Executive Medical Director - Willowbrook Hospice

Job description

Job responsibilities

For more information regarding the main responsibilities and requirements essential for this role please refer to the supporting documents heading and review the job description and person specification which will outline the duties of the role including a proposed job plan.

Interviews will take place on Wednesday, 15th October, 2025.

Willowbrook Hospice

Willowbrook Hospice is a CQC registered 10 bed Specialist Palliative Care Unit inspected in 2019 and rated OUTSTANDING.

It is a purpose-built independent hospice opened in 1997, an adult hospice caring for patients with specialist palliative care needs, serving the community of St Helens and Knowsley. It was built with the support of local people.

The Integrated Care Board contributes 29% of running costs of 5.9 million/year with the rest raised through retail and fundraising activities and the generous donations of our community.

It offers specialist palliative care for adults with life-limiting illnesses and their carers. The in-patient unit admits approximately 190 patients each year for complex physical, psychological and social support. In addition to the 10-bed unit there is also a purpose-built Outreach Centre providing holistic wellbeing services for patients attending the Centre and at home. In the last year the Outreach Service conducted over 3,000 patient contacts across Wellbeing attendances and therapies at home. The Medical Outpatient Clinic Service delivers over 500 consultations per year via 4 clinics per week and ad hoc clinics each day for urgent cases. There is provision to care and support families through a family support service, including those with young children. This service also provides pre and post bereavement support, and this service is to be expanded through a generous grant from a local Charitable Trust.

The Hospice is the base for a 24-hour 7 day per week Specialist Palliative Care Telephone Advice Line available to all health care professionals working with palliative care patients within St Helens and Knowsley and Halton.

The service contributes to the education and training of health and care professionals and is research active. We have close ties to Liverpool, John Moores and Edgehill Universities and support undergraduate and post graduate training for nurses, doctors and allied health professionals.

Willowbrook Hospice is a value driven organisation with a strong commitment to a compassionate culture and our VISION: The best care delivered with compassion for our community.

Our over 400 active volunteers hold the Queens Award for Voluntary Service, and the organisation has the Navajo Charter Mark and is a Disability Confident employer.

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Serving a population of approximately 650,000 people, with a workforce of around 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff, Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (MWL) is one of the UKs largest Trusts.

The Trust provides a wide range of healthcare services at 5 hospitals and 16 community sites to people across St Helens, Knowsley, Halton, Southport, Ormskirk, parts of Liverpool and the surrounding areas. Alongside these community and secondary care services, the Trust also provides primary care services from the Marshalls Cross Medical Centre, which is located at St Helens Hospital.

MWL also provides regional services for burns, plastic surgery, and spinal injuries to more than 4 million people across Merseyside and Cheshire, West Lancashire, the Isle of Man, North Wales and beyond.

As a Trust, our vision is to provide 5 Star Patient Care. We strongly believe that the communities we serve should have equal access to the highest standards of quality care, whilst being sensitive and responsive to the needs of individual patients.

Our valued workforce is recognised for their expert skills and talents, with our teams winning national awards on a regular basis. Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is the only acute Trust in Cheshire and Merseyside, and one of the few in England, to achieve the rating of OUTSTANDING by the Care Quality Commission.

Whiston Hospital

Whiston Hospital is a busy teaching hospital which provides a comprehensive range of acute medical and surgical services, emergency services, maternity services, paediatrics and medicine for older people. The Regional Burns Unit and Mersey Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery Unit are also based on this site. There is a Critical Care Unit consisting of ICU, HDU, CCU and an onsite cardiac catheter laboratory. There is a 30-bed Stroke Unit which accommodates both acute stroke patients and those with rehabilitation needs.

Southport Hospital

Southport Hospital is a General Hospital that includes adults accident and emergency services, intensive care, and a range of medical and surgical specialities. There is also an outpatients department and 13 medical and surgical wards, including a Critical Care Unit and a ward for stroke patients. The hospital also plays host to the Northwest Regional Spinal Injuries Centre which provides specialist care for spinal patients from across the Northwest, North Wales, and the Isle of Man. The site also provides ENT, physiotherapy, audiology and cardiac services.

St Helens Hospital

St Helens Hospital is an ambulatory care centre providing intermediate care and day surgery. Rheumatology, dermatology and diabetes services are based on this site and within easy reach of other acute specialties at Whiston Hospital. The hospital offers a full range of outpatient clinics, day case surgery, and diagnostic suites including CT, MRI and DEXA scan equipment. There is also an intermediate care ward and diabetes centre on site. St Helens is also home to MWLs award-winning cancer and chemotherapy units as well as rehabilitation and intermediate care facilities.

Ormskirk Hospital

Ormskirk Hospital is a General Hospital that provides womens and childrens services, including paediatric accident and emergency services, surgery, and maternity care. A full range of physiotherapy and occupational therapy services are also provided at the hospital, which now benefits from a newly opened state-of-the-art therapy unit. The hospital provides these services largely for patients living across West Lancashire, Southport, and Formby

Person Specification

Our Values

Essential

• We are Kind
• We are Open
• We are Inclusive

Qualifications

Essential

• Full GMC registration and on Specialist Register or within six months of receipt of Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) at time of interview
• Applicants that are UK trained, must ALSO be a holder of a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT), or be within six months of award of CCT by date of interview. Applicants that are non-UK trained, will be required to provide evidence of equivalence to the UK CCT on successful application
• MBBS or equivalent medical qualification
• MRCP or equivalent medical qualification

Desirable

• MD/PHD or equivalent medical qualification

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Experience of the practice of specialist palliative care at a senior level and leadership of the multidisciplinary team
• Knowledge of clinical governance
• Able to lead Clinical Audit
• Experience of teaching / educational supervision
• Proven leadership skills, including experience in managing change and motivating teams
• Understanding of NHS structure and function
• Understanding of the regulations that relate to charitable organisations and the requirements of CQC.

Desirable

• Research experience
• Experience of hospice finance and commissioning
• Experience of clinical networks acting as a representative of an organisation
• Engagement with management training/management course or qualificationXA/I Skills

Skills

Essential

• Advanced Communication Skills
• Ability to drive service improvement
• Strategic thinker
• Excellent IT skills and knowledge of electronic patient record systems

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

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Address

Willowbrook Hospice

Prescot

L34 2QT

Employer's website

https://www.merseywestlancs.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)