In this podcast, GPs and medical examiners from England and Wales discuss their experience of extending medical examiner scrutiny to deaths in community settings. It explains how partnership working between GPS and medical examiners improves the experience of bereaved people and explores advantages for GPs of starting work with medical examiners now, before medical examiners become a required part of the new statutory death certification process from April 2024.

Medical examiners are senior doctors from all specialties including GPs, who provide independent scrutiny of deaths not taken for investigation by coroners, and offer the bereaved an opportunity to ask questions and raise concerns.

Find out more:

National medical examiner webpage https://www.england.nhs.uk/establishing-medical-examiner-system-nhs/
Information for primary care on extending medical examiner scrutiny to deaths in community settings  https://www.england.nhs.uk/establishing-medical-examiner-system-nhs/non-coronial-deaths-in-the-community/

A transcript for this podcast can be found on the NHS England website: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/transcript-of-gps-and-medical-examiners-working-together-podcast/

GPs and medical examiners working together

This is the first in a series of podcasts we have produced to mark World Patient Safety Day 2023, and celebrate its theme of ‘engaging patients for patient safety’.  The series features some of the Patient Safety Partners that work with the National Patient Safety Team, who play a vital role in providing a patient’s perspective to support our work to improve patient safety.

 

In this podcast, we speak to Graham, who became a patient safety partner in 2020. Graham shares his insights on the benefits of involving patients and why he feels it is so important in supporting the NHS to improve patient safety, and talks about his experience as a patient safety partner, particularly working to co-design elements of the medical examiner and medicines safety improvement programmes.

Links to further information:

NHS Patient Safety Strategy: https://www.england.nhs.uk/patient-safety/the-nhs-patient-safety-strategy/

Framework for involving patients in patient safety: https://www.england.nhs.uk/patient-safety/framework-for-involving-patients-in-patient-safety/

Simple steps to keep you safe during a hospital stay video and leaflet: https://www.england.nhs.uk/patient-safety/framework-for-involving-patients-in-patient-safety/simple-steps-to-keep-you-safe-during-your-hospital-stay-webpage-for-patients/

A transcript for this podcast is available here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/grahams-story-world-patient-safety-day-2023/

Graham’s story – World Patient Safety Day 2023, engaging patients for patient safety

This podcast features Dr Alan Fletcher National Medical Examiner and Suzy Lishman, Senior Advisor on Medical Examiners at the Royal College of Pathologists discussing what the changes to death certification processes and new requirements to be introduced with the statutory medical examiner system will mean for medical examiners, medical examiner officers and others involved in death certification.

Changes to the death certification process and introduction of the statutory medical examiner system

At NHS England our aim is to support the NHS and help improve care for patients. Our podcast will be providing commentary and information about NHS health care services, policy and success stories.

New tracks tagged #examiner,