Job Title:Specialty Doctor in Palliative Medicine Location:Inpatient Unit, Dorchester Hours of work:6 PA's (4 PA's would be considered) plus participation in on call rota Grade:Specialty Doctor - 2021 NHS pay scale Reports to:Consultant in Palliative Medicine Background Information Weldmar Hospicecare is an independent charity that provides specialist end of life care to patients and those that are important to them throughout Dorset. This care is given in the comfort of patients own homes by Weldmar Community Nurses and our Weldmar at Home team, via Day Services held across the county or as inpatients at our hospice in Dorchester. Our team of dedicated staff and volunteers ensure that we can continue to support patients through one of life's most difficult journeys. We work closely with other health care providers including the NHS to ensure that our patients receive the highest possible care. We do receive some funding from the NHS but the majority of our income is generated by our fundraising and retail teams, which plays a vital part in securing income to fund our care, both now and in the future. The principal clinical services are: A 12 bed inpatient unit in Dorchester serving some 300 people a year. A community based specialist palliative care service led by 13 specialist nurses. This supports some 650 patients each year. An MND service for people living with motor neurone disease Weldmar at Home service As a specialist palliative care service, we aim to enhance palliative care throughout Dorset by: Providing expert care that is centred on the patient and family. Providing multi-disciplinary advice and support. Delivering education and development programmes. Working in partnership with outside agencies to achieve an integrated service. Ensuring quality improvement by constant planned review. Continuing to work as a charity mainly supported by public donation in order to provide a service free to patients and solely based on clinical need. The service is provided by a wide range of staff fully committed to multi-disciplinary team working. As well as our inpatient unit, we have Community Palliative Care Nurse Specialists, Patient & Family Support Team, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Complementary Therapists and Wellbeing Support Sessions to support the Medical and Nursing teams. There is an active education programme, and we have a research link with the University of Southampton. We have a strong clinical governance structure to ensure our care is safe, evidence based, patient centred and effectively delivered. Current Medical team(all part time) 2 Consultants in Palliative Medicine 1 Associate Specialist 2 Specialty Doctors Plus 2 Advanced Nurse Practitioners Job Purpose The Specialty Doctor post is mainly concerned with providing continuity of medical support and care in the inpatient unit. However at times it may involve outpatients or domiciliary visits Scope and Limits of Authority The medical and nursing teams work very closely together. While the postholder will exercise their own professional judgement, the advice of other clinical and nursing staff will be important in informing their decisions. The postholder will therefore be consulting regularly with Weldmar Hospicecare's: Consultants in Palliative Medicine The Associate Specialist The Director of Clinical Services The lead nurses for the inpatient unit and community nurses Sound links with GPs and hospital based teams are also essential. Attendance at meetings of the Charity's Medical Staff is expected. Key areas of responsibility Admission of new patients Management of existing patients Community visits and Outpatient consultations at the IPU are undertaken at the request of the Community Palliative Care Nurse Specialists and primary care colleagues. Participation within the IPU in the MDT meetings and handovers Provision of advice and support by telephone to the Palliative Care Nurse Specialists in the Community and at Dorset County Hospital and to GPs as appropriate Full participation in professional activities including clinical audit, training and quality assessment activities Whilst the GPVTS doctors on placement are clinically supervised by the Consultants, the Specialty Doctors are expected to monitor and feed back any issues relating to their performance Commitment to meeting CPD requirements, with appropriate support to enable this Commitment and full participation in the annual performance appraisal process in line with GMC guidance. Line management will be provided by the Associate Specialist or Consultant. Participation in teaching for medical students from Southampton University and GPVTS doctors in association with the Consultants. 1:5 on call rota in support of the hospice and community teams 2nd on call cover for the ANPs (approx. once a year) Involvement in all aspects of clinical governance Participation in training Maintain computer skills especially in SystmOne