Pilgrims Hospices is embarking on an ambitious recruitment drive tosupport transformative changes following review of our clinical strategy to enhancesupportive and end-of-life-care by expanding the senior clinical leadershipgroup to a multidisciplinary team.
We welcome applications from passionate candidates who would beinterested to join us as Consultant(s) in Palliative Medicine, to make adifference to the people in East Kent, bringing comprehensive clinicalexpertise and a deep commitment to holistic care.
This is a great position for new colleagues who have come to the end oftheir training but also for experienced colleagues who want to help shape a newmodel of palliative care provision in East Kent. The Consultant in Palliative Medicine will bejoining existing and new Nurse and Medical Consultants, working alongside SpecialtyDoctors, GP and FY2 trainees as well as Specialist Registrars and AdvancedClinical Practitioners. PilgrimsHospices is aligned to two medical schools and can host a University ofKent led fellowship/GPwSI post.
We operate three inpatient units in Canterbury, Ashford and Margate withtypical multi-disciplinary teams to support patients in our 36 beds, in thecommunity including hospice at home services and in our three therapycentres.
Main duties of the job
As a Consultant in Palliative Medicine and part of our clinicalleadership team you will be expected to practice at an advanced level to:
- Deliver high-quality patient care with expertise and autonomy;
- Develop and maintainspecialist areas of interest to support our clinical strategy;
- Collaborate with external stakeholders to develop pathways and shape processes;
- Lead and motivate teams to improve standards of practice:
- Contribute to research, service evaluation and quality assurance initiatives;
- Commit to your own Continuous Professional Development, support and coach others doing the same.
To be successful as a Consultant in Palliative Medicine you will need:
Strongleadership and team motivation skills
Commitmentto evidence based practice and quality improvement
Supervisory andeducational experience required.
The Consultant in Palliative Medicine job description has been approvedby the Royal College of Physicians. Ifyou would like to speak to us about this role, or to arrange an informal visit,please contact Dr Pia Amsler on 07961 830575 or via email at pia.amsler@pilgrimshospices.org
About us
Pilgrims Hospice is the lead provider of specialist palliative care inEast Kent serving a population of over 800,000 spread across a geographicalarea of over 700 square miles of a largely rural area with main urbanpopulation in Ashford, Folkestone, Canterbury, Dover, Margate, and Ramsgate.
Please visit our website for further information on all aspects ofPilgrims Hospices at www.pilgrimshospices.org.
Job responsibilities
MAIN PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE JOB:
Consultants are expected to practice at an advanced level and are able to demonstratethe following:
An expert practice function:The Consultant must be able to deliver high qualitycare to patients, enable other practitioners to maintain professional expertise, and tobe able to demonstrate a high degree of professional autonomy within their role of aspecialist within palliative care.
The Consultant will develop or maintain an area of specialist interest and support theMedical Director and the wider executive team with the realisation of the PilgrimsHospices clinical strategy.
This includes the development of clinical policies, standard operating procedures andguidelines; collaboration with relevant external stakeholders and specialists in thattopic and the development and support of working parties and champions at thehospice.
Specialist interests might include non-malignant conditions and widening access tominority groups.
Education, training and development function:The Consultant will contribute tothe training and education of others, establishing formal links with local educationproviders. They should also contribute to the development of an education plan forboth internal and external staff to encourage learning and to support incomegeneration.
Professional leadership and consultancy function: The Consultant should be ableto demonstrate leadership skills which will support and motivate others, in order tocontinuously improve quality of care and standards of practice. They should be asource of expertise and knowledge for others in their specialist fields. NurseConsultants will work aligned with the Medical Consultants and their job descriptionwill mirror each other except for areas where legal distinctions such as supervision ofcolleagues in training, prescribing of medication and similar, become relevant.The medical consultants are expected to act as clinical Supervisors for medicaltrainees and become Educational Supervisors for trainees of higher training grades(SpRs).
Practice, service development, research and evaluation: Consultants willcontribute to development of professional practice, through the promotion of evidence based practice and audits of standards of care. They will support research within thehospice and evaluation of practice within their specialist fields.
Quality assurance: This role is multi-factorial and has the CQC five standards at itsheart. That is to ensure a safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led patient centred service provision. The Medical Consultants, alongside the Nurse Consultantswill lead on creating an environment where standards of care provision areoutstanding across the clinical services working with all staff to support qualityimprovement programmes.
Expert Clinical Practice:
- To be professionally accountable for all work undertaken and to practice at anadvanced level of professional autonomy in line with local/national policy andguidance
- To work as a Consultant using advanced clinical reasoning and diagnosticskills, prescribing, planning, and evaluating interventions for patients withcomplex presentations.
- To be an authoritative expert assessor/advisor on pain and symptommanagement , psychological /spiritual/ social /practical and ethical decisions atthe end of life and to work in partnership with a range of health professionalsto improve their skills in these areas.
- Develop and conduct skilled medical intervention with patients with palliativecare needs, assessing and addressing issues such as quality of life, futility,prognosis, withdrawing and withholding treatment and end of life decisionmaking within an ethical framework.
- To undertake complex and sensitive holistic care assessments and plan,implement and evaluate care utilising advanced communication skills.
- To improve access to medication through the support and implementation ofindependent Nurse prescribing.
- Demonstrate negotiation and diplomacy skills and partnership working acrossthe multi-disciplinary team
- To be in collaboration with the multidisciplinary team, with regards to safe,effective, timely admissions and discharges of patients.
- To identify areas for improvement and development which will enhance thepalliative care provision for patients and carers.
- To work with the other clinical leads within the hospice in undertaking serviceimprovements as identified.
- To act as a resource locally and nationally on issues related to palliative care.
- Take an active role in continuing to embed the outcome data to provide safe,responsive and effective care to the people we see in the community.
Leadership:
- It is expected that the consultant will spend up to 60% of their time in directpatient contact using a combination of face to face, video and telephoneconsultations, supporting and clinically supervising the ACP team.
- 40% of the time will be spent in developing services in line with the hospicesclinical strategy and education
- To provide expert clinical leadership alongside the Nurse Consultants acrossthe organisation
- Working with other clinical leads to develop and implement the Hospicesstrategic clinical plan.
- Be involved in the hospice governance process, influencing service provisionand standards within the Hospice and the locality.
- To identify areas for service improvement, working with stakeholders,including service users, and propose changes as they are needed.
- To project manage change to services, as required.
- Provide support to the clinical teams in their development and learning, drivingchange as needed.
- To provide consultancy to other stakeholders involved in specialist palliativecare provision and be recognised in the locality for having expertise in thefield.
- Develop mechanisms to ensure regular feedback from stakeholders andrespond to any informal or formal feedback.
- Collaborate with key stakeholders to develop policy in line with local servicesand to ensure best practice.
- Report on prescribing activity governance to enable safe prescribing practice.
- To represent the hospice in relevant groups and at meetings where an expertnurse is required.
- To maintain patient statistics and comprehensive patient records, providingdata and reports as required ensuring effective and efficient service delivery.
- Utilise audit to improve quality of care and evidence areas for serviceimprovement.
- Manage complaints, as requested to do so.
- Support the selection and recruitment of new staff and development of newroles.
- Assess risk and minimise threat to personal safety
- Be a core member of the Local Management Team
- Encourage formal/informal teambuilding
- Chair meetings effectively
- Be responsible for continuing to embed iPOS and other outcome measures,using data to show the effectiveness of these tools.
Education:
- To work with the Clinical Leadership Team to develop and implementeducational strategies for the development of palliative care within the hospiceand locally.
- To be competent in delivering education and training sessions at all levels fora variety of key stakeholders, patients and their carers.
- Utilise experiential learning methods and reflective practice. Demonstrate competence in lecture and discussion-based teaching. Mentor new staff and clinical placements.
- Consistently draw on research and literature to influence specialist palliativecare teaching
- Write articles for publication, deliver at conferences, and produce posters forpresentation as required
- Ensure that service developments are evidence based and supported byresearch activity.
- Participate in research locally or nationally where appropriate.
- With the Clinical Education lead, identify training needs of the clinical teams.Participate in the hospice-training programme and staff induction.
- To participate in the development of clinical standards within the total qualityand audit framework of the Hospice and participate in clinical audit, asrequired.
Personal Responsibilities:
- To recognise indications of staff stress and to facilitate staff support. To undertake staff personal development reviews annually and one to onemeetings every 6-8 weeks with direct reports
- To recognise the value of volunteer contribution and play an active part in theirsupport & development where appropriate.
- To ensure there is a valid indemnity insurance in place which will be partlyrefunded by the hospice
- Supported by Pilgrims Hospices, to work with the Responsible Officer andthrough the ePreP system to ensure timely revalidation and appraisal,delivered from within a number of trained Appraisers, in line with the RCP andrevalidation guidelines
Personal Development:
The Medical Consultants will be supported by Pilgrims Hospices to continue theirProfessional Development as outlined by the Royal College of Physicians.
On-call:
Medical consultants in Palliative Medicine provide 2nd on-call support for a seven dayperiod as part of a regional rota, which includes Medical Consultants from PilgrimsHospices, East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) and otherhospices based in Kent. The exact number of postholders across the on-call systemcan vary, however, frequency is expected to be approximately one-in-nine and is notexpected to exceed one-in-seven.
Person Specification
Qualifications
- Full GMC registration
- Holds CCT or Specialist Registration in Palliative Medicine or will obtain within 6 months of interview date CESR or European community Rights.
- Holds MRCP or equivalent.
- Has experience in a leadership role or studied leadership at a higher level
- An appropriate Higher degree (MD,PhD, diploma in palliative medicine or equivalent).
- Worked as a consultant in palliative medicine
Intellect and Education
- Shows an approach based on critical enquiry and evidence based care
- Embraces evidence-based practice & audit
- Shows breadth of awareness & a range of problem-solving skills
- Encourages ongoing learning & an educative culture, both for self and others
- Experience in research
Communication & Interpersonal Skills
- Strong leadership & coordination skills with ability to direct & organise teams.
- Able to communicate clearly, avoiding jargon, with a range of different people.
- Builds strong & effective relationships with patients, families & colleagues with the ability to gain their trust & confidence.
- Ability to manage periods of high workload and pressure as well as to adapt to constant change & new demands.
- Demonstrates energy, enthusiasm & initiative in pursuing innovation and the highest standards for patients, juniors, others, colleagues & the
- organisation.
- Demonstrate excellent negotiating skills when collaborating with internal and external stakeholders
- Experience of leading clinical teams
- Studying leadership at a higher academic level
- Able to operate effectively in a committee; contributes to strategic decision making.
- Understands the issues of risk management & of operating within a litigious & complaints culture
- Shows self-discipline eg record-keeping & legibility
- Able to juggle a large number of demands by setting priorities & planning effectively
- Experience of working in a leadership or strategical role
Experience
- Significant Experience within a Specialist Palliative Care Environment
- Experience of working within palliative care at an advanced practice level
- Possesses range of clinical knowledge, skills & information technology expertise.
- Concerned to maintain & develop this knowledge.
- Displays sound professional judgement
- Exercises sound clinical risk management
- Sees patients within a holistic context
For more Essential Criteria
- Please refer to our full Job Description found under documents.
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.
£109,725 to £145,478 a yearDepending on experience
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