Job summary
This new post is pivotal in the development and expansion of Specialist Palliative Care Services at Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (MCHFT). The postholder will provide leadership and Consultant level review of hospital patients and will work with the existing Palliative Care teams within primary and community sectors to support, develop, and deliver seamless integrated care to improve the experience for patients with palliative care needs.
This is an exciting opportunity for a motivated and enthusiastic doctor to join a dynamic team and take a lead role in providing, developing, and shaping high quality palliative care and end of life services, in line with the NICE Guidance on Support and Palliative Care, and the Department of Health End of Life Strategy.
The post-holder will also support the continuing professional development of specialist palliative care nurses, and provide teaching and support to MCHFT staff, enabling them to care skilfully and compassionately for palliative and end of life patients.
Main duties of the job
The successful candidate will be primarily based at Leighton Hospital, Crewe within the Palliative Care Team within the Division of Medicine and Emergency Care but will also attend a weekly Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) meeting at St Luke's (Cheshire) Hospice, Winsford.
The post holder will provide both in-patient and out-patient care for patients with palliative care needs within the Trust. The post holder will provide continuing responsibility for patients in their charge.
Out-patient clinics will be undertaken at Leighton Hospital with a suggested template for the out-patient clinic to be for follow up patients allocated 30 minutes for each patient review and 30 minutes of admin time per clinic.
Ward rounds will be undertaken for patients identified with specialist palliative care needs and treatment. The number of patients reviewed during the ward round will be variable as this will be dependent on the complexity of the patient's requiring a review.
The post holder will also participate in the palliative care advice service to other clinicians involved with end of life care patients.
Attendance at the weekly specialist palliative care MDT is expected and support will be offered to the weekly Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP) MDT. The successful candidate will also provide medical support to the multidisciplinary team.
About us
Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (MCHFT) provides good quality, safe and effective healthcare to the people of Cheshire and beyond. The Trust, which manages Leighton Hospital in Crewe, Victoria Infirmary in Northwich, and Elmhurst Intermediate Care Centre in Winsford, was established as an NHS Trust in April 1991 and became a Foundation Trust in April 2008.
We employ almost 5,000 members of staff, provide around 540 hospital beds, with a range of services including accident and emergency, maternity, outpatients, therapies, and children's health.
The Trust is also part of Central Cheshire Integrated Care Partnership (CCICP), a unique local health partnership that provides a range of community services for people across South Cheshire and Vale Royal.
During the Coronavirus pandemic, the Trust was recognised nationally for its Be Safe Be EquiPPEd campaign, which aimed to make the Trust as safe as possible for staff and patients, through supporting the correct use of PPE.
The results in the 2020 national NHS Staff Survey showed improvements in all elements of the safety culture theme, with 92% of respondents feeling their role made a difference to our patients. We were also recognised nationally for our workforce health and wellbeing initiatives.
At Mid Cheshire, we value our staff and appreciate that in order to give our patients the best quality, compassionate care, we also need to look after our colleagues.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The Division of Medicine and Emergency Care provides acute services for Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, with a catchment population of nearly 300,000.
The medical element of the Division consists of seven acute wards, which includes a Short Stay Unit, a fully equipped Coronary Care Unit, a dedicated Acute Stroke Unit and Stroke Rehabilitation ward and a Speciality Frailty Service. The Division also has an Acute Medical Unit, an Ambulatory Care Unit; an 11 bedded fully equipped Critical Care Unit which incorporates Intensive Care and high dependency beds and a Planned Investigation Unit. A further 24 low dependency rehabilitation beds are available within Leighton Hospital. In addition, the Anaesthetic Department and the Emergency Department also reside within the Division.
There are excellent links with the University Hospitals of North Midlands to provide hyper-acute stroke care, early in-patient angiography, coronary intervention and pacemaker implantation. Non-invasive ventilation is provided in the Emergency Department, the Respiratory ward and on the Critical Care Unit, as required.
Main responsibilities:-
- Be actively involved in the leadership, management and decision making of the Stroke/TIA services
- Be readily available during the working week so that medical and nursing staff can communicate and consult freely.
- Ensure that management plans are clearly displayed in the notes of patients with complex needs.
- Liaise closely with the Divisional and Service Managers, and the Associate Medical Director, to ensure that access targets are achieved.
- Share with Consultant colleagues the responsibility for providing clinical services for the local population.
- Foster relationships between staff within each organisation, and with the local Clinical Commissioning Groups.
- Work flexibly to achieve high quality care.
- Ensure targets for maintaining access to Stroke/TIA services are achieved.
- Ensure the policies for communication with General Practitioners, Trust staff and patients are followed.
- Ensure that optimal use is made of all resources allocated to the post.
- Cover Consultant colleagues during periods of leave.
- Contribute to relevant Divisional, Trust and Regional Committees.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The Division of Medicine and Emergency Care provides acute services for Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, with a catchment population of nearly 300,000.
The medical element of the Division consists of seven acute wards, which includes a Short Stay Unit, a fully equipped Coronary Care Unit, a dedicated Acute Stroke Unit and Stroke Rehabilitation ward and a Speciality Frailty Service. The Division also has an Acute Medical Unit, an Ambulatory Care Unit; an 11 bedded fully equipped Critical Care Unit which incorporates Intensive Care and high dependency beds and a Planned Investigation Unit. A further 24 low dependency rehabilitation beds are available within Leighton Hospital. In addition, the Anaesthetic Department and the Emergency Department also reside within the Division.
There are excellent links with the University Hospitals of North Midlands to provide hyper-acute stroke care, early in-patient angiography, coronary intervention and pacemaker implantation. Non-invasive ventilation is provided in the Emergency Department, the Respiratory ward and on the Critical Care Unit, as required.
Main responsibilities:-
- Be actively involved in the leadership, management and decision making of the Stroke/TIA services
- Be readily available during the working week so that medical and nursing staff can communicate and consult freely.
- Ensure that management plans are clearly displayed in the notes of patients with complex needs.
- Liaise closely with the Divisional and Service Managers, and the Associate Medical Director, to ensure that access targets are achieved.
- Share with Consultant colleagues the responsibility for providing clinical services for the local population.
- Foster relationships between staff within each organisation, and with the local Clinical Commissioning Groups.
- Work flexibly to achieve high quality care.
- Ensure targets for maintaining access to Stroke/TIA services are achieved.
- Ensure the policies for communication with General Practitioners, Trust staff and patients are followed.
- Ensure that optimal use is made of all resources allocated to the post.
- Cover Consultant colleagues during periods of leave.
- Contribute to relevant Divisional, Trust and Regional Committees.
Person Specification
Audit and Research
Essential
- Relevant experience in clinical audit
- Ability to apply research outcomes to clinical problems
- Awareness of current specialty specific developments, initiatives and issues
Desirable
- Knowledge and experience of the application of information technology in cardiology
- Publications in relevant peer-reviewed journals in the last five years
Teaching and Education
Essential
- Experience and interest in teaching both junior medical and non-medical staff
- Evidence of commitment to continuing professional development and lifelong learning
Desirable
- Special interest in role development and staff training
- Membership of relevant medical associations/learned societies
Experience
Essential
- Expertise in full range of Palliative Medicine Conditions
- Ability to lead a multi-professional team and take full and independent responsibility for clinical care of patients
- Ability to undertake palliative care assessments in a variety of settings including, outpatient clinics, hospital wards and hospice
- Ability to provide palliative care advice and support to other healthcare professionals in the hospital and hospice setting
Ability
Essential
- Recognised ability to work within, and provide leadership in, the multidisciplinary team
- Effective communicator with patients, relatives, hospital staff and other agencies
- Commitment to clinical risk management and implementation of clinical governance
Qualification
Essential
- Full GMC Registration and Licence to Practice
- Entry on the GMC Specialist Register for specialty appropriate to the post: CCT in Palliative Care Medicine (proposed CCT date must be within 6 months of interview) oCESR or oEuropean Community Rights
- MRCP UK (or an equivalent Qualification)
Desirable
- Higher degree (eg MA, MSc, PhD, MD)
Person Specification
Audit and Research
Essential
- Relevant experience in clinical audit
- Ability to apply research outcomes to clinical problems
- Awareness of current specialty specific developments, initiatives and issues
Desirable
- Knowledge and experience of the application of information technology in cardiology
- Publications in relevant peer-reviewed journals in the last five years
Teaching and Education
Essential
- Experience and interest in teaching both junior medical and non-medical staff
- Evidence of commitment to continuing professional development and lifelong learning
Desirable
- Special interest in role development and staff training
- Membership of relevant medical associations/learned societies
Experience
Essential
- Expertise in full range of Palliative Medicine Conditions
- Ability to lead a multi-professional team and take full and independent responsibility for clinical care of patients
- Ability to undertake palliative care assessments in a variety of settings including, outpatient clinics, hospital wards and hospice
- Ability to provide palliative care advice and support to other healthcare professionals in the hospital and hospice setting
Ability
Essential
- Recognised ability to work within, and provide leadership in, the multidisciplinary team
- Effective communicator with patients, relatives, hospital staff and other agencies
- Commitment to clinical risk management and implementation of clinical governance
Qualification
Essential
- Full GMC Registration and Licence to Practice
- Entry on the GMC Specialist Register for specialty appropriate to the post: CCT in Palliative Care Medicine (proposed CCT date must be within 6 months of interview) oCESR or oEuropean Community Rights
- MRCP UK (or an equivalent Qualification)
Desirable
- Higher degree (eg MA, MSc, PhD, MD)
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.
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).
Additional information
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.
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).
