Locum Consultant in Palliative Medicine

Job description

Detailed job description and main responsibilities
• Provide an efficient and responsive clinical service for patients requiring supportive and palliative care.
• Deliver high-quality specialist palliative care within the hospital and community settings.
• Work as part of a multidisciplinary team to support patients and relatives across the palliative care pathway.
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships with key colleagues across community and hospital services.
• Participate in cross-clinical cover within other areas of the specialist palliative care service, including liaison with hospital teams.
• Contribute to strategic development and service improvement initiatives across the palliative care service.
• Participate in rota arrangements for the palliative care service as required.
• Provide clinical leadership and guidance within the palliative care team.
• Support education, training, and development opportunities for colleagues within the service.
• Contribute to the coordination and delivery of a 7-day visiting and on-call service, if the department has such arrangement in place.
• Engage in service-wide quality improvement, innovation, and integrated models of care.
• Provide specialist advice and support to other healthcare professionals managing palliative care needs.
• Participate in multidisciplinary meetings to review patient needs and optimise care planning.
• Ensure continuity and safety of patient care through effective documentation and communication.

Promote a compassionate, person-centred approach to end-of-life care across all clinical interactions.

Person specification

Education and Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Full registration with the General Medical Council (GMC) and licence to practise
• Inclusion on the GMC Specialist Register for Palliative Medicine, or within 6 months of CCT at the time of interview
• MBBS or equivalent primary medical qualification

Experience

Essential criteria

• Substantial experience delivering specialist palliative care within hospital and/or community settings
• Experience of managing complex symptom control and end-of-life care for patients with advanced illness
• Experience of working effectively within multidisciplinary and multi-agency teams
• Experience of providing senior clinical advice and support to other medical and nursing teams

Skills and Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Excellent clinical assessment and decision-making skills in palliative and supportive care
• Strong communication skills, including advanced communication with patients, families, and carers
• Sound knowledge of national guidance, standards, and best practice in palliative and end-of-life care
• Ability to contribute to service development, quality improvement, teaching, and clinical governance

Personal Qualities

Essential criteria

• Demonstrates compassion, empathy, and professionalism when caring for patients, families, and carers in emotionally complex and sensitive situations
• Able to work calmly and effectively under pressure, managing uncertainty and complex decision-making with resilience
• Strong team-working ethos, with the ability to build positive, collaborative relationships across multidisciplinary and multi-agency teams
• Committed to delivering high-quality, patient-centred care and upholding NHS values, equality, and dignity at all times

Recruitment Fraud Warning

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Trust does not charge any fees for job applications, recruitment processes, sponsorship arrangements or offers of employment.

All legitimate recruitment communications and applications will be made through our official careers website and published contact details. If you receive a job offer or recruitment communication requesting payment, please do not make any payment and verify it with us using the contact details published on our official careers website.

Important

• There may be some occasions when we have to close a vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date, this will be due to a high volume of applications. You are therefore advised to submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
• Please check your emails regularly (and your junk folder) as this is how we will communicate with you throughout the recruitment process.
• In submitting an application, you authorise the Trust to confirm any previous NHS service details via the Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process, should you be appointed to the post.
• During the recruitment process your identity documentation (ie passport, driving licence, visa etc) will be scanned using a device which recognises UV, infrared and machine-readable zone security features of the documents provided.
• Employment at the Trust is offered subject to successful completion of a six month probationary period.
• Some roles may require weekend shift working across multiple sites
• We operate a joint recruitment hub across the North West London Acute Provider Collaborative Group. As part of this, your application and personal data may be shared with partner trusts within the group for recruitment and workforce purposes, in line with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Right to work

If you need sponsorship to work in the UK, please visit the Home Office website for information on sponsorship and visa status before you fill in your application form. Due to recent changes in the UK immigration rules which affect Skilled Worker Visas, Global Business Mobility, Higher Skill Level and Increased Salary Thresholds, please ensure that you are able to meet the requirements to live and work in the UK before applying. Further information about eligibility is available on