Consultant in Palliative Medicine

NHS; Preston; On-site; GBP 105,000 - 140,000; Part time

Job description

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Specialist Palliative Care service in Central Lancashire in a substantive consultant post. The clinical sessions will be split across the community specialist palliative care service and the hospice inpatient service at St Catherine's Hospice, Preston.

The employing organisation is Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who employ all of the consultants working in Specialist Palliative Care within Central Lancashire. Services in Central Lancashire cover the regions of Preston, Chorley and South Ribble in Lancashire.

You will work closely with colleagues in palliative care across Central Lancashire, supporting the delivery of Specialist Palliative Care, predominantly within hospice and community settings.

Community sessions may include domiciliary activity, GSF meetings and medical outpatient clinic based on clinical need.

You will also support the 2nd on-call provision providing advice to Specialist Palliative Care CNS' based in the hospital and community, and 1st on call medical cover based at St Catherine's Hospice.

Main duties of the job

You will:

• Provide senior specialist palliative medical care as part of the Community Specialist Palliative Care team. This includes direct face to face clinical care in community settings as well as advice to colleagues both within and outside the specialty.
• Take responsibility for the medical care of hospice inpatients, alongside the other hospice IP consultant. This includes ward rounds, advice to junior medical staff and the wider MDT, and supervision of admissions during hospice inpatient sessions.
• Work collaboratively with the Hospice Medical Director, existing consultants, and Hospice leadership teams to provide clinical, operational and strategic leadership.
• Be an active member of Central Lancashire Palliative and End of Life Care Strategy and Operational Cross Boundary Group.
• Provide leadership around clinical audit and quality improvement and other governance activities such as risk management. Undertake audit of departmental and own practice in line with the audit forward plan and appraisal requirements. To attend the monthly directorate audit and governance meeting at LTHTR.
• Participate in the bi-monthly Specialist Palliative and End of Life Care business meetings at LTHTR.
• Support the delivery of multi-professional education and training alongside the End-of-Life care educators in both LTHTR and St Catherine's.

About us

St Catherine's is a local hospice which cares for adults in Chorley, Preston and South Ribble who have a life-shortening condition, and their loved ones. The catchment area includes around 380,000 people, and the services touch over 2,000 patients and families each year.

The hospice has been working closely with the University of Central Lancashire for many years and have been granted the title of University Hospice. The hospice supports placements for medical students across inpatient and community services with plans to expand nursing placements as well as introduce social work and counselling placements. It is also an approved training site for the NW Palliative Medicine specialty training and supports placements for trainees on a rotational basis.

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust forms one of the major acute Trusts in the North West. We are the tertiary centre across Lancashire and South Cumbria for neurosciences, renal medicine, oncology, plastic surgery and burns. Opportunities exist for involvement in UG medical teaching, research and development which are integral to Teaching Hospital status. The hospital specialist palliative care team provide a liaison service to adult inpatients as well as a Supportive and Palliative Care OP service to Cancer Patients.

Date posted: 04 April 2025

Pay scheme: Hospital medical and dental staff

Grade: Consultant

Salary: £105,504 to £139,882 a year Per annum, Pro rata

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Part-time

Reference number: 438-CA767

Job responsibilities

Please refer to the attached Job description, Person specification and Specialty/ Trust Brochure for further details on:

• What we can offer
• Job Plan/On-call Requirements
• The Team

Informal enquiries and requests to visit the Hospitals are welcome and should be made, following shortlisting, with Dr. Geraldine Skailes, Medical Director and Silas Nicholls, Chief Executive [phone]

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Full GMC Registration with license to practice
• MBBS or equivalent
• MRCP UK or equivalent
• Entry on the GMC Specialist Register for Palliative Medicine via one of the following: a. Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) (The proposed CCT date must be within 6 months of the interview) b. Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration (CESR) c. European Community Rights

Desirable

• Higher Medical Degree (MA, MD, MSc, PhD)

Experience

Essential

• Experience and training in Specialist Palliative Care in hospital, hospice and community.
• Proven ability in managing complex holistic palliative care in both malignant and non-malignant conditions
• Ability to take full and independent responsibility for clinical care of patients at Consultant level
• Awareness of current speciality specific clinical evidence, developments and guidelines
• Commitment to teaching medical and non-medical personnel
• Experience in supervising junior medical colleagues
• Evidence of continuing professional development

Desirable

• Broad experience of medicine across a variety of settings including acute medicine
• Involvement in research projects relating to the specialist area
• Experience of leading and developing education and training

Management

Essential

• Evidence of clinical leadership.
• Evidence of commitment to audit and improving clinical practice, patient outcome and service development.
• Proven organisational skills.
• Understanding of current NHS environment, particularly reforms and initiatives related to palliative and end of life care.

Desirable

• Evidence of training in leadership.
• Experience of leading change and service development across organisational boundaries

Research & Development

Essential

• Understanding of research processes.
• Critical appraisal skills

Desirable

• Evidence of peer reviewed publications

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.

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer details

Employer name: Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address: Royal Preston Hospital, Sharoe Green Lane, Preston, PR2 9HT

Employer's website: https://www.lancsteachinghospitals.nhs.uk/