Locum Consultant in Palliative Medicine - Virtual Ward
This locum post has been created to expand our community palliative medicine Consultant provision in East Berkshire. The role offers an excellent opportunity to influence palliative and end of life care services, and to make a meaningful difference to people at the end of their life and their families. This post is based at Thames Hospice delivering Specialist Palliative Medicine across East Berkshire. The post will provide Consultant leadership to the 5 bed virtual ward alongside provision of specialist medical review for complex patients on the hospice at home caseload. As well as delivering consultant-led clinical services, the postholder will have the opportunity to lead on service development projects and participate in medical education.
The post holder will join a dynamic and supportive consultant team:
Dr Nick Dando (Medical Director 1.0 WTE), Dr Clare Statham (Lead Consultant in Palliative Medicine - 0.7 WTE), Dr Denise Forth (Consultant in Palliative Medicine 0.7 WTE), Dr Jenny Skinner (0.8 WTE split between Thames Hospice at Home and Wexham Park Hospital (WPH)).
Close working relationship with Dr. Fiona Lisney, Consultant in Palliative Medicine WPH.
Main duties of the job
1. To provide medical leadership and support the provision of holistic medical care to patients on the virtual ward, working closely with other members of the medical and wider multi-professional team as per a designated job plan.
2. To provide medical support to the Community team through advice, caseload reviews and domiciliary visits or outpatient appointments.
3. To support and supervise medical staff (Specialty Doctors, Clinical Fellows, GP trainees and FY2 doctors) in their day to day practice in the community.
4. To participate in weekly Community Specialist Palliative Care Multidisciplinary Team meetings.
5. To provide Consultant cover to the inpatient unit when needed as part of wider Consultant cover across the hospice.
6. The post holder will participate in the delivery of educational projects and training programmes at the hospice.
7. Participate in regular clinical, audit and team meetings.
8. Be encouraged to actively identify areas for quality improvement and audit, and to lead on these projects.
9. Support service improvement projects and audits in progress, including mentorship of junior doctors in this region.
10. Be encouraged to identify areas for research and where possible link into research projects.
About us
Thames Hospice is a state of the art, leading UK Hospice providing specialist palliative and end-of-life care to adults and teenage & young adults (16 years onwards) with advanced life-limiting illnesses, as well as support for their loved ones and carers. Situated by Bray Lake, between Windsor and Maidenhead, the Hospice is set in stunning grounds surrounded by landscaped gardens and breath-taking lake views. The Hospice offers a unique range of services to meet the growing needs of our local community, acting as a regional hub for specialist palliative care services at our 28-bed Inpatient Services, Hospice Outpatient Services and Hospice at Home Services. The three clinical divisions are underpinned by our Counselling, Pastoral and Bereavement Services and Medical team.
This is an exciting time to join our organization, as we expand and develop our services to provide the best quality care and support to individuals and their families facing life limiting illness and approaching the end-of-life. The Hospice serves the diverse population of East Berkshire and South Buckinghamshire, and has excellent links with the local acute trust Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust.
Person Specification
Qualifications
* Full registration with the GMC MRCP/MRCGP or equivalent
* Other higher degree or diploma
Personal attributes
* Ability to organise time effectively and meet deadlines
* Experience of taking responsibility for own actions and know when to seek advice appropriately
* Ability to remain calm under pressure
* Be a skilled communicator, with a commitment to continuous improvement
* Ability to develop effective and supportive relationships with colleagues
* Have an interest in complex decision-making and ethical issues, working as part of a team and with patients and families to find the best approach
* Commitment to Thames Hospice Values
* Advanced Communication Skills training
Clinical Expertise & Ability
* To have a CCT or equivalent experience in palliative medicine or be within six months of achieving such at the time of interview
* Excellent clinical skills in specialist palliative care
* Proven ability to efficiently and sensitively manage patients with complex physical, psychological, spiritual and social problems
* Ability to respond sensitively to needs of carers, relatives and friends of people with palliative care needs
* Proven ability to work well within a multidisciplinary team and support others to flourish
* Ability to work sensitively within a multicultural community
* A creative and imaginative approach to service delivery and improvement
Administrative and management
* Evidence of management and leadership skills or training
* Ability to effectively organise, prioritise and manage clinical workload
* Computer literacy and IT skills
* Ability to lead multi-professional teams and be able to work effectively within such teams
* Experience supervising junior medical staff
* Be skilled at encouraging and giving feedback
* Proven experience of management in a clinical area
* Ability to support advanced practitioners from other professional groups develop new skills
Clinical governance audit & research
* An understanding of and proven abilities in clinical audit
* An understanding of the importance of continuous professional development and life-long learning and commitment thereto
* An understanding of and a proven ability to apply research findings to individual patients or populations of patients
* Proven ability and commitment to carry out high quality research leading to publication
* Experience of drafting or contributing to multi-professional / multi-agency clinical guidelines or care pathways
Teaching
* Ability and commitment to teach in a clinical and academic setting
* Ability and commitment to teaching various clinical disciplines
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.
Depending on experience NHS Consultant pay scale (depending on experience)
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