Job Specification

Purpose of Position :

To provide coroner dispatch and morgue attendant duties for the Office of the Coroner and the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service (OCC/OFPS), within a 24 hour, 7 day a week operation.

Duties / Responsibilities :

1. Receives and appropriately directs requests received from across the province for Division services to on-call Coroners and Forensic Pathologists located across the province (for Coroners' investigations, cremations, out-of-province shipments, etc.) by following standard procedures, directives and guidelines.

2. Performs additional tasks required by Coroners, Regional Supervising Coroners, Forensic Pathologists and Police (i.e. arranging and conducting identifications; contacting Removal Services to transport bodies/remains to various destinations within the Province) to support death investigation services.

3. Receives bodies/remains to the morgue for storage, post mortem examination and identification by weighing the body/remains, assigning appropriate storage and storing body/remains; facilitating, documenting and advising those necessary of identifications; notifying appropriate Forensic Pathology Unit staff that body/remains have been received.

4. Advises and releases bodies to individual/agency legally entitled; ensuring paper work is in order for both incoming and outgoing bodies/remains (i.e. cross referencing information from OCC documents (i.e. spelling/age, etc.) and post mortem warrants - contacting the investigating Coroner for clarification if there are any discrepancies and making appropriate changes); documenting medications received with the body/remains or from Forensic Pathologists or that arrive later and utilizing appropriate forms; utilizing evidence bags to ensure security and continuity of evidence of medications and/or exhibits; placing personal effects in secure storage (safe) and documenting items.

5. Maintains continuity of evidence and ensures appropriate handling procedures, etc.

6. Deals with inquiries, interacts with investigators, medical professionals and the public; routing media enquiries to appropriate management staff, dealing with next-of-kin regarding body identification, releasing of body/remains for disposition or funeral services, and providing various information (e.g., obtaining Medical Certificates of Death). Receives and deals appropriately with after-hours calls including forwarding calls if required to Regional Supervising Coroner and after hours on-call staff.

Knowledge :

Job requires knowledge of:
• statutes, legislation, ministry and program directives, guidelines, policies and procedures with respect to Coroners' death investigation (e.g., Coroners Act, Anatomy Act, Trillium Gift of Life Act, etc.) to provide information and reference which deaths are reported to a Coroner.
• procedures for handling bodies/evidence (e.g. continuity of evidence, health and safety, universal precautions) and ability to assess incoming/outgoing body/remains and determine required action
• computer data base systems such as the information management system and other applicable software to enter and retrieve information, utilize MS Outlook, MS Word etc.
• medical terminology to liaise with medical professionals and others regarding nature manner/cause of death and circumstances.

Skills :

Job requires:
• reasoning skills to identify priorities and matters requiring the Chief Coroner's or Chief Forensic Pathologist's attention.
• reasoning skills to determine which matters are to be retained and which are to be assigned to appropriate Coroner for response.
• reasoning skills to review documents (warrants, police sudden death reports/ occurrence reports, faxes, morgue death records, funeral home releases, subpoenas, etc.) provided and coordinating pertinent paper flow within the OCC/OFPS.
• analytical skills to determine the nature of calls received from organizations outside the OCC/OFPS and to make decisions concerning the permissibility or confidentiality of information requested to avoid the inadvertently release of restricted information.
• analytical skills to compile, report and analyse data and statistics in response to requests from Coroners (e.g., number of calls on a specific case).
• problem solving skills to deal with operational issues , making alternate arrangements and conducting follow ups.
• problem solving skills to deal with contentious issues which may arise and to determine when it is not possible to release information in order to ensure confidentiality or compliance with legislation.
• problem solving skills to deal regularly with grieving individuals where there is a potential for extreme behaviour.

Job :
• requires frequent exposure to, handling of, and contact with bodies/remains that may be contaminated, decomposed, mutilated, and/or arthropod infested.
• requires frequent exposure to putrid odours.
• may involve exposure to potentially infectious viruses, bacteria, infectious diseases (e.g. AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis, etc.).

Job requires:
• oral communication, tact and interpersonal skills to respond promptly and professionally to regular and after-hours inquiries from a range of contacts (e.g. investigators, hospital personnel, media, police, crown attorneys, medical professionals, and the public) relating to the OCC/OFPS to ensure evidence is maintained and investigations are conducted in an efficient and timely manner.
• patience, empathy and tact in order to effectively communicate with bereaved individuals and next-of-kin immediately following a death in order to provide information, explain procedures related to the OCC/OFPS (e.g. what is involved in a Coroners' investigation, timeframes for post mortem examination, release of the body back to the next-of-kin) and to answer questions.

Freedom of Action :

Job requires:
• working in accordance with legislation, e.g., Coroners Act, Anatomy Act, Trillium Gift of Life Act, etc., Ministry directives, administrative manuals and established program area guidelines.
• latitude in decision making to coordinate own activities involving the provision of dispatch duties by providing and obtaining factual information and documentation, directing calls, taking accurate messages and referring/responding in appropriate timeframes requiring death investigations that are occurring simultaneously.
• utilizing the appropriate Coroners' schedules in Toronto and other regions of the Province; in selecting and determining what matters to handle and making decisions concerning the Coroner assignment.
• ensuring proper documentation (e.g. proper ID tags, warrants, etc.) accompany incoming/outgoing remains.
• following up on correspondence, reports and work requests from the Manager to ensure appropriate action is taken.

Situations not covered by established methods and procedures are referred to after hours on-call staff or supervisor and is required to correct discrepancies or notify immediate supervisor if problems cannot be resolved. Job requires performing tasks with minimal direct supervision and the work is reviewed by the direct Manager for adherence to established guidelines, policies and procedures.