating to 0.11PA per week/4 weekends a year.
The available sessions are on a Monday, AM or PM.
The role requires attendance into the ME offices at Royal Blackburn Hospital, working alongside a number of Medical Examiners Officers.
Medical Examiners must be registered with a license to practise in the UK by the GMC, with at least five years experience. The candidate must have been registered as a medical practitioner throughout the previous five years as at the date of appointment.
The role will verify clinical information on Medical Certificates of Cause of Death (MCCDs), to ensure appropriate referrals to the Coroner and accuracy and consistency of MCCD content. They will be responsible for the scrutiny of the documentation and circumstances arising from the majority of deaths in England and Wales.The Medical Examiner will be supported by the Medical Examiner's Officer (MEO) and the Bereavement Team, who will assist in the preparation of notes and gathering of information, liaising with Junior doctors, coroner's officers, bereavement specialist nurse and quality and safety teams. The Medical Examiner will be responsible for coordinating the daily activity and may delegate appropriately to the MEO.

Main duties of the job

• ensure compliance with the legal and procedural requirements associated with the current processes of certification, investigation (by coroners) and registration of deaths within a Local Authority area;
• support those doctors who call for medical advice on suspected natural causes of death before they prepare an MCCD, and provide general medical advice to the coroner;
• scrutinise the certified causes of all in-scope deaths in a way that is compliant with the proposed national protocol;
• maintain comprehensive records of all deaths scrutinised and undertake analysis and provide information as required to ONS & locally for clinical governance purposes;
• work with the other medical examiners in the trust to arrange reciprocal cover for holidays and other periods of absence and also to ensure that there is no potential conflict of interest between the medical examiner and the death being scrutinised;
• explain to bereaved relatives cause of death in a transparent, tactful and sympathetic manner, which respects different faith, cultural, ethnic and diversity considerations, and to refer on to bereavement specialist nurse where necessary
• refer cases over to the quality and safety team if the ME has concerns on reviewing the notes that the quality of care received was poor, or if the bereaved raises concerns about the quality of care.
• support the training of junior doctors in completion of MCCDs and provide feedback on accuracy of certification locally.

About us
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust is a large, integrated healthcare organisation.With over 7800 staff and 970 in-patient beds, we are a large provider of Acute District General and Specialised Hospital services, as well as Community Services and Childrens Mental Health Services.Our two main hospital sites, The Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital and Burnley General Teaching Hospital have been rated "GOOD" in 2016 by the Care Quality Commission.Our Board is professional, ambitious and capable.Our vision is 'To be widely recognised for delivering safe, personal and effective care'.Quality and safety are at the heart of everything we do and we are committed to providing harm free care. Our fabulous, highly trained staff are key to our growing reputation as a great place to receive treatment, as well as a great place to work.

Job responsibilities
You will be expected to comply with national protocols to ensure that in each case the cause of death is scrutinised in a way that is robust, proportionate and consistent.You will have completed the first 26 modules of the HEE on line training (http://www.e-lfh.or.uk/programmes/medical-examiners).You must have up to date knowledge of medical conditions, treatments and medicines which may or may not have contributed to death and be able to exercise judgement in where to seek specialist advice in order to determine the appropriate level of scrutiny required.You must be able to distinguish between natural and unnatural causes of death and to decide where a death must be reported to, and investigated by, a coroner.Additionally, you must have detailed knowledge of the relevant legislation and processes which apply to coroners and death certification; deaths abroad where bodies are returned to England and Wales for disposal; and; deaths where relatives wish to transport the body abroad for disposal; certifying and registering deaths; andThe regulations to authorise cremation or burials of stillbirths abroad .Your team will be responsible for maintaining comprehensive records in an appropriate format.

Person Specification
Grade achieved

• Consultant or GP with 5 years experience
• Medical practitioner registered and licensed to practice in the UK by the GMC

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.

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).

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details
Employer name: East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
Address: RBH, Haslingden Rd, Blackburn, BB2 3HH, United Kingdom
Employer's website: http://jobs.elht.nhs.uk/

Contact details for questions about the job:
Lead Medical Examiner: Mr Andrew Sloan
Email: Andrew.Sloan@elht.nhs.uk