Job Summary
Exciting opportunity to join the mortuary team at St Peters Hospital. To assist the team in all aspects of mortuary tasks such as: performing post mortems, the team perform approx. 500 per annum including forensic post mortems. the care of the deceased approx. 2400 admission per annum. The successful candidate will have relevant mortuary experience and be qualified to NVQ level 4 or diploma. Although consideration will be given to candidates with NVQ level 3 who will pursue NVQ level 4 as part of their role (and will be paid Band 4 until NVQ level 4 / band 5 is achieved)
Main duties of the job
The primary responsibilities of the role include providing comprehensive mortuary services for the Trust. This entails performing post-mortems, labelling samples, liaising with the coroner’s office, bereavement services, and the Medical Examiner’s office. Responsibilities also include maintaining stock levels, conducting regular audits, and assisting in the review and creation of Standard Operating Procedures as needed. Participation in the on-call rota, currently 1 in 3, is required, as well as possessing a working knowledge of the Human Tissue Authority and providing cross-site coverage when necessary.
About us
Ashford and St. Peters Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust serves a population of more than 410,000 people living in North-West Surrey, parts of Hounslow and beyond.
Over 3,700 highly trained doctors, nurses, midwives, therapists, healthcare scientists and other support staff make up our workforce, providing a wide range of services across our two hospital sites, Ashford, Surrey and St Peter’s, Chertsey, Surrey.
We also run many specialist clinics in the community and local community hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
Our vision is to be one of the best healthcare Trusts in the country. There has never been a better time to join us in the NHS at ASPH. We are committed to providing continuous professional development and flexibility to shape our workforce around our patient care.
We are expanding our theatres at Ashford Hospital and moving towards this becoming our dedicated elective centre. We want to create a state-of-the-art centre for excellence for planned surgical procedures.
We can offer you the full range of NHS benefits/discounts and in addition:
- Excellent pension scheme and annual leave entitlement
- On-site Nurseries
- On-site staff cafes
- On-site parking
- Support in career development
- Salary Sacrifice schemes including wage stream, lease cars, Cycle to Work schemes and home electronics
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Assist and support the Site Leads and other staff with all mortuary activities using local SOPs and trust policies. Assist and maintain clear communication with Consultant Pathologist(s) within the postmortem room.
HTA, and previous mortuary experience required. Admit and release of deceased patients and understanding the legal documentation in accordance with HTA and trust policies. To maintain accurate records of all property that may accompany deceased. Understanding of documentation required for the admission, post-mortem, release and disposal of bodies, personal effects, and tissue retention for a scheduled purpose. To liaise with the bereavement officer(s), funeral directors and coroners’ officer in the documentation and release of deceased patients from the mortuary. To liaise with other partners and stakeholders both internal and external to the trust. Ensure specimens are labelled and handled in accordance with local pathology policies and HTA requirements. To prepare viewings and when necessary, accompanying the relatives into the viewing room. Assist the bereavement officer when required for viewings, collection of forms. To assist in the identification of a deceased patient on behalf of HM Coroner and the Police Participate and work with colleagues to provide 24-hour service, working flexibly in accordance with needs of the department.
The standard on-call for this post is 1 in 3 and may rarely require additional support to the service. Encouraged to seek further learning opportunities both internal and external to the trust. Must ensure mandatory training is completed in a timely manner. Actively participate in team meetings and continued development of the service. Ensure you can keep to and maintain deadlines. Undertake cross-site working at the direction of the mortuary operations manager, or via the site leads in the absence of to support the effective running of the service