Specialty Doctor/Clinical Fellow in Palliative Medicine

Job description

Job responsibilities

JOB DESCRIPTION for Fixed Term Specialty Doctor/Clinical Fellow post (dependent on experience)from 18/08/25 to 31/03/26.

JOB TITLE:Specialty Doctor in Palliative Care.

GRADE:Specialty Doctor grade.

HOURS OF DUTY:1.0 WTE (40 hours) LTFT would be considered+ 1:4.5 on call.

REPORTS TO: Medical Director.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS: Medical Consultants, medical team..

The multi-professional team in the hospice ward.

The multi-professional team in Saint Francis Hospice Community Services, including the Day Therapy Unit team and the home visiting teams (the CNS led Specialist Community Crisis and Support Team, the Hospice at Home team and allied health professionals).

The support staff and volunteers working across all hospice services.

The medical, health and care professionals providing on-going support and care outside of the hospice.

CONTRACT: The post will have a hospice contract, with pay and conditions set within reference to the NHS Specialty Doctor pay and conditions.

APPRAISAL AND REVALIDATION:Saint Francis Hospice expect full engagement with annual appraisal. NHS annual appraisal and revalidation as needed will be channelled through a local NHS Trust.

The BHRUT Hospital Macmillan Specialist Palliative Care Team.

JOB SUMMARY

The post is based at Saint Francis Hospice, on the ward, and into the community.

It presents a real opportunity for anyone considering a career in palliative medicine or wanting to develop a portfolio career with palliative medicine as a developed skill or special interest. Previous specialty doctors have a 100% success rate in moving on into their training placement of choice.

The postholder will work within the ward team supporting our 18 bedded unit as we go through a period of change with a refurbishment due to start in September 2025. This will involve some bed closures for a period of time so the role would also extend into the community to offer greater support in the community whilst our bed numbers have temporarily reduced.

There are regular training opportunities to be taught and to teach, and the postholder would be encouraged to participate in these.

Working as part of an extensive multidisciplinary team including nurses, HCAs, specialist nurses, OT, physio, complementary therapists, administration staff.

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

CLINICAL

A. HOSPICE WARD

1. To share in the provision of medical care for the people receiving care on the ward, working closely with other members of the medical team. This will include contributing to the planning of admissions, clerking in of new admissions, regular review, construction of a management plan, planning of discharges and facilitating of advance care planning, with a key duty to support our more junior GP trainees in their day-to-day practice on the ward, and to contribute to the support of relatives and carers.

2. To attend and support daily ward handover meetings, provide specialty doctor led ward round reviews/support for the GP trainees who provide day to day care, and to participate in the Consultant Ward Round.

3. To be a core part of the ward multi-professional team meetings, working closely with the rest of the multi-professional team to achieve the best of care for people on the ward and for their family/supports.

4. To support good therapeutics practice, with a lead role in a weekly pharmacist led board round review of medications.

B. COMMUNITY SUPPORT, IN THE OUTPATIENT UNIT AND AT HOME

Dependant on experience; likely to be a component of the latter part of the post:

to share in supporting the Specialist Community Crisis and Support Team of CNSs and other clinical specialists who provide front line support to people at home.

C. ON CALL DUTIES

On calls consist of 1:4.5 on call. Weekends on call (8.45am-4.45pm on site with night cover non-resident at low intensity), plus 1 weekday until 6.45pm with low intensity non-resident on call overnight. You will have Friday as a rest/lieu day preceding the weekend and the Tuesday following the weekend as a rest/lieu day. Must be able to attend the hospice within 1 hour during non-resident on call periods.

IN SUPPORT OF THIS CLINICAL WORK

D. GENERAL DUTIES

1. To work in partnership with and liaise closely with our Referrals team, General Practitioners, relevant hospital teams and relevant community specialist teams, providing written communications when necessary.

2. To keep accurate, clear and up-to-date medical records, engaging with electronic palliative care systems.

3. To keep senior medical staff informed of any clinical or management issues requiring Consultant advice or review.

E. TEACHING

1. To support our junior (ST1, ST2) GP trainees with informal and bedside training/teaching and with tutorial teaching.

2. To contribute to the educational programmes provided by the hospice for other health professionals.

To support any healthcare professionals on placement at the hospice (e.g. Care of the Elderly clinicians, GP Registrars, medical students, nurses) to get the most out of their hospice visit.

F. EDUCATIONAL/SERVICE IMPROVEMENT/AUDIT

1. To take an active part in identifying areas for service improvement or audit, supporting service improvement projects and audits in progress. Mentorship of more junior staff to develop their knowledge of audits, and completion of audit ideas.

2. To attend and contribute to relevant in-house educational meetings, including journal club.

3. To attend to your continuing professional development needs as agreed at appraisal with your Consultant supervisor for this post.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS OF POSTHOLDER

SENSITIVITY AND PROFESSIONALISM: As an employee of Saint Francis Hospice you should expect that it is likely that you will come into contact with patients, their families and members of the public who are at the end of life or recently bereaved. All employees are expected to respond to people recounting and expressing their emotions about such events with sensitivity and understanding, and to know enough about the services that the Hospice provides to be able to signpost people who may benefit from our services to the relevant contacts.

CONFIDENTIALITY: The post holder must maintain confidentiality, security and integrity of information relating to patients, staff and other hospice matter during the course of duty. Any breach of Confidentiality may become a disciplinary issue.

DATA PROTECTION: It is the responsibility of all staff to be aware of their obligations in respect of the Data Protection Act 2018.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITES: The hospice is committed to the development of positive policies to promote equal opportunity in employment and has a clear commitment to equal opportunities. All employees have a responsibility to ensure that they understand the standards expected and that they promote and adhere to the equal opportunity measures adopted by the hospice.

HEALTH AND SAFETY: All staff must be familiar with section 2 of the Health & Safety Policy, Organisation of Health and Safety. This document sets out the responsibilities of all staff for health and safety, whether in a supervisory capacity or not. Policy section 3 (arrangements for Health and Safety) provides an overview of training for competence in Health and Safety matters.

HOSPICE IDENTITY BADGES: Hospice ID badges must be worn at all times whilst on duty.

SMOKING: The hospice acknowledges its responsibility to provide a safe, smoke free environment, for its employees, service users and visitors. Smoking is therefore not permitted at any point whilst on duty, in accordance with the guidelines set down within the Hospice No Smoking Policy.

REGISTRATION COMPLIANCE/CODE OF CONDUCT:

All employees who are required to register with a professional body to enable them to practice within their profession are required to comply with their code of conduct and requirements of their professional registration.

WORKING TIME REGULATIONS: The Working Time Regulations 1998 require that you should not work more than an average of 48 hours in each week. For example, in a 26 week period you should work no more than 1248 hours.

Demonstrating the Hospice Values Compassionate, collaborative and creative.

Compassionate We are a caring team, kind to each other and put the needs of individuals and their loved ones at the heart of what we do.

Collaborative We value working in partnership across our communities and are proactive about nurturing relationships with our stakeholders.

Creative We are forward-thinking, adaptable in our changing world and embrace change and innovative ways of working.

Person Specification

Skills, behaviours and personal skills

Essential

• Excellent interpersonal skills and effective communication.
• Flexible approach to working practice within a multi-professional team.
• Evidence of understanding of and adherence to Good Medical Practice guidelines.

Desirable

• Commitment to service development.

Other Requirements

Essential

• Satisfactory clearances from enhanced DBS disclosure and health checks.
• Respect and be part of the mission/core values of SFH.

Desirable

• Full driving license.

Research, audit and teaching

Essential

• Shows commitment to ongoing CPD.
• Experience of clinical audit.
• Experience of undergraduate teaching.

Desirable

• Experience of postgraduate teaching initiatives .

Qualifications

Essential

• Full Registration with the General Medical Council.
• Completion of UK Foundation Training OR evidence of competency
• equivalent to UK foundation training and at least 2 yrs full-time equivalent post foundation experience in relevant areas (e.g. GP/Medicine/Oncology/Neuro/Care of Elderly/A&E).

Desirable

• MRCP, MRCGP, FRCA or equivalent qualification.
• Experience of working in specialist palliative care, evidence of dedication to developing a career in specialist palliative care, community experience.

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.

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

Saint Francis Hospice

Address

St. Francis Hospice

Broxhill Road

Havering-atte-bower

Romford

RM4 1QH

Employer's website

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