Consultant in Palliative Medicine

Garden House Hospice Care; Letchworth; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Part time

Job summary

Garden House Hospice Care seeks a Consultant in Palliative Medicine to lead medical oversight of the Hospice Inpatient Unit, join a multidisciplinary team, and contribute to ongoing research and quality improvement.

The role involves chairing the MDT, providing on-call support, and engaging with community palliative care networks. Part-time 0.6–0.8 WTE, with progression to lead clinical services.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in palliative medicine across hospital, community and hospice settings.
• Ability to take full independent responsibility for patient care.
• Strong communication with patients and families and colleagues.
• Experience teaching multidisciplinary teams and learners across settings.

Responsibilities

• Lead consultant level oversight for the Hospice Inpatient Unit.
• Chair the weekly Inpatient Unit MDT.
• Provide clinical oversight for the on-call rota.
• Offer telephone palliative care advice to GPs and community nurses.
• Participate in incidents, safety meetings and quality improvement.
• Supervise GP and Specialist Trainees on placement.
• Contribute to the hospice annual medical plan.

Skills

Palliative Medicine

Clinical governance

Communication skills

Clinical risk management

Ethical decision making

Teaching

Multidisciplinary teamwork

Education

MRCP or MRCGP

GMC registration

Specialist Register entry

Job description

We are looking for a Consultant in Palliative medicine to join our Hospice Medical Team.

This role offers an opportunity to join an award-winning hospice that is shaping the future of palliative and end of life care.

The successful applicant will be a part of the Hospice Medical and Pharmacy Team, which is led by the Hospice Medical Director/Deputy CEO (Hospice MD).

About the Role:

The successful candidate will:

• Be the lead clinician providing consultant level specialist palliative medical oversight for the Hospice Inpatient Unit
• Chair the weekly Inpatient Unit MDT
• Work with the Hospice MD, with the support of the Quality and Governance Team, to ensure consistently high quality, safe and effective palliative care is provided and that patients have excellent experience and outcomes when under Hospice care.
• Be involved in providing clinical oversight for the first on call rota
• Support the Hertfordshire Community Trust Specialist Palliative Care CNS team by providing telephone advice and attending case review meetings in the Medical Director’s absence
• Undertake outpatient clinics
• Provide specialist palliative medical advice to other healthcare professionals such as local GPs or community nurses through the Hospice Palliative Advice Line
• Act as Clinical Supervisor to GP Trainees and the Specialist Trainees on placement
• Engage in original research with the support of the Hospice MD
• Attend Incident and Safety meetings and be an active participant in quality improvement work
• Work with the Hospice MD to contribute towards the development of the medical aspects of the Hospice annual plan

Please see the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of the role, duties, salary and an example weekly timetable.

This job is offered as 0.6 – 0.8 WTE/6 – 8 programmed activities per week, plus 1 in 9 non resident on call.

Basic salary on commencement will be set at a threshold to reflect previous experience.

About Us

At Garden House Hospice Care (GHHC), the successful applicant will be part of a passionate, forward-thinking organisation dedicated to delivering outstanding, specialist care and support to people across North Hertfordshire living with advancing illness, including cancer, organ failure, frailty and multimorbidity.

Nationally recognised for innovation and excellence, GHHC has been featured on BBC News and BBC Radio, and has received numerous accolades, including the prestigious Palliative Care Service of the Year Award. As a result, the Hospice team is proud of its reputation for pioneering services, improving patient outcomes and influencing the future direction of hospice and palliative care.

GHHC fosters a warm, inclusive, and supportive culture where every individual is valued and empowered to make a difference. From the Trustee Board and Chief Executive through to staff and volunteers, the team works together with a shared commitment to delivering exceptional care. There is active investment in professional development, wellbeing, and innovation, staff have the support and opportunities they need to thrive.

As an outward-looking and collaborative organisation, GHHC plays an active role in shaping healthcare across the region. We are working closely with the newly formed Central East Integrated Care Board, partner hospices, local NHS Trusts, primary care providers, and a wide range of stakeholders to improve services, shape the future of palliative care across the region and ensure patients receive the highest quality care wherever they access support.
This is an exciting opportunity to join a highly respected and ambitious organisation where your expertise, ideas, and commitment will be genuinely valued. In return, you will have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the lives of patients and families, influence the development of services, and help shape the future of hospice care across our community and beyond.

Clinical provision at GHHC includes:

• 8 bedded Inpatient Unit accepting patients for symptom control, reablement and last days of life care
• Medical outpatient clinics and domiciliary assessments
• Rehabilitation and Wellbeing Team
• 24/7 advice line for patients, families and professionals
• Hospice at Home and Continuing Health Care team
• Emotional and psychological support team
• Advancing illness in-reach team to the Lister Hospital, ENHUT
• Enhanced Nursing & Care Home team
• Medical support to Herts Community Team Specialist Palliative Care CNS team.

About You:

The successful candidate will have:

Essential Experience and Abilities

• Comprehensive clinical experience in Palliative Medicine in hospital, community and Hospice settings
• Ability to take full and independent responsibility for clinical care of patients in all settings
• Able to display sound clinical judgement & exercises sound clinical risk management
• High level of communication skills with an empathetic, caring approach to patients and families
• Ability to formulate evidence based, individualised patient management plans for patients
• Understand the disease trajectories in life limiting conditions of both cancer and non-cancer aetiologies to enable appropriate clinical management decisions to be made
• Ability to make complex ethical decisions including withdrawal and withholding of treatments
• Experience of teaching to those from a range of multidisciplinary professions and experience levels, across different settings and modalities
• Understanding of the importance of clinical governance and quality improvement with a track record of engaging in clinical governance, audit and quality improvement work

Essential Qualifications

• Full GMC registration with licence to practice
• MRCP or MRCGP
• Entry on the GMC Specialist Register for Palliative Medicine via either: CCT in Palliative Medicine (Proposed CCT date must be within 6 months of the appointments committee); Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration (CESR) or European Community Rights.

Closing date for applications: Friday 13th November2026.

Please note that we are actively reviewing applications and interviews will be held on a rolling basis. The ad may close early if a successful candidate is found.

Whilst we’d love to get back to everyone who applies to our roles, we will only be in touch if your application is successful, if you have not heard from us within 28 days, please assume you have been unsuccessful on this occasion.

Garden House Hospice Care are proud to be committed to be disability confident and reasonable adjustments will be made for applicants with disabilities.

We can only accept applications from candidates with the Right to Work without Sponsorship and already living in the UK.