The Medical Examiners Office based at Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been shortlisted in the Team of the Year category at this year’s Patient Experience Network National Awards (PENNA).
The PENNA awards recognise best practice in patient experience across all facets of health and social care in the UK. The team have been shortlisted for their contribution to bringing death certification reforms to North West Surrey.
The Medical Examiners Service was set up in individual Trusts from 2008 rolling out gradually across the whole of England and Wales by 2021 and has seen their role develop within recent years with changes due to come into force in September 2024 around the death certification process, where they will review all non-coronial deaths in a healthcare setting before a family can register a death. The team are the key point of contact for bereaved families and speak with them throughout the process to keep them updated and signpost them to where they can share compliments or raise concerns.
Despite this change not coming into effect until next month, the ME Office at Ashford and St Peter’s set out to embed the practice of referrals into their service as early as possible so that the transition would be as smooth as possible for families in Surrey. This has included hosting engagement events with Funeral Directors and GP practices in North West Surrey ahead of the change to ensure that they were aware of the new process and the benefits of it.
Tanaya Sarkhel, Lead Medical Examiner at Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals said: “I am tremendously proud of this team, who through their creativity, imagination and positive engagement have brough awareness of the changes and support to all sectors involved in the death certification pathway. I am delighted their efforts have been recognised at PENNA 2024”
This year is the 14th year of the PENNA awards, which will be held at the University of Birmingham on Thursday 3 October 2024. To view the full shortlist, please visit https://patientexperiencenetwork.org/awards/
