Consultant in Palliative Medicine

Mid Yorkshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; Wakefield; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional healthcare trust in Wakefield seeks a Consultant in Palliative Medicine to join their Specialist Palliative Care Team. The role focuses on supporting community services, managing complex patient cases, and collaborating with various healthcare teams. Candidates should have relevant medical qualifications, advanced communication skills, and a commitment to patient care. This substantive post offers 10 PA, encouraging applications from diverse backgrounds.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements

Supportive team environment

Professional development opportunities

Qualifications

• Completed approved training in palliative medicine or within 6 months of completion.
• Experience working in hospice, hospital and community settings.
• Experience in education and training of healthcare professionals.

Responsibilities

• Support for the Community Specialist Palliative Care Team with patient reviews.
• Lead community MDT meetings and support for Hospital at Home service.
• Provide consultant cross cover for The Prince of Wales Hospice.

Skills

Excellent advanced communication skills

Flexibility

Caring attitude

Good team player

Driving licence

Education

Medical Degree from recognised medical school

Higher Medical Qualification (e.g., MRCP)

SCE in Palliative Medicine or equivalent

Job description

Overview

Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust (MYTT) is looking for a dynamic enthusiastic consultant to join the Specialist Palliative Care Team working predominantly supporting community services, caring for patients at home. This is a substantive post, and the successful candidate will work with the Trust Specialist Palliative Care Team to provide services across the Wakefield and Pontefract community. The post holder will work in a team of 5 consultants and 16 clinical nurse specialists who provide cross cover and support. MYTT End of Life Care Services were rated as good in our last CQC visit. The multidisciplinary community team see approximately 1250 referrals per year. The post will involve some cross cover with The Prince of Wales Hospice. The Prince of Wales Hospice had approximately 250 admissions last year. The post holder will have the opportunity to work at a locality level as part of the collaborative end of life care partnership group improving co-ordination of care of patients in the last year of life and ensuring a whole system approach to care.

The main duties of the post will include support for the Community Specialist Palliative Care Team with both joint and independent review of patients and involvement with relevant MDTs and hospital at home and care home services. There is potential cross-site work at Wakefield Hospice and The Prince of Wales Hospice in Pontefract.

Main duties of the job

Wakefield Hospice is located across the road from the main Pinderfields site, and it is a 10-minute walk between the sites. The Prince of Wales Hospice is in Pontefract. The main duties include:

• Support for the Community Specialist Palliative Care Team with both joint and independent review of patients.
• Support for Gold Standards Framework meetings in primary care where appropriate.
• Community team MDT weekly.
• Cancer of unknown primary MDT.
• Support for Hospital at Home Service.
• Support for Care Homes.

Job description and arrangements

The post is a substantive consultant post in palliative medicine at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust. It is a 10 PA post working alongside the consultant palliative medicine team and our community teams across several divisions. The base hospital will be Pinderfields Hospital with office accommodation for the Mid Yorkshire Macmillan Specialist Palliative Care Team. All consultants may be asked to work across three hospital sites; this post is primarily focused on supporting community services and a Hospital at Home model of care. Funding supports 10 PAs including 1.5 PAs SPA time, including on-call. For urgent duties including out-of-hours on-call, provisions of working time regulations apply when necessary.

Wakefield Hospice and The Prince of Wales Hospice details are as above. The duties include:

• One in nine-week consultant on call providing telephone advice to health care professionals across Pontefract, Wakefield, Kirklees, Huddersfield and Calderdale (currently assessed as 0.75 PA per week plus 5% category A on call). If there is sickness or absence, the unit will arrange alternative cover.
• Administrative duties with appropriate office space and secretarial support.
• Supporting Professional Activities in accordance with the Trust Framework, with a minimum of 1.5 SPAs included in the core 10PA timetable. Additional SPA or DCC time may be commissioned in line with skills and changing service needs.

About us

We are an acute trust caring for over half a million people in Wakefield and Kirklees. Our 10,000 staff work in patients homes, the community, and our three hospitals in Pontefract, Dewsbury, and Pinderfields (Wakefield). We prioritise our people and values to deliver the best possible care. Our team is friendly, passionate, and innovative, always seeking better ways to work. We support work-life balance and foster a diverse, inclusive environment. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and particularly encourage members of the LGBTQ+ community, ethnic minority groups, and people with disabilities or neurodivergence to apply, as they are currently underrepresented in the Trust.

If you value caring, high standards, improvement, and respect, join the MY team to make a difference every day.

Application guidance: We understand more applicants are using AI technology to help with applications. While these tools can be useful, they cannot fully capture your skills, knowledge, and experience. It is important to personalise your application. Relying solely on AI is not recommended, as it may reduce your chances of success. Our screening process is thorough, so if you have used AI, please disclose this on your application form.

Job description and responsibilities

This job description is for a substantive consultant post in palliative medicine at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust. This is a 10 PA post working alongside the consultant palliative medicine team and community teams, crossing several divisions and working closely with community services. The post holder will provide consultant cross cover for The Prince of Wales Hospice and the Mid Yorkshire Specialist Palliative Care Team for leave and absence. The post is offered on a 10 PA basis; less than FT applications will be considered. The post is primarily focused on supporting community services and a Hospital at Home model of care. The role is based at Pinderfields Hospital with mentorship and attendance at weekly community MDTs. The team includes 5 consultants, 1 specialty grade doctor (2 days per week), 1 specialist registrar, 15 hospital and community CNs in palliative medicine, an End of Life Care Facilitator, a fast track facilitator, and 4 band 4 care coordinators.

Expected workload includes providing advice and support to the community palliative care team, leading the community MDT, reviewing complex patients in home or by telephone, supporting Hospital at Home, and supporting Care Homes in collaboration with Frailty Teams and advance care planning. Visits to the Trust are encouraged and requests for visits can be arranged via Medical Staffing.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Medical Degree from recognised medical school
• Higher Medical Qualification (e.g., MRCP) or equivalent
• SCE in Palliative Medicine or equivalent

Desirable

• Postgraduate study in the specialty (e.g., MD, PhD)

Personal Attributes

• Excellent advanced communication skills
• Flexibility
• Caring attitude
• Good team player
• Willingness to engage with hospital systems and policies
• Driving licence
• DBS clearance

Desirable

• Personal insight into strengths/weaknesses
• Contribution to Trust, unit, and services development
• MDT collaboration experience
• Educational interests or project work

Essential and Desirable (GMC and Practice)

• Evidence-based practice; enthusiasm for CPD
• Understanding of clinical trials in palliative medicine; publications or presentations
• Initiation, management and delivery of clinical trials
• Higher degree in research (desirable)

Management Skills

• Intelligent, analytical problem solving; good time management
• Desirable: organisational skills; contribution to service development in palliative medicine

Experience

• Completed approved training in palliative medicine or within 6 months of completion
• Experience working in hospice, hospital and community settings
• Experience in education and training of healthcare professionals

GMC Registration

• Full GMC number; full and specialist registration in Palliative Medicine (or eligibility within six months of interview)
• UK-trained applicants must have CCT or be within six months of award; non-UK trained must show evidence of equivalence to UK CCT