The Level 3 Mortuary Technician standard is found in the death care industry, typically within funeral organisations, NHS and private hospitals, Universities, Schools of Anatomy, private and public mortuaries.
A Funeral Mortuary Technician prepares, dresses and encoffins the deceased, ensuring that they are cared for and presented with dignity and respect in line with religious and cultural requirements.
An Anatomical Pathology Technologist assists with post-mortems, evisceration and dissection, removal of organs and tissue retrieval, and reconstruction of the deceased following post-mortem.
The broad purpose of the occupation for both options is to ensure the effective operation of the mortuary and to assist colleagues in providing dignified care of the deceased.
An employee in this occupation will be responsible for three broad areas of work:
- ensuring that the deceased is cared for and presented with dignity and respect in line with religious and cultural requirements.
- ensuring the organisation of daily mortuary activities including mortuary governance for example, checking documentation, reviewing the condition of the deceased, infection control, monitoring equipment and consumables and ensuring that they are replenished and available as necessary.
- ensuring that work areas and equipment are sanitary and functional.
The training period will last approximately 18 months, where the learning is focused on ensuring the apprentice acquires the knowledge, skills and behaviours as well as achieving level 2 English and maths prior to end-point assessment.
