St Giles Hospiceis a leading provider of specialist palliative care services, committed todelivering compassionate, patient-centred care for individuals withlife-limiting illnesses. We support patients and families in achieving the bestpossible quality of life through an interdisciplinary approach, includingmedical, nursing, psychosocial, and spiritual care.
Main duties of the job
The SpecialistDoctor in Palliative Care reports into the Director for Clinical Services. Therole will form part of the Hospice Senior Leadership Team and play a vital rolein supporting the strategic direction of the Hospice.
As the Specialist Doctor in Palliative Care, youwill play a pivotal role in delivering high-quality specialist palliative careservices at St Giles Hospice both on our In Patient Unit (IPU) and in thecommunity, the post supports the provision of day-to-day medical cover over 7days a week both onsite and providing on call support at weekends to ensure thehighest quality of clinical and medical care is delivered to our patients. Youwill work closely with the multidisciplinary team to provide clinical expertise,support education and training initiatives, and contribute to development ofservice provision across the hospice.
About us
St Giles Hospice is a registered charity founded in 1983 by the Reverend Paul Brothwell, originally to improve the care of local people dying with cancer.
We now support patients, and their loved ones, living with a terminal illness.Our dedicated team provides individually-tailored care, free of charge, either at the hospice or in patients own homes across our communities.
We spend close to £10 million a year providing our specialist services. With just 18% of this funded by the Government, we rely heavily on donations and income generation from the local community.
Job responsibilities
The role entails but is not limited to:
Clinical Care
The post holder will support theplanning, development and delivery of palliative medical care to patients by:
Providing specialist medicalmanagement for patients with complex palliative care needs, both in the hospiceand community settings.
Providing continuity of medical careon the inpatient unit and in the community and supporting the medical team forthe day-to-day management of patients admitted to the IPU.
Leading weekly multidisciplinary team(MDT) meetings, contributing to holistic patient management plans.
Performing a full holistic assessmentof patients and providing on-going medical review for existing patients.
Prescribing appropriately in line withhospice and the West Midlands Palliative Care Physicians Guidelines for SymptomControl, maintaining accurate and legible drug charts. Completing the requisitions for pharmaceutical and other supplies when necessary.
Offering clinical leadership andsupport to junior medical staff, medical trainees. nursing teams, and alliedhealth professionals.
Supporting ward rounds, outpatientclinics, and home visits as required.
Supporting effective symptom control,advance care planning, and end-of-life care discussions.
Participating in the Hospice weekendmedical rota.
Leadership & Management
Support the Director of ClinicalServices by leading on the development, maintenance, and delivery of a comprehensive strategy for quality which considers patient safety, riskmanagement, clinical effectiveness, and patient experience.
Provide highly visible accessibleleadership, advice and support on issues relating to safe and compassionatemedical care, ensuring the provision of evidence-based practice.
Work with the senior management teamand the senior clinical team, ensuring that services are developed aroundpatient needs, that they are accessible and seamless.
Take an active role in the HospicesSenior Leadership team, representing medical services and workingcollaboratively with other hospice teams, and gain a full understanding of thecomplexity of the organisation.
Maintain awareness of up-to-dateprofessional and clinical practice issues and ensure that appropriate nationalpolicy is reflected in practice.
Support and contribute to the annualintegrated governance work programme and monitoring framework in line with theHospice clinical strategy, assurance framework, risk register and QualityAccount priorities as well as all Care Quality Commission aspects of business.
Clinical Service Development andGovernance
The post holder will be professionallyresponsible for helping to develop clinical services and robust organisationalclinical governance practices through:
Contributing to the development,implementation, and evaluation of clinical guidelines and protocols.
Engage in quality improvementinitiatives to enhance patient care and service efficiency.
Participate in clinical governanceactivities, including audits, incident reviews, and risk assessments.
Play and active part in theorganisations Senior Leadership Team, contributing to the strategic directionof the organisation.
Clinical audits.
Reviewing and making recommendationson the implementation of national guidelines e.g. NICE.
Keeping up to date with medicaldevelopments, new drugs, treatments and medications, relating to palliativecare and sharing learning.
Education and Training
Delivering training and mentorship formedical trainees, nursing staff, and other professionals in palliative careprinciples and practice.
Actively contribute to local andregional teaching programmes in collaboration with academic institutions.
Contributing to the internal teachingprogramme for members of the multi-disciplinary team and, if appropriate,externally as part of the Hospices commitment to educating other clinicalteams about end-of-life care.
Research and Innovation
Working collaboratively with theHospices Professor in End-of-Life Care to continually assess clinical practiceand participate in research studies that contribute to our clinical excellence.
Promote and participate in researchinitiatives related to palliative care, supporting evidence-based practice.
Foster collaboration with academicpartners to enhance the hospices reputation as a centre of excellence.
Liaison and Advocacy
Work cross organisationally with keyinternal stakeholders to represent the medical team and fully understand thecomplexity of the organisation from clinical delivery through to incomegeneration.
Actively encourage and lead with a oneteam approach.
Build strong working relationshipswith local GPs, hospital teams, and community services to ensure seamless carepathways.
Represent the hospice at regional andnational forums, advocating for palliative care excellence.
General
The successful candidate will, oninitial appointment and thereafter, be required to inform the Hospice of anyregular commitments in respect of private professional services or fee-payingservices. There will be a similar requirement in respect of additional NHSresponsibilities or other external duties.
The post holder must be fully registered withthe General Medical Council. It is essential to maintain appropriate membershipof a recognised medical defence organisation. Employees at the Hospice do not benefit from NHS indemnity.
Just so you know:
We may review applications before the applicationreview date, however, if you apply after the application review date, yourapplication may not be considered. We will accept applications until we havesuccessfully filled the role, this may be earlier than the closing date.
If you have not heard within 14 days of theapplication close date, then please consider that your application has beenunsuccessful at this time.
As part of your application your data will bemanaged in line with St Giles Hospice Privacy Policy and kept for 6 months. Ifyou would like to see this in full, please visit https://www.stgileshospice.com/privacy-policy/
Person Specification
Personal Attributes
* Awareness of own limitations
* Commitment to providing holistic, person-centred care
* Strong leadership skills, with a collaborative and flexible approach to team working
* Dedication to ongoing professional development and reflective practice
* Team player
* Able to work under pressure
Qualifications
* Full GMC registration with a licence to practise
* A willingness to work towards a Portfolio Pathway in Palliative Medicine and progress into a consultant in palliative medicine post
* Higher degree (e.g. MD, PhD, MSc) or equivalent research experience in palliative care
Skills
* Excellent clinical skills in palliative medicine
* Proven ability to manage patients effectively with complex physical, psychological and social problems
* Ability to lead and manage a team
* Ability to work collaboratively with a multidisciplinary team
Other requirements
* Valid driving licence
* Eligibility to work in the UK
* Please note that St Giles Hospice does not hold a sponsorship licence and is therefore unable to accept sponsorship requests
Experience
* Extensive experience in managing patients with advanced, life-limiting illnesses
* Proven ability to lead MDTs and provide clinical supervision
* Expertise in symptom control, advance care planning, and ethical decision-making
* Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage sensitively with patients, families, and colleagues
* Knowledge of current UK healthcare legislation, including end-of-life care policies
* Knowledge of evidence-based practice and quality improvement
* Extensive experience of teaching and clinical audit
* Experience in hospice or community-based palliative care settings
* Active involvement in service development, quality improvement, or education
* Exhibits our hospice values and behaviours
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.
Depending on experienceAs per St Giles Hospice Medical Pay Scale
#J-18808-Ljbffr