The Kirkwood

Virtual Hospice Medic

The closing date is 28 October 2025

Job summary

We invite applicants to join The Kirkwoods established medical team with a six month (extendable to one year) fixed term post working within the newly developed Virtual Hospice. The postholder will work collaboratively to coordinate and provide medical input to patients in the Virtual Hospice through direct clinical care and active participation in interdisciplinary meetings. Direct clinical care will be provided through face to face home visits and virtual visits as part of the Virtual Hospice team under the supervision of the community consultant. Previous palliative care or virtual ward experience is desirable but not essential and dependent on prior palliative care experience and learning needs, the postholder could initially provide input to the hospice inpatient unit to build confidence and experience prior to Virtual Hospice input as part of an extended induction.

It is envisioned that the Virtual Hospice will provide a bridge between inpatient and community services, aiming to more closely monitor complex patients waiting for inpatient care, patients who do not want hospice admission but would be eligible for it and complex patients on discharge from hospital or hospice. The postholder will be part of this expanding team to allow development of the Virtual Hospice past the initial pilot stage and allow embedding and expansion of the Virtual Hospice model up to 16 virtual beds.

Main duties of the job

The Virtual Hospice team will comprise of medic, clinical nurse specialist and allied health professional dedicated input and the postholder will be part of the medical input to the team. It is expected that the postholder will have excellent communication and documentation skills, utilise technology including electronic patient records and virtual assessments, show enthusiasm and ability in a new and novel area of healthcare and be able to work both independently and within a team structure.

The post will be 10 sessions (1.0 WTE) covering Monday to Friday with no oncall commitment. Less than full time applications with a minimum of 6 clinical sessions will be considered. Supporting Programmed Activity time will be factored into the application to support operational and personal development. Applicants wishing to work flexibly in a particular working pattern are encouraged to discuss this with the Community Consultant or Medical Director. This could include those people wishing to work some element of the weekend whilst having a commensurate reduction in weekday working. Applications for flexible working are definitely encouraged. Salary scale based on experience (£6481-£8684 per session).

About us

As an employee, you will be offered a range of benefits, including 27 days holiday (pro rata for part time staff), access to our Employee Assistance Programme, high-quality, low-cost meals at our Dalton site and complementary therapies. NHS Pensions are also transferable for those already contributing.

The Kirkwood provide specialist care, free of charge, to adults in Kirklees with advanced, progressive illnesses at any time from diagnosis to the end of life, respecting their individual needs and wishes. Care and support are also provided for their family members, friends, and carers, both during the illness and after death. Through education, training, and partnership with others, we improve care for everyone affected by a life limiting illness.

Please note, we reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications.

Job Ref: 177

Details

Date posted

14 October 2025

Pay scheme

Other

Salary

Depending on experience

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number

B0030-25-0002

Job locations

21 Albany Road

Dalton

Huddersfield

HD5 9UY


Job description

Job responsibilities

Role Summary

This is a six month extendable to one year fixed term post working within the newly developed Virtual Hospice. The postholder will work collaboratively with the Virtual Hospice Senior Clinician to coordinate and provide medical input to patients in the Virtual Hospice through direct clinical care and active participation in interdisciplinary meetings. Direct clinical care will be provided through face to face home visits and virtual visits as part of the Virtual Hospice team under the supervision of the community consultant. Dependent on prior palliative care experience and learning needs, the postholder could initially provide input to the hospice inpatient unit to build confidence and experience prior to Virtual Hospice input as part of an extended induction.

Virtual Wards are becoming more commonplace in the NHS but are at a relative infancy in palliative care. The Kirkwood is undertaking a Virtual Hospice pilot to integrate with existing established services such as the 16-bed hospice inpatient unit and the KICS community team of Clinical Nurse Specialists and Allied Health Professionals. It is envisioned that the Virtual Hospice will provide a bridge between inpatient and community services, aiming to more closely monitor complex patients waiting for inpatient care, patients who do not want hospice admission but would be eligible for it and complex patients on discharge from hospital or hospice. The postholder will be part of an expanding team to allow development of the Virtual Hospice past the initial pilot stage and allow embedding and expansion of the Virtual Hospice model up to 16 virtual beds. The Virtual Hospice team will comprise of medic, clinical nurse specialist and allied health professional dedicated input and the postholder will be part of the medical input to the team.

Primary Responsibilities

Clinical Role

  • To provide medical input to patients in the Virtual Hospice including both face to face and virtual assessments.

  • To provide medical input to patients referred urgently to Kirkwood Integrated Community Service.

  • To actively participate in interdisciplinary team meetings.

  • To ensure that patient medical and electronic records are completed accurately in accordance with professional standards, hospice policy and legal requirements.

  • To ensure that the high standard of medical care and support for carers and families provided by the Virtual Hospice is maintained.

  • To be involved in audit and service evaluations.

Working pattern

  • The post will be 10 sessions (1.0 WTE) covering Monday to Friday with no oncall commitment. Less than full time applications with a minimum of 6 clinical sessions will be considered. Supporting Programmed Activity time will be factored into the application to support operational and personal development. Applicants wishing to work flexibly in a particular working pattern are encouraged to discuss this with the Community Consultant or Medical Director. This could include those people wishing to work some element of the weekend whilst having a commensurate reduction in weekday working. Applications for flexible working are definitely encouraged.

  • Salary scale based on experience from hospital practitioner scale (£6481-£8684 per session).

Professional/Management

  • To work with the Community Consultant, Medical Director and Director of Clinical Services to further develop the Virtual Hospice.

  • To maintain standards and quality of care throughout the services delivered by The Kirkwood, by participating in standard setting and audit, ant attending relevant meetings.

  • To support the development of clinical governance, including evidencing a commitment to clinical audit, risk management, staff development, peer review and appraisal within The Kirkwood governance framework.

  • To undertake activities and procedures necessary for revalidation ready appraisal and revalidation.

Education

  • To participate in and contribute to in-house education opportunities and attend external study days as appropriate.

  • The Kirkwood is committed to continuing professional development and will grant appropriate study leave with funding for this purpose whever possible. Post holders have their own annual study leave budget calculated pro-rata.

  • Applicants with less specialist palliative care experience have the opportunity initially to work with the hospice in-patient unit, and irrespective of experience as part of induction will join the KiCS community team initially as part of the Virtual Hospice Role.

  • If this is intended to be the applicants sole place of employment, or if the majority of their work is at The Kirkwood and the postholder is not on the performers list, then The Kirkwood will act as the designated body for revalidation. The Responsible Officer for The Kirkwood as a designated body for revalidation is the Medical Director at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust. As part of the employment process the successful applicant will have to have their revalidation arrangements whilst under employment with The Kirkwood confirmed prior to commencement, and the applicants previous Responsible Officer will be contacted if this is required.

Other Responsibilities

  • To work in accordance with the values of The Kirkwood. Patients, Families and Carers are the focus of everything we do. Our values are what we live and work by.

We are:

  • Respectful and Inclusive

  • Passionate and Determined

  • Open and Honest

  • Kind and Compassionate

  • Forward-thinking

  • We strive for Quality and Excellence

  • To participate in The Kirkwoods performance and development review process.

  • Work flexibly within the established medical team, working on the inpatient unit or in the KiCS community team should this be required on an occasional basis.

  • To undertake any other duties required by The Kirkwoods Management team commensurate with the post.

  • To undertake annual mandatory training provided by The Kirkwood.

  • To maintain complete confidentiality as a condition of employment. Information relating to patients, other members of staff and volunteers or which is acquired for the purposes of employment may only be disclosed with the express permission of the appropriate manager.

  • To respect the ethos and values of The Kirkwood and its services and comply with its policies, procedures and regulations.

  • This job description is not exhaustive therefore the employer and employee share responsibility to review and amend this job description in order to reflect any changes in role/development.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Role Summary

This is a six month extendable to one year fixed term post working within the newly developed Virtual Hospice. The postholder will work collaboratively with the Virtual Hospice Senior Clinician to coordinate and provide medical input to patients in the Virtual Hospice through direct clinical care and active participation in interdisciplinary meetings. Direct clinical care will be provided through face to face home visits and virtual visits as part of the Virtual Hospice team under the supervision of the community consultant. Dependent on prior palliative care experience and learning needs, the postholder could initially provide input to the hospice inpatient unit to build confidence and experience prior to Virtual Hospice input as part of an extended induction.

Virtual Wards are becoming more commonplace in the NHS but are at a relative infancy in palliative care. The Kirkwood is undertaking a Virtual Hospice pilot to integrate with existing established services such as the 16-bed hospice inpatient unit and the KICS community team of Clinical Nurse Specialists and Allied Health Professionals. It is envisioned that the Virtual Hospice will provide a bridge between inpatient and community services, aiming to more closely monitor complex patients waiting for inpatient care, patients who do not want hospice admission but would be eligible for it and complex patients on discharge from hospital or hospice. The postholder will be part of an expanding team to allow development of the Virtual Hospice past the initial pilot stage and allow embedding and expansion of the Virtual Hospice model up to 16 virtual beds. The Virtual Hospice team will comprise of medic, clinical nurse specialist and allied health professional dedicated input and the postholder will be part of the medical input to the team.

Primary Responsibilities

Clinical Role

  • To provide medical input to patients in the Virtual Hospice including both face to face and virtual assessments.

  • To provide medical input to patients referred urgently to Kirkwood Integrated Community Service.

  • To actively participate in interdisciplinary team meetings.

  • To ensure that patient medical and electronic records are completed accurately in accordance with professional standards, hospice policy and legal requirements.

  • To ensure that the high standard of medical care and support for carers and families provided by the Virtual Hospice is maintained.

  • To be involved in audit and service evaluations.

Working pattern

  • The post will be 10 sessions (1.0 WTE) covering Monday to Friday with no oncall commitment. Less than full time applications with a minimum of 6 clinical sessions will be considered. Supporting Programmed Activity time will be factored into the application to support operational and personal development. Applicants wishing to work flexibly in a particular working pattern are encouraged to discuss this with the Community Consultant or Medical Director. This could include those people wishing to work some element of the weekend whilst having a commensurate reduction in weekday working. Applications for flexible working are definitely encouraged.

  • Salary scale based on experience from hospital practitioner scale (£6481-£8684 per session).

Professional/Management

  • To work with the Community Consultant, Medical Director and Director of Clinical Services to further develop the Virtual Hospice.

  • To maintain standards and quality of care throughout the services delivered by The Kirkwood, by participating in standard setting and audit, ant attending relevant meetings.

  • To support the development of clinical governance, including evidencing a commitment to clinical audit, risk management, staff development, peer review and appraisal within The Kirkwood governance framework.

  • To undertake activities and procedures necessary for revalidation ready appraisal and revalidation.

Education

  • To participate in and contribute to in-house education opportunities and attend external study days as appropriate.

  • The Kirkwood is committed to continuing professional development and will grant appropriate study leave with funding for this purpose whever possible. Post holders have their own annual study leave budget calculated pro-rata.

  • Applicants with less specialist palliative care experience have the opportunity initially to work with the hospice in-patient unit, and irrespective of experience as part of induction will join the KiCS community team initially as part of the Virtual Hospice Role.

  • If this is intended to be the applicants sole place of employment, or if the majority of their work is at The Kirkwood and the postholder is not on the performers list, then The Kirkwood will act as the designated body for revalidation. The Responsible Officer for The Kirkwood as a designated body for revalidation is the Medical Director at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust. As part of the employment process the successful applicant will have to have their revalidation arrangements whilst under employment with The Kirkwood confirmed prior to commencement, and the applicants previous Responsible Officer will be contacted if this is required.

Other Responsibilities

  • To work in accordance with the values of The Kirkwood. Patients, Families and Carers are the focus of everything we do. Our values are what we live and work by.

We are:

  • Respectful and Inclusive

  • Passionate and Determined

  • Open and Honest

  • Kind and Compassionate

  • Forward-thinking

  • We strive for Quality and Excellence

  • To participate in The Kirkwoods performance and development review process.

  • Work flexibly within the established medical team, working on the inpatient unit or in the KiCS community team should this be required on an occasional basis.

  • To undertake any other duties required by The Kirkwoods Management team commensurate with the post.

  • To undertake annual mandatory training provided by The Kirkwood.

  • To maintain complete confidentiality as a condition of employment. Information relating to patients, other members of staff and volunteers or which is acquired for the purposes of employment may only be disclosed with the express permission of the appropriate manager.

  • To respect the ethos and values of The Kirkwood and its services and comply with its policies, procedures and regulations.

  • This job description is not exhaustive therefore the employer and employee share responsibility to review and amend this job description in order to reflect any changes in role/development.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Full registration with the GMC and Registered with a Licence to Practice
  • Independent prescribing qualification (if not part of primary qualification)

Desirable

  • M.R.C.P. or M.R.C.G.P.
  • Post-graduate qualification in palliative medicine

Experience

Essential

  • Post FY1 experience

Desirable

  • Experience working in a community setting
  • Experience working in general medicine field
  • Experience working in specialist palliative care
  • Experience working in virtual ward setting
  • Experience of remote consultation

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Essential

  • Knowledge of holistic care and the principles of palliative care
  • Committed interdisciplinary team member, able to recognise and utilise the skills of others within a team to meet complex patient and family needs
  • Excellent written, IT and verbal communication skills
  • Excellent time management skills

Desirable

  • Knowledge of service development
  • Knowledge of current community services
  • Ability to provide leadership and direction
  • Previous use of Systm One electronic patient record to support patient care
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Full registration with the GMC and Registered with a Licence to Practice
  • Independent prescribing qualification (if not part of primary qualification)

Desirable

  • M.R.C.P. or M.R.C.G.P.
  • Post-graduate qualification in palliative medicine

Experience

Essential

  • Post FY1 experience

Desirable

  • Experience working in a community setting
  • Experience working in general medicine field
  • Experience working in specialist palliative care
  • Experience working in virtual ward setting
  • Experience of remote consultation

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Essential

  • Knowledge of holistic care and the principles of palliative care
  • Committed interdisciplinary team member, able to recognise and utilise the skills of others within a team to meet complex patient and family needs
  • Excellent written, IT and verbal communication skills
  • Excellent time management skills

Desirable

  • Knowledge of service development
  • Knowledge of current community services
  • Ability to provide leadership and direction
  • Previous use of Systm One electronic patient record to support patient care

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Additional information

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

The Kirkwood

Address

21 Albany Road

Dalton

Huddersfield

HD5 9UY


Employer's website

https://www.thekirkwood.org.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer details

Employer name

The Kirkwood

Address

21 Albany Road

Dalton

Huddersfield

HD5 9UY


Employer's website

https://www.thekirkwood.org.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Medical Director

Steve Oxberry

stephen.oxberry@thekirkwood.org.uk

01484557900

Details

Date posted

14 October 2025

Pay scheme

Other

Salary

Depending on experience

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number

B0030-25-0002

Job locations

21 Albany Road

Dalton

Huddersfield

HD5 9UY


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