Specialty Doctor in Palliative Care

Specialty Doctor in Palliative Care

Responsible to:
Head of Medical Services

Salary:
Salary will be in line with NHS 2021 Specialty Doctor pay scale, in accordance with previous experience: £61,542 - £99,216

Hours:
• The Specialty Doctor will be expected to work the number of agreed sessions per week.
• A session is 4 working hours.
• The doctor is expected to participate in the on-call rota, which is non-residential.
• At weekends the doctor is expected to review inpatients as needed and admit any emergency patients.
• The on-call commitment will be reflected in the contract.

Place of Work:
• Mount Edgcumbe Hospice, St Austell and / or
• St Julias Hospice, Hayle

Job Role:
To work flexibly and collaboratively with all members of the hospice multidisciplinary team to provide day to day specialist palliative care to patients on the Cornwall Hospice inpatient units.



Organisational responsibilities:
Health & Safety - as an employee of Cornwall Hospice you will be expected to work safely and considering others who may be affected by your work activities. You will need to work in accordance with the Health & Safety Policy and to follow training you have been given when using any equipment, substance, safety device or safe system of work. All safety issues must be reported immediately to the appropriate manager.

Policies and procedures – awareness and compliance with the Cornwall Hospice’s policies and procedures.

Ambassador – you will be an ‘ambassador’ for Cornwall Hospice and ensure that whenever possible, you positively promote our purpose and values to the wider public.

IT – IT literacy is a skill which is required for all Cornwall Hospice positions as you will be expected to use the staff intranet and access information using our IT based procedures.

Confidentiality – you will be required to maintain strict confidentiality of all information relating to Cornwall Hospice, its patients, their relatives, staff, volunteers, business matters and shops.


Job specific duties and responsibilities:
The range of duties considered appropriate for the Specialty Doctor in Palliative Care is set out below. This list is not exhaustive, and the responsibilities will be regularly reviewed and adapted. This will occur at least annually during job planning. The postholder will be expected to be flexible.

Medical Management
The medical management of hospice inpatients to deliver specialist palliative care including:
• Undertaking a comprehensive holistic assessment on admission considering physical, psychological, social and spiritual aspects of care.
• To work collaboratively with other members of the medical team to review existing hospice inpatients and contribute to their daily ongoing care, under the guidance of local palliative care consultants who act as Responsible Clinicians, supported by Cornwall Hospice’s Specialist Doctor. This will include ongoing management of symptoms such as pain, and of the psychosocial effects of advanced illness, to establish a holistic therapeutic relationship to support patients and those close to them.
• To maintain comprehensive patient clinical records in line with Cornwall Hospice requirements to ensure that accurate and up to date information is always available for multi-disciplinary colleagues.
• To liaise with external multi-disciplinary healthcare professionals and relevant agencies to support effective and timely admission and discharge from the hospice as appropriate.
• To ensure timely accurate completion of referral to local medical examiner service and associated paperwork.
• Participate in the on-call rota for medical cover at both hospice sites.
• To engage in hospice quality improvements activities including clinical audit, clinical governance and policy review to ensure our hospice policies and procedures remain up to date with best practice in palliative care. The post holder will actively engage in efforts to improve patient safety, recognising the importance of continuous learning and improvement.
• To keep up to date with best practice in palliative care, to maintain personal continuing professional development, engaging with internal professional review, eternal annual appraisal and five-yearly revalidation with the requirements of the GMC.
• Maintain the standards of professional accountability as determined by the GMC.
• Contribute to Cornwall Hospice educational programmes including clinical support and training of hospice medical and nursing staff and provide support for clinical placements for medical students from the University of Exeter Medical School (UEMS) within limits of experience.
• To comply the Cornwall Hospice’s mandatory training requirements.

People & Culture
• Work across teams and departments to support effective communication and collaborative working through a ONETEAM philosophy.
• Demonstrate the behaviours expected to achieve the charity’s strategic objectives.
• Positively contribute to the cultivation of a work environment that attracts and retains great people, committed to the achievement of the strategic objectives.
• Nurture a culture of collaboration, innovation, commitment and resource efficiency to ensure the provision of exceptional patient care and support.
• Hold all staff and volunteers in positive regard and foster a culture of respect and consideration between all members of the charity.


General
This job description is intended to provide an outline of the duties and responsibilities of the post and is not exhaustive and may be amended periodically as necessary. The post holder may be asked to undertake other duties within the general level and scope of the post and to work at other Cornwall Hospice sites as required.