Consultant in Palliative medicine

0.80 wte (8 sessions per week) Plus 10% R&R payment

Permanent post

Base: Queenscourt Hospice, Town Lane, Southport, Merseyside

This is an exciting opportunity to join the integrated Supportive and Specialist Palliative Care Team which serves Southport, Formby and West Lancashire.

You would join a group of passionate experienced doctors working as part of a multi-professional team from Queencourt Hospice in a post that supports hospital and community services. You would support the development of a virtual ward as we build on our vision to deliver responsive cross-boundary care to patients and their families, in the right place and at the right time!

We have a strong commitment to multi-professional education which responds to the training needs of local health and social care professionals. The hospice education center has strong links with local Universities and is an ECHO network hub.

We are seeking an enthusiastic colleague to join our responsive clinical service, to be actively involved in education, to drive quality improvement and to influence strategic development of Palliative and End-of-Life care services.

To provide clinical leadership within the supportive and specialist palliative care service, leading the improvement of the quality of care within the team and contribute to improving quality across the system.

Participate in business planning for palliative and end of life care across the locality and, as appropriate, within the trust.

To provide direct and indirect Specialist palliative medicine advice and support to the integrated West Lancs Southport and Formby Specialist Palliative Care Service.

To attend weekly Specialist Palliative Care MDT meeting.

Together with the senior medical team, support the daily clinical huddle, weekly cancer site-specific MDTs, and monthly non-malignant disease MDTs.

To provide Specialist palliative medicine advice and support to S&O hospital, General practitioner’s, District Nurses and other healthcare professionals across WL, S&F.

To carry out domiciliary visits when required (approximately 2-3/week).
Be responsible for carrying out training and teaching for health care staff and participated in undergraduate and postgraduate training and will apply to be an honorary clinical lecturer at each.

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 11 million people.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to ‘perfect care’ – care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We’re currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

• To provide direct and indirect Specialist palliative medicine advice and support to the integrated West Lancs Southport and Formby Specialist Palliative Care Service.
• To attend weekly Specialist Palliative Care MDT meeting.
• Together with the senior medical team, support the daily clinical huddle, weekly cancer site-specific MDTs, and monthly non-malignant disease MDTs.
• To provide Specialist palliative medicine advice and support to S&O hospital, General practitioner’s, District Nurses and other healthcare professionals across WL, S&F.
• To carry out domiciliary visits when required (approximately 2-3/week).
• To undertake at least two outpatient clinics per week (up to one new and four follow-up assessments / clinic)
• To provide clinical advice and patient review in hospital (equivalent to 1 clinical session a week. Palliative medicine within the hospital is provided alongside the out-reach of specialty doctors from Queenscourt Hospice).
• To participate in the consultant on-call rota for palliative medicine for all healthcare settings across the WL, S&F area and provide cover for consultant colleagues during leave as necessary.
• To contribute to the planning and further development of palliative care services across WL, S&F and to attend appropriate local and regional committees and working groups.
• To develop good working relationships with all staff in hospital, the voluntary sector and in the community in order that a high standard of care can be provided to all patients in the locality.
• To promote innovation in palliative medicine.
• To develop and maintain clinical excellence and competence in palliative medicine through professional standards and obligations, participation in medical audit, research and engagement with continuing medical education by meeting CPD expectations and comply in particular with the GMC guidance on ‘good medical practice’.
• To participate fully in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education locally
• To coordinate with colleagues, plans of annual, study, professional leave and adhere to the trust leave policy in respective of notice. To ensure all periods of sickness are notified to the trust in accordance with that managing sickness absence policy.
• To participate in consultant appraisal and job planning.
• The post holder will not have routine responsibility for inpatient specialist palliative care beds but will be expected to provide cross consultant cover on call with colleagues and for periods of leave. They will be expected to provide telephone advice to health professionals out of hours when required.

Training duties

WL, SSPCS is committed to providing high quality end of life care training to all health and social care providers.

• Participation in the weekly SSPCT education programme.
• Participation in the active, peer reviewed, multi-professional palliative and end-of-life care education program for WL, S&F.
• Delivery of post-graduate medical education for doctors at Southport & Ormskirk Hospital
• Participation in undergraduate clinical teaching for students from University of Liverpool and Edge Hill University.
• Opportunity to participate in the delivery of MSc in Integrated Palliative and End of Life Care.

Clinical governance and quality assurance

• Expected contribution to clinical governance and responsibility for setting and monitoring standards.
• Participation in clinical audit and other local assurance processes across all care settings across WL, S&F.
• Participation in service/team evaluation and the planning of future service

Quality improvement

• Leads and manages a team in a way that supports the development of a culture of continuous improvement and
• Utilises a quality improvement approach to think systemically about complex problems, develop potential change ideas and test these in practice using a systematic QI methodology.
• Empowers the team to resolve local issues on a daily basis using the tools and method of quality improvement without staff having to seek
• Promotes awareness and understanding of quality improvement, and shares learning and successes from quality improvement

General duties

• To manage, appraise and give professional supervision to junior medical staff as agreed between consultant colleagues and the medical director and in accordance with the Trust’s personnel policies and procedures. This may include assessing competences under the Modernising Medical Careers
• To undertake the administrative duties associated with the care of
• To record clinical activity accurately and comprehensively and submit this promptly to the Information
• To participate in service and business planning activity for the locality and, as appropriate, for the whole mental health
• To participate in annual appraisal for
• To attend and participate in the education program for the SSPCS.
• To maintain professional registration with the General Medical Council, Mental Health Act Section 12(2) approval, and to abide by professional codes of
• To participate annually in a job plan review with the clinical manager, which will include consultation with a relevant manager in order to ensure that the post is developed to take into account changes in service configuration and delivery associated with
• To work with local managers and professional colleagues in ensuring the efficient running of services and share with consultant colleagues in the medical contribution to
• To comply with the Trust’s agreed policies, procedures, standing orders and financial instructions, and to take an active role in the financial management of the service and support the medical director and other managers in preparing plans for services

Please see job description for further details.