Palliative Care Consultant & Medical Director / Lead

Job responsibilities

Summary of role

As a Consultant in Palliative Medicine, the role holds a consultant standard contract with Blackpool Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and an honorary contract with Trinity Hospice. Clinical supervision is overseen by the Trust. At the hospice, the post is managerially and professionally accountable to the Chief Executive.

The Medical Director / Medical Lead holds an executive post as part of the executive team and therefore shares corporate responsibility for strategic planning and development of hospice services, management of resources and delivery of hospice aims.

The Medical Director / Medical Lead is also involved in influencing local strategy through working with local partners and stakeholders to support the continuing development of services to meet local needs.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

Leadership and Strategy

Provide clinical leadership in partnership with the Director of Clinical Services of the hospice around service developments, clinical governance and review of policies and procedures.

Work collaboratively with the other Consultants in Palliative Medicine and the wider multi-professional team to ensure the delivery and continuity of specialist palliative care for the population of the Fylde Coast.

Take an active role in the planning, development, and delivery of organisational strategy and services to achieve service objectives and continuous improvement of wider specialist palliative care services.

Support the development and delivery of best practice in palliative and end of life care in line with the Fylde Coast Integrated Palliative & End of Life Care Strategy (2024-2028/9) and the National Ambitions for Palliative and End of Life Care (2021-2026).

Work with the Fylde Coast Strategic Dying Well Group to support the implementation of the local strategy and the ongoing development of palliative and end of life care across health and social care on the Fylde Coast.

Develop close links with Fylde Coast General Practitioners, Acute Trust and community colleagues representing Trinity and our desire for successful partnerships.

Take on leadership role as part of the executive team which includes clinical, risk management, HR, finance and corporate responsibilities.

Provide professional leadership, vision and direction for medical and knowledge exchange services

Act as a role model for hospice values and behaviours

Management and Supervision

Share corporate responsibility for managing the hospice budget but have direct responsibility for cost-effective planning and budget management for the medical team and, in conjunction with the Director People and OD, knowledge exchange.

Ensure performance management arrangements are in place for the medical team that adhere to hospice standards and policies.

Directly line manage the hospice doctors.

Provide direct line management to ACPs until the appointment of a Nurse Consultant.

Ensure the hospice has a robust medical on-call rota.

Ensure medical trainees on placement at the hospice receive appropriate support and supervision.

Service Delivery and Development

Supported by the Chief Executive and other clinical leaders and managers be responsible for delivering coordinated, integrated, responsive and accessible palliative care services in the community and the hospice.

Review and enhance palliative and end of life care services to align with strategic priorities and annual aims and goals of the hospice.

In collaboration with other clinical leaders, develop the hospices business intelligence and data to measure impact of services and inform future developments.

Clinical

Provide clinical leadership for the medical and other clinical teams in the hospice.

Provide direct clinical responsibility for the care of hospice inpatients, and other locations.

Promote high professional standards of clinical care for patients, both through direct patient care and by the maintenance of continuing professional development.

Act as a role model and expert practitioner by sharing clinical skills and knowledge with the broader multi-disciplinary team.

Clinical decisions are the responsibility of each senior doctor, but the medical director will offer support and guidance.

Provide some mentoring and clinical supervision to all members of the medical team.

Participate in the second on call medical rota to support the integrated adult service and 24-hour specialist palliative care advice line.

Participate in weekly Specialist Palliative Care Multidisciplinary Team meetings.

Actively promote and develop evidence based clinical practice.

Clinical Governance

The Medical Director will work with the Registered Manager to ensure strong clinical governance and regulatory compliance.

Play a full part in the clinical governance committee and other relevant bodies to ensure their aims and objectives are met.

Knowledge Exchange

Provide strategic palliative and end of life care education leadership for the hospice and Fylde Coast along with key staff at the hospice and Blackpool Teaching Hospitals.

Lead the development of a comprehensive programme of training and education for other professionals and students; including long and short-term funded projects.

Through education and training, encourage best practice in end-of-life care by other service providers.

Contribute to the delivery of education to all staff groups and act as a clinical or educational supervisor to speciality doctors and trainee Advanced Clinical Practitioners

Provide guidance and support to the clinical education team by sharing knowledge and skills and ensuring training provided reflects best practice and latest guidance.

Seek and develop opportunities for income generation through education and training.

Work with other executives and managers to develop resources and information services to support public awareness.

Lead the development of a comprehensive programme of clinical education for staff which supports professional development and fulfils regulatory and statutory requirements.

Lead the hospices research and innovation sub-committee and strategy for the improvement of patient outcomes and services.

Hospice

Provide support and commitment for the organisations charitable activities such as attending events, presentations etc.

Support the ethos of Trinity Hospice.

Adherence to hospice policies, procedures and codes of conduct.

Ensure confidentiality of information at all times.

Carry out other duties as required by the Chief Executive

Personal / Professional

Commitment to continuous professional development and participation in the hospices annual performance review programme.

Fulfil requirements for revalidation with GMC

Provide current GMC registration with a valid licence to practice.

Lead by example

Qualifications

Essential

• MB ChB or equivalent
• MRCP (UK) or equivalent

Desirable

• Teaching qualification such as PGCE
• Higher degree (MD/PhD).

Legal Requirements

Essential

• Entry on the General Medical Council (GMC) Specialist Register via one of the following: a) Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) (the proposed CCT date must be within six months of the interview); b) Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration (CESR); c) European Community Rights.

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• Excellent communication skills - both oral and written.
• Competent computer and IT skills.
• Ability to organise and prioritise workload and to delegate responsibility and supervise staff.
• Ability to motivate and inspire a multi-disciplinary team and work sensitively within teams and across organisations.
• Involvement and evidence of implementation of service development and managing change in a healthcare setting.
• Leadership skills - ability to take responsibility, show leadership and make decisions, to inspire colleagues and get the best out of them including ideas and innovations. Able to represent the hospice when necessary with colleagues, partners, patients and those close to them.

Desirable

• Evidence of delivering high quality teaching programmes to undergraduates.
• Evidence of supervising doctors in training.
• Research experience

Management Skills

Essential

• Awareness of independent hospice sector and its links with the NHS.
• Awareness of NHS organisation and core values of NHS.
• Understanding of the management responsibilities of a consultant working in a hospice setting.
• Participation in a management/ leadership training course.

Knowledge/Research

Essential

• Commitment to CPD and requirements of clinical governance and audit.
• A proven track record in self- directed service improvement.

Desirable

• Publications in peer reviewed journals.

Adherence to the Values of the Hospice/Trust

Essential

• Provide person centred care with skills and compassion.
• Respect and value individual difference
• Share knowledge and expertise with others
• Always patient and staff focused.
• Supports effective team work.
• Able to demonstrate integrity through honest and open behaviours
• Communicates widely and effectively
• Respond positively and flexibly to challenges.
• Constantly strive to provide high quality care.
• Work collaboratively based on mutual respect and trust.
• Always shows empathy for patients and staff.
• Always seeks to understand how others are feeling.
• Demonstrate a can-do attitude and be accountable for individual actions
• Maximise our impact by effective team working
• Always staying positive to reassure staff and patients
• Always reflecting the impact of own attitude and behaviours upon the service and staff.
• Strive for improvement, continuously challenge assumptions and strive for cutting edge solutions.
• Always striving to do best for patients and staff.
• Always appreciating the efforts of others.
• Always taking responsibility for actions.
• Always seeking out opportunities for improvements
• Work in partnership with our community.
• Fund services through ethical and transparent behaviours. Communicates widely and effectively. TRUST Compassion Always shows empathy for patients and staff. Always seeks to understand how others are feeling. TRUST Positive Always staying positive to reassure staff and patients. Always reflecting the impact of own attitude and behaviours upon the service and staff. TRUST Excellence Always striving to do best for patients and staff. Always appreciating the efforts of others. Always taking responsibility for actions. Always seeking out opportunities for improvement fundraising.
• Advocate for vulnerable individuals
• Endeavour to be environmentally and financially sustainable

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).