Specialist Palliative Care Consultant

Merseywestlancs; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 110,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

On-call allowance

Job summary

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust invites applications for a Consultant in Palliative Medicine. The role is a new 10-session, full-time post based at Whiston Hospital/Prescot, with leadership duties across MWL and a 1:8 on-call commitment.

NHS terms apply, with strong governance and education responsibilities. The post requires GMC registration, MRCP (or equivalent), MBBS, and CCT within six months or eligible for Specialist Register.

Qualifications

• Experience in leading multidisciplinary teams in specialist palliative care.
• Fully registered with the General Medical Council and on Specialist Register, or within six months of CCT.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and strategic clinical governance for PEOLC services.
• Deliver safe, effective, patient-centred care across MWL.
• Contribute to clinical governance, education, and service development.
• Engage with colleagues across MWL, hospices, and community SPC teams.

Skills

Leadership

Governance

Audit

Education

Education

MBBS or equivalent medical qualification

MRCP or equivalent medical qualification

MD/PHD or equivalent medical qualification

GMC registration / Specialist Register

CCT within six months of interview

Job description

We want talented and enthusiastic people from all backgrounds to join #TeamMWL, with us you can learn, grow and develop yourself and your career, realising your true ambitions and aspirations.

Whatever you’re looking for in your career, you’ll find it here at MWL.

Main area Palliative Care Grade NHS Medical & Dental: Consultant Contract Permanent: 10 PA contract Hours Full time - 10 sessions per week (1:8 non-resident senior on call responsibility) Job ref 409-S8245178

Site Whiston Hospital Town Prescot Salary £109,725 - £145,478 per annum, pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 09/10/2026 23:59 Interview date 02/11/2026

Job overview

This post is for a new Consultant in Palliative Medicine. This is a new 10 session role, working alongside the current 0.6 FTE Clinical Lead for PEOLC in Whiston/MWL. The FT lead took partial retirement in February 2026 hence these the existing 6 session post.

It is a key leadership role with joint responsibility for the strategic and clinical care in MWL around PEOLC. The post holder will ensure the delivery of safe, effective, and patient centred specialist palliative care, while also contributing to clinical governance, education and service development. They will work in collaboration with the workforce in the other areas of MWL, and with the local Hospices and Community SPC Teams.

The post is wholly based within MWL with the contract held by Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Terms and Conditions are those of the NHS.

Applicants are required to hold Membership of the Royal College of Physicians or Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners (UK or equivalent qualifications), to be fully registered with the General Medical Council, and to be on the Specialist Register for Palliative Medicine via CCT or CESR route, or due to obtain their CCT within six months of the date of interview.

Main duties of the job

This is a 10 PA Full time post. 1DCC = 4 hours and includes time allocated for clinical administration tasks.

Timetable of Fixed Sessions – subject to agreement with Hospital Chief Medical Officer and Clinical Director for Specialist Palliative Care

The job plan is indicative and management, leadership, educational and clinical responsibilities can vary week to week.

10 sessions – 7.5DCC/ 2.5 SPA

MON

AM

Clinical Handover

MDT Ward Round

Clinical Reviews

DCC

Clinical Handover

Clinical reviews

DCC

Clinical Handover

MDT

Ward Round

Clinical Reviews

DCC

Clinical Handover

Clinical reviews

0.5 DCC

Clinical Handover

MDT

Clinical Reviews

0.5 SPA

PM

DCC

Outpatient Clinic (Face to face and Telephone

DCC

Outpatient Clinic (Face to face and Telephone

SPA 1.0

(including ES/CS supervision)

DCC

Outpatient Clinic (Face to face and Telephone

1.0 SPA

End of Life Steering Group (Monthly)

Working for our organisation

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

Our services:

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme.

You will be expected to undertake the Trusts' commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

On Call

The job plan includes a 1:8 non-resident senior on call responsibility (weekday and weekend) which attracts an 5%availability supplement. This provides primarily telephone support to specialty grade doctors for the Hospice in-patient unit, and the Community and Hospital Services via the 24-Hour Advice Line. Should the post holder be required to attend any site they will be compensated with time off in lieu.

The locality is seeking to increase the number of consultants for community and hospital services, and this may result in a reduction in on call frequency. This will be subject to a consultation

It is a requirement of the post that holders comply with Trustpolicies and procedures, have (and maintain) GMC registration / licensing and participate in a formal CPD programme (The Trust supports the requirements for Continuing Medical Education as laid down by the Royal College of Physicians and is committed to providing time and financial support for these activities). The post-holders must also participate in regular medical audit and in annual appraisal and job planning with the Clinical Director or one of the other qualified appraisers within the Trust. The Hospice will contribute to appraisal through feedback from the Chief Executive and Medical Director.

The Trust supports doctors going through the revalidation process and access to the RCP online CPD scheme.

The Trust has a policy to support access to mentorship

Please find attached Job Description and Person Specification for main responsibilities and role requirements.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Full GMC registration and on Specialist Register or within six months of receipt of Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) at time of interview
• Applicants that are UK trained, must ALSO be a holder of a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT), or be within six months of award of CCT by date of interview. Applicants that are non-UK trained, will be required to provide evidence of equivalence to the UK CCT on successful application
• MBBS or equivalent medical qualification
• MRCP or equivalent medical qualification
• MD/PHD or equivalent medical qualification

Knowledge and Experience

• Experience of the practice of specialist palliative care at a senior level and leadership of the multidisciplinary team
• Knowledge of clinical governance
• Able to lead Clinical Audit
• Proven leadership skills, including experience in managing change and motivating teams
• Understanding of NHS structure and function
• Understanding of the regulations that relate to and the requirements of CQC
• Research experience
• Experience of NHS finance and commissioning
• Experience of clinical networks acting as a representative of an organisation
• Engagement with management training/management course or qualification
• Experience of teaching/educational supervision

Skills

• Advanced Communication Skills
• Ability to drive service improvement
• Strategic thinker
• Excellent IT skills and knowledge of electronic patient record systems.
• Commitment to continuous personal development
• Ability to plan and prioritise own workload
• Ability to plan and prioritise own workload
• Commitment to Partnership working

Other

• Current Driving licence/use of car for work purposes
• Full indemnity cover

Thank you for considering an application to work for Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust. MWL is an exciting and forward-thinking NHS Trust who are one of the best places to work for in England.

Given sometimes we receive a high volume of applications to work for us, please be aware, that we may close a vacancy earlier than stated should a sufficient number of applications be received from which a shortlist can be confirmed. Therefore, you are advised to apply at your earliest convenience.

The Trust may contact you during the recruitment process for your feedback on your experience. We always aim for continuous improvement in our practice.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity, and respect for all individuals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and value the unique skills, perspective and experience you bring. We are grounded in the belief that diversity enhances our collective strength, fostering innovation and excellence within our workforce. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we commit to offering an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the