This is a fantastic opportunity for a compassionate and creative doctor to be part of Hospiscare’s small medical team. As one of our Specialty Doctors, you will work within a multidisciplinary team, caring mainly for patients in our Hospice Inpatient Unit, with the possibility of also working with patients with specialist palliative care needs in their homes and at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital.
Main duties of the job
Experience in specialist palliative medicine would be advantageous but not essential, as you will be working alongside dedicated and expert professionals who will support you in developing your skills, enabling you to become a valued source of palliative care knowledge for the wider healthcare community. The post would suit a GP, specialty doctor or resident doctor working in another field who has an interest in palliative care and hopes to develop their experience. There may be additional opportunities for locum work at the hospice alongside the main contract.
About us
Hospiscare has been supporting people in Exeter, Mid and East Devon with terminal illnesses for over 40 years. Our services include support at home, a specialist palliative care ward, outpatient clinics, and supportive therapies.
We support close to 2,200 local people each year, in some of the hardest times possible. As a local charity, we raise around £10 million each year to continue to provide our care. Our staff, volunteers, and supporters help us care for people when they're most in need, regardless of their individual circumstances.
We're proud to be rated as 'five star' by patients and families and as 'outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission, to have been awarded a Mind Bronze Award for wellbeing at work and to be a Disability Confident employer.
Job responsibilities
Job Description
1. JOB DETAILS
Job Title: Locum Specialty Doctor in Palliative Medicine
Location: Based Searle House, Exeter EX2 5JJ
Salary: NHS 2021 Specialty Doctor Pay Scale, in
accordance with previous experience
Hours: 0.6-0.8 WTE, 6-8 Planned Activities (PAs) per
week. This will include 2-3 working days including
a Friday, along with weekend and overnight nonresident
Team/Directorate: Medical
Responsible To: Medical Lead Consultant
Responsible For: N/A
Accountable to: Clinical Director
2. JOB PURPOSE
To work flexibly and collaboratively across Hospiscare inpatient and community
settings, providing specialist palliative care advice for patients in the Royal Devon
University Hospital (RDUH), Exeter.
Responsible for providing medical management for patients, predominantly in
Hospiscare Inpatient Unit (IPU), as part of a multi-disciplinary team delivering
specialist palliative care.
To provide medical advice and support for patients and to multi-disciplinary teams
across all care settings including Community and the Royal Devon University
Hospital.
To participate in the weekend and overnight 24 hour non-resident on-call specialist
palliative care medical rota for hospice inpatients, community and patients in the
RDUH.
3. KEY RESULT AREAS/PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
3.1 Main Responsibilities
Medical management of hospice inpatients, including assessment and
management of pain and other symptoms, and of psychosocial effects of
advanced illness, to establish a therapeutic, holistic relationship with patients
and those close to them.
Provide specialist palliative care advice to medical colleagues, including
General Practitioners throughout Exeter, Mid and East Devon and doctors at
the RD&E Hospital, in order to maintain the highest clinical standards in the
management of patients and support for those close to them.
Liaise with multi-disciplinary healthcare professionals and relevant agencies
to ensure appropriate care and support is provided for patients and those
close to them.
Contribute to educational programmes and clinical attachments, and support
clinical placements and education for 4th Year University of Exeter Medical
School (UEMS) students attached to Hospiscare, to promote the development
of the highest standard of palliative skills.
Assist with quality improvement activities to ensure Hospiscare policies and
procedures remain up to date with current research and good practice in
palliative care, supporting compliance, patient safety, learning and continuous
improvement.
Complete clinical notes in line with Hospiscare requirements to ensure
compliance and that accurate and up-to-date information is always available
for multi-disciplinary team colleagues.
Maintain continuing professional development, engaging with annual
appraisal and five-yearly revalidation cycles, to ensure knowledge and
practice is relevant and current.
Infection Prevention and Control
Maintaining a safe environment for patients, visitors and employees is everyones
responsibility. All staff are required to adhere to Hospiscare Infection Prevention
and Control Policy and make every effort to maintain high standards of infection
prevention and control at all times. This includes ensuring personal and team
compliance with all relevant policies and procedures, and acting upon or reporting
any identified risks.
Disclosure and Barring Service
This role requires a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Enhanced level
check with Adults and Children Barred Lists.
3.2 Key Contacts
Internal:
Medical Lead Consultant and Medical team
Clinical Director
Chief Nurse
Lead Advanced Nurse Practitioner
Head of Clinical Governance
Ward (IPU) Manager
Community Cluster Team Leaders (CCTLs)
Learning and Development team
Clinical Quality team
Clinical Co-ordination Centre
Supportive Care Team
Rapid Response Team
External:
Patients and those close to them
General Practitioners and primary healthcare teams
Doctors and multi-professional colleagues at RDUH
University of Exeter Medical School
Specialist Palliative Care nursing team (SPCT) and Enhanced Supportive Care
(ESC) team at RDUH Hospital
Placement students
Medical colleagues at other south west hospices
3.3 Health & Safety
Ensure that Health and Safety guidelines and fire regulations are strictly
adhered to
Comply with safe working practices as defined by Hospiscare
Complete online training as and when required
Take reasonable care for your own health and safety and that of others who
may be affected by acts or omissions at work
Report any accidents, incidents or near misses as soon as reasonably
practicable
Manage own work life balance and general wellbeing, including any relevant
pressures in respect of lone working, travel, difficult environments and
challenging situations
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3.4 General
Be aware of and adhere to Hospiscare policies and procedures at all times
Take part in progress/performance reviews throughout the year
Cooperate with other Hospiscare departments
Attend training courses and complete online training modules as required to
meet the requirements of the post
Take responsibility for own personal development, seeking out opportunities
to learn new skills
Undertake any other duties as requested by management which are
reasonably deemed to be within the scope of the role
3.5 Other
Apply the Hospiscare values and behaviours to every aspect of the role at all
times
Promote and maintain the brand standards of Hospiscare
Person Specification
Knowledge
* Understanding of the complexities of working with individuals at times of distress and conflict
* Understanding of the role of ongoing quality improvement as a way to ensure patient safety
* Understanding of the key issues relating to End of Life Care including national strategies and policy development
Skills
* Highly developed communication and interpersonal skills, including language competency, required to do the job effectively and safely, and liaise appropriately with contacts at all levels
* Highly developed ability to work effectively alongside other professionals, maintaining clinical credibility within a multi-disciplinary team
* Highly developed ability to synthesize complex information utilising an evidence-based approach
Personal attributes
* Ability to work as part of a team, prioritise clinical workload and manage time effectively
* Ability to work autonomously, problem solve and take responsibility, with Consultant support when required
* Positive and confident outlook, empathetic with patients, those close to them and colleagues
* Commitment to continuing professional development (CPD), appraisal and revalidation processes, and to the requirements of clinical governance and audit
* Ability to respond positively in a rapidly changing environment, and to deal with contentious and challenging situations in creative and non-judgemental ways
* Positive approach to teaching
* Awareness of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in all aspects of work
Additional requirements
* Able to fulfil physical and manual handling aspects of the role
* Able and willing to participate in the non-resident on-call rota, including weekends and Bank Holidays
* Car owner and driver
Qualifications
* Primary medical qualification
* Full registration as a medical practitioner
* with the General Medical Council (GMC)
* Membership of a recognised medical defence
* organisation
* Membership of the Royal
* Colleges of Physicians or
* Royal College of General
* Practitioners, or equivalent
* qualification
* Certificate/Diploma/MSc in
* Palliative Medicine
* Teaching and/or
* qualification
* Advanced Communication
* Skills
Experience
* Demonstrable relevant clinical experience
* Demonstrable experience of multidisciplinary
* Experience of palliative
* care in a specialist setting
* e.g. Hospice, Community
* Palliative Care or Hospital
* Specialist Palliative Care
* Team
* Experience of teaching a
* range of students and
* Experience of using
* Electronic Patient Record
* Emis or EPIC
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.
Lead Medical Consultant / Deputy Clinical Director
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