Flexibank Doctor

Job responsibilities

Role purpose

Working as part of an integrated multidisciplinary team, the post holder will work alongside other doctors to provide the necessary medical support primarily to the adult services.

You will work collaboratively to deliver and ensure the highest quality of care for patients and families in all settings.

The post holder will be fully supported and expected to meet revalidation requirements and will be provided with an annual appraisal or, if holding a substantive post elsewhere, engage with ellenors senior doctors in objectives setting reflective of their role at ellenor.

To promote a learning culture across services that focuses on continuous improvement. The post holder may have the opportunity to take an active role in training and research within ellenor, supporting the Senior members of the medical team and Director of Care. They may also have the opportunity to provide clinical education for internal and external healthcare professionals.

You will work closely with the local GPs, acute and community providers in a way that supports integrated working.

Internal Key relationships

Chief Executive

Director of Care

Executive Management Team

Senior Management Team

Inpatient Unit

Adult Hospice @ Home Service

Care Home Support Team

Childrens Service

Therapy Staff

Medical Team

Facilities staff

Clinical Administration Department

External Key relationships (this list is not exhaustive but identifies some of the key stakeholders)

Age UK

Alzheimers & Dementia Support Service

Local community groups

Community Neuro Rehabilitation Team

Rapid Response

Community Services (including nursing and therapies)

Carers First and Crossroads

GP Federation

Dartford, Gravesham & Swanley Primary Care teams

Secondary care (Most commonly Darent Valley Hospital and MFT)

Local Kent and London Hospices

Clinical Duties

To provide specialist palliative care assessment and management of symptoms to support adult patients in achieving their preferred place of care and death in the hospice and the community.

Daily medical management of patients on the inpatient ward including patient clerking on admission, carry out daily assessments, plan and implement patient care, including safe discharge with good communication with families and carers.

To advise internal staff, GPs and external Health and Social Care Professionals when requested to do so on clinical matters.

Attendance at daily morning handover to support discussions about adult patients.

Participation in weekly ward round/virtual board round with inpatient ward team to plan care for patients depending on shift covered provided.

To work alongside substantive members of the medical team on the majority of occasions. Should no other members of the medical team be available, you will have access to consultant-level remote advice via Supportive Care UK.

There may be the opportunity to take part in the medical out-of-hours on call rota as first on call. Second on call services are provided remotely by Supportive Care UK, cover is a combination of on-site work and non-resident cover.

Working collaboratively as part of the multidisciplinary team to provide continuity of medical care to the adult patients which fully meets their needs and those of their families. This includes those under the care of ellenor on the in- patient unit, Wellbeing services or in the Hospice at Home Community setting as required. This may include occasional community home visits.

To participate in the in-patient ward and community multidisciplinary meetings.

Document clearly within the electronic patient record (EMIS) plans of care, especially significant conversations to ensure high quality patient care and contemporaneous records.

Work with established teams to provide a comprehensive, seamless service between Primary and Secondary Health Care, Social Care and the Voluntary sector.

To ensure that the patients dignity is promoted and respected and that equality and diversity are a top priority in the care of patients and families. This will include diversity of ethnicity and sexual orientation.

To promote and develop effective working relationships with other health and social care professionals in order to ensure the delivery of planned, co-ordinated specialist palliative and end of life care.

To maintain a flexible approach to working hours where possible to meet the needs of the service and the team.

To promote the effective use of End-of-Life Care Tools including IPOS and OACC suite of outcome measures.

Completion of necessary paperwork related to deaths or discharges of patients from the in-patient unit.

Management

To participate in regular job performance reviews and meet all the requirements for revalidation.

To develop effective working relationships with all members of the multidisciplinary team.

To plan, organise and prioritise workload effectively, particularly under pressure in order to maintain quality standards, and aim to complete duties within normal working hours.

To support the achievement of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for clinical services within the targets set in the service specifications.

To attend internal meetings when requested and participate in presentations and teaching as requested.

Education

To support teams through informal teaching opportunities during patient consultations, team meetings, ward rounds and multidisciplinary meetings and collaboration with Supportive Care UK.

Where possible to take an active role in the training and support of all staff within the Hospice, as appropriate. This may include supporting specialist nurses through clinical assessment skills and non-medical prescribing programmes.

Co-operate and attend all appropriate mandatory and statutory training as required by the organisation and/or their professional bodies.

To participate in ongoing educational programmes.

Professional Development

To keep abreast of medical developments and research relevant to Palliative Care.

To undertake appropriate continuing professional development and revalidation activities in accordance with the requirement of the Royal College of Physicians

To participate in regular clinical supervision commensurate to role and other outside clinical responsibilities to identify learning and reflect on ways to ensure own needs in relation to training and support are met as per organisational policy.

Facilitate learning and innovation in practice, working with the Practice Development Lead.

Participate in appraisal and job planning at least annually. CPD will be identified as part of appraisal and the setting of personal development plans.

Quality Audit and Research

To participate in research undertaken by ellenor.

To ensure practice is appropriately updated in line with the latest guidelines, research findings and local policies and procedures.

To abide by all organisational policies and procedures.

To encourage a culture of evidence-based practice within the Service.

To participate in audit projects.

To participate in the Clinical Governance programme.

To facilitate the production of statistics and activity reports

Support research activity and its integration with practice.

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Good team player showing respect for other professionals and understanding of the role of the doctor in a multi-disciplinary team.
• Resilient and able to meet the demands of the post, able to take on unscheduled tasks and work competently and effectively under pressure.
• Ability to organise and prioritise workload.
• Identifies any limitations to own ability within the role and actively plans how to address these.
• Enthusiastic and self-motivated.
• Conscientious, reliable, and acts with integrity at all times.
• Capacity to take responsibility for own actions and demonstrates a non-judgmental and respectful approach to others.
• Demonstrates punctuality, preparation and self-discipline.

Desirable

• Innovative and resourceful. (Desirable)

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Good written and verbal communication skills.
• Knowledge of Palliative Medicine including assessment of the acutely unwell patient, symptom management, ethical issues relevant to Palliative Care, communication around End-of-Life Care.
• Ability to work effectively with a diverse range of colleagues involved in palliative care service delivery.
• Understands the importance of and demonstrates ability to use information technology.
• Ability to organise and prioritise tasks.

Desirable

• Advanced Communication Skills certificate/training. (Desirable)
• Experience in teaching other professionals. (Desirable)
• Interest in and experience of undertaking research. (Desirable)

Other Requirements

Essential

• Full current UK driving license and access to transport.
• Flexible approach to working hours, weekends and on-call commitments.
• Medical Indemnity cost may be contributed to depending on the substantive clinical posts of the candidate.

Qualifications

Essential

• Education Qualification
• Full and current GMC registration.
• Qualified Medical Practitioner - MBBS or equivalent.
• Minimum of 4 years full-time equivalent post-qualification experience with at least 2 years in a relevant specialty, including general practice.
• Evidence of commitment to ongoing professional development.
• Eligible to work in the UK.

Desirable

• Postgraduate qualification e.g. MRCP/MRCGP or equivalent. (Desirable)
• At least six months post-registration experience in Palliative Medicine. (Desirable)
• Postgraduate qualification in Palliative Care. (Desirable)

Experience

Essential

• Experience
• Experience in making clinical decisions and managing risk.
• Able to prioritise clinical needs and know when to seek help.

Desirable

• Experience in teaching other professionals. (Desirable)

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).