Consultant - Palliative Care

Integrated Care System; Luton; On-site; GBP 105,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Trust in Luton is seeking a Consultant in Palliative Care to join their Specialist Palliative Care Team. The role involves providing consultant advice, developing outpatient clinics, and shaping care services. Candidates must possess a Medical Degree and full GMC registration, with a strong background in Palliative care. This position offers a salary in line with NHS pay scales, along with opportunities for professional development.

Qualifications

• Good experience in DGH work is essential.
• Must show evidence of thorough training in Palliative care.
• Full GMC Registration is required before employment.

Responsibilities

• Provide consultant advice to specialist nurses and other healthcare professionals.
• Develop and provide an outpatient clinic once a week.
• Work on Trust wide development of palliative pathways.

Skills

Leadership Skills

Flexible attitude

Ability to co-operate

Teaching ability

Clinical governance understanding

Education

Medical Degree

MRCP

MD or equivalent Higher Degree

Job description

Go back Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Consultant - Palliative Care

The closing date is 22 August 2025

The Specialist Palliative Care Team at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has an exciting opportunity to join their team as they are seeking to appoint an additional Specialist Palliative Care Locum Consultant with a specific focus on inpatient work. The successful candidate will join a clinical team of 2 Consultant Colleagues, 1 WTE Band 8a Practice Development Nurse, 7.2 WTE Band 7 Specialist Nurses and 2 WTE Band 6 Specialist Nurses cross site.

The Specialist Palliative Care Team are based at both Luton and Dunstable Hospital and Bedford Hospital and support patients across the hospital sites, visiting patients on the wards when required. The post holder will provide consultant advice in palliative care to specialist nurses, specialty doctors, GPs, consultant colleagues in other specialties and other health care professionals within the hospital as required. The Specialist Palliative Care Team at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust work closely with all hospice services within the area.

Main duties of the job

Provision with Consultant colleagues of a service to Luton and Dunstable Hospital with responsibility for providing and advising on Palliative Care within the hospital

To develop and provide an outpatient clinic once a week

About us

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides hospital services to a growing population of around 700,000 people living across Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas across two busy hospital sites in Bedford and Luton. Both hospital sites offer key services such as A&E, Obstetrics-led Maternity and Paediatrics. You will be joining a friendly, high performing Trust committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff. As one of the largest NHS Trusts in our region you will have access to a programme of high quality training and development to help you grow your career. The Trust continues to be committed to delivering the best patient care using the best clinical knowledge and technology.

Our Values

We not only recruit based on qualifications and experience - we recruit individuals who demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. We achieve this by using values based recruitment. We are dedicated to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone, we are committed to promoting equality and diversity, and creating a culture that values differences.

Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date when sufficient number of applications have been received. All new staff will be subject to a probationary period covering first 6 months in post. Travel between hospital sites may be required. Please review all documents attached to ensure you familiarize yourself with all requirements of the job.

Job responsibilities

Bedfordshire Hospitals Foundation Trust is an anchor organisation in the BLMK Integrated Care System. The Bedfordshire Care Alliance (BCA) is a collaborative of health and care providers working across the county of Bedfordshire to reduce inequalities and drive up improvements in population health outcomes. The BCA and BLMK ICB have both identified palliative and end of life care as a priority area. There is a recognition across system partners that we need to improve how we coordinate our services and also how we work together to avoid crisis hospital admissions. The BCA working group is developing a new model of care with our hospice collaborative and community partner organisations to support development of a coordination service and Gold virtual ward as well as an unscheduled care hub to support calls before hospital conveyance.

This post holder will be key to shaping further developments and building a team of medical expertise to work across acute, community and hospice services.

We recognise that consultant posts require variety and a balance of work both specialist/ subspecialty interest. We are therefore keen that any new post holder develops their interest and contributes to patient care across different settings.

The trust aims to design and implement services, policies and measures that meet the diverse needs of our service, population and workforce, ensuring that none are placed at a disadvantage over others.

To work with the palliative care team and wider team on Trust wide development of the palliative pathways

To work with the Community Teams and the wider system

To take part in research and education and looking at new ways to teach End of Life Care.

Cover for colleagues' annual leave and other authorised absences

Any responsibility, which relates to a special interest

Participating in medical audit, the Trusts Clinical Governance processes and in CPD

Willingness to undertake additional professional responsibilities at local, regional or national levels

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Medical Degree
• MRCP
• MD or equivalent Higher Degree or evidence of relevant research

Registration

• Full GMC Registration (GMC Licence to Practice is mandatory before employment commences)
• Entry onto the GMC Specialist Register: ?CCT (or within 6 months of receipt of CCT at time of interview) ?CESR - portfolio pathway (must be on Specialist Register at time of applying)

Clinical Experience

• Excellent all round experience of DGH work
• Evidence of thorough and broad training and experience in Palliative care
• Able to take full and independent responsibility for clinical work and delivering service without direct supervision.

Clinical Effectiveness

• Understanding of clinical governance and ability to demonstrate ongoing CPD
• Experience of guideline appraisal
• Participation in relevant local audits
• Ability to interpret and apply clinical research
• Participation in relevant national audits

Teaching

• Knowledge and ability to teach all grades of trainees and medical students
• Has attended Teaching the Teachers or similar course

Personal Skills

• Ability to co-operate in a democratic team environment
• Flexible attitude, team player with good management skills
• Leadership Skills

Clinical Governance

• Able to demonstrate a broad understanding of the principles and elements of clinical governance.

Personal Circumstances

• Residence within 10 miles by road or up to thirty minutes travelling time of the hospital for purposes of on-call emergencies.
• Fit to undertake the role with satisfactory Occupational Health clearance
• Satisfactory DBS clearance

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.

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

£105,504 to £139,882 a yearPer annum pro rata