Consultant in Palliative Care

Job responsibilities

Duties across all settings

Function as an essential member of the specialist palliative care teams throughout the county.

Provide expert advice and support regarding complex ethical and clinical decision making.

Work collaboratively with other palliative care consultants to provide consultant advice, support and clinical expertise to CDDFT Monday to Friday 9-5pm including contributing to the trust wide palliative care telephone advice rota.

Provide a 1 in seven commitment to the Out of Hours Advice Service for professionals (all the senior doctors contribute).

Undertake administrative duties associated with the care of patients (including activity data as required) in line with Trust Policy.

Setting specific Duties

Hospital

Provide expert advice and support to health care professionals caring for patients with palliative and end of life care needs.

Provide clinical leadership and support for the hospital palliative care team

Community

Provide expert advice and support to health care professionals providing care to patients with palliative and end of life care needs e.g. specialist palliative care teams, primary care teams, community nurses and care home staff.

Lead specialist palliative care multi-disciplinary team (MDT) and clinical review meetings as required.

Undertake domiciliary visits to patients in their usual place of residence (including community hospitals, care homes and prisons) as required.

Work with community hospital clinicians to provide appropriate identification, assessment and review of patients with palliative care needs in community hospitals

Support and attend as appropriate Primary Care Team palliative care register meetings.

6.2 Leadership

Provide leadership to the multi-professional specialist palliative care team, including hospice teams and primary care colleagues.

Provide supervision of other doctors within the service including appraisal.

Provide strategic leadership within local Network groups as appropriate.

Provide leadership and support in the development of generalist and specialist palliative care services across all settings including leadership of service developments and change initiatives.

Contribute to CDDFT, local, and regional Network initiatives to support the development and improvement of palliative care and end of life care services

6.3 Clinical Governance

Contribute to the clinical governance activities of the specialist palliative care team, including regular audit, development of appropriate trust-wide standards and annual appraisal.

Participate and lead on local and national audit as agreed with the service.

Participate and lead on quality improvement initiatives.

Provide significant contribution to the management of clinical risk and patient safety.

Contribute to the development, implementation and response to local and national policy and guidance.

Lead on governance issues relating to the appraisal and revalidation for palliative medicine colleagues.

6.4 Education

Maintain continuing professional development in accordance with the requirements of the Royal College of Physicians/the Royal College of General Practitioners.

Contribute to the planning and delivery of undergraduate medical education and GP trainees in all aspects of palliative, end of life care, communication skills and ethics.

Contribute to Specialty training in Palliative medicine as appropriate

Contribute to the development and implementation of a palliative and end of life

Care education strategy for CDDFT and partner organisations.

Support the continuing professional development of specialist palliative care nurses.

Support the continuing professional development of specialist palliative care medical staff.

Participate in undergraduate, postgraduate and multi-professional education programmes across primary care and within the Trust.

Lead on and/or participate in Specialist Palliative Care Service education sessions

6.5 Research

Identify research proposals applicable to palliative care.

Develop links with academic centres and Trust Leads to support local research studies as appropriate.

Develop and implement research projects and programmes as appropriate.

Experience

Essential

• On the GMC specialist register or within 6 months of registration for attaining CCT in palliative medicine at time of interview.
• Training in palliative medicine including experience in hospice, hospital and community settings

Special Skills & Knowledge

Essential

• Clinical Skills
• Expert clinician in the specialised field of palliative medicine
• Ability to work autonomously in all care settings
• Excellent diagnostic and clinical skills
• Management/ Leadership Skills
• Supervision and mentorship skills of undergraduate students and post graduate trainees.
• Ability to lead and motivate a multidisciplinary team
• Ability to prioritise workload in changing environment.
• Ability to work in a team with sensitivity and diplomacy.
• Analytical and evaluative with critical appraisal skills
• In depth knowledge of NHS agenda for palliative and end of life care.
• Clinical Governance/Audit Skills
• Thorough understanding of clinical governance and its place in clinical practice.
• Experience of initiating and conducting clinical audit.
• Evidence of undertaking audit in line with national and local requirements for palliative and end of life care.
• Experience of teaching palliative care at undergraduate and post graduate level and to multidisciplinary audiences
• Teaching and education of junior staff.
• Supervisory skills for the MDT teams
• Mentorship and assessment skills
• Excellent presentation skills
• Team player
• Enhanced communication skills both interpersonal and with wider stakeholders
• Ability to demonstrate leadership and management qualities to deliver this challenging role.
• Excellent time management. Capable of independent travel across the county
• Ability to manage people in difficult and emotional situations.
• IT Literate.

Desirable

• Evidence of innovative service development
• Senior management experience
• Experience of initiating and
• conducting clinical audit within a foundation trust setting
• Teaching qualification
• Publication In relevant journal.

Qualifications

Essential

• Full GMC Registration
• MRCP or MRCGP or equivalent

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).