University Hospitals Birmingham’s held its first full-site Medical Examiners Forum held at the Marriott Hotel in Birmingham on 14 September, featuring key speakers Louise Hunt, Senior Coroner and Steve Beckett, Superintendent Registrar for Birmingham.

Medical examiners are trained in medicine and investigate deaths and injuries that occur under unusual or suspicious circumstances. They perform post-mortem examinations and, in some cases, initiate inquests.

The Medical Examiners Forum is designed to allow the Trust to reflect on its role as an early adopter of the Medical Examiners service, bringing together the Medical Examiners from across all four hospital sites as part of a shared-learning experience.

Opening the day, Clive Ryder, Deputy Medical Director for UHB, said: “Before the two Trusts (UHB and HEFT) came together, we were both early adopters of the Medical Examiners service and we felt it would be appropriate to come together to work out where we are and where we are going forward.

“We have excellent external speakers; there is a lot of knowledge in this room and this is a great opportunity to share that knowledge.”

The event, attended by 50 guests, encouraged the sharing of information and experience amongst the Medical Examiners to see how UHB can further improve the Medical Examiner service internally, whilst ensuring that the focus remains on continuing to provide the highest level of care and compassion through conversations with patients' families.

Other speakers on the day included Linda Ward, Superintendent Registrar for Solihull, Kathryn Griffin and Daisy Shale who are the national Medical Examiner System Implementation Leads for the Department of Health and Social Care, Stephen Rosser, Clinical Outcomes Manager and David Sandler, Consultant in Elderly Medicine who led talks and Q&As with the audience and shared national ideas and initiatives.

Guests were encouraged to use the opportunity to strengthen relationships with colleagues across the four hospital sites as well as with external partners, and spark debate and discussion on a wide range of topics.