Consultant in Palliative Medicine

Job overview

An opportunity has arisen to join our team at Ipswich Hospital in the Palliative Medicine Department as part of the Medicine and Community Ipswich and East Suffolk (MACIES) division. We are inviting applications for a position in Palliative Medicine with up to one full time position available.

Applicants will have completed CCT or equivalent (Portfolio Pathway) and must be on the Specialist Register.

On call

The On-call commitment is approximately 1 in 8 second on call withan availability supplement. This provides telephonic medical and symptom control advice to St Elizabeth Hospice, Ipswich Hospital, West Suffolk Hospital and St Nicholas Hospice Care in Bury St Edmunds, James Paget Hospital (Gorleston), and community calls in Suffolk and the Great Yarmouth and Waveney area. This may involve taking calls from GPs, hospital doctors, nurses or allied healthcare professionals.

This is compensated as per national contractual arrangements, by at least a 3% supplement. The frequency of on call may change due to the number of consultants on the rota with the remuneration adjusted according to frequency and intensity as per national contract arrangements with compensatory rest accommodated as per national guidelines.

Main duties of the job

Clinical responsibilities

The key duties and responsibilities are:

• General responsibilities including participation in the consultant on-call rota
• Outpatient clinics
• Medical input to ward patients with clinical ladership for palliative and end of life care
• Advice and support to Specilaist Nurses and clinical team members
• Input to MDT meetings within the speciality
• Teaching- responsibilities will be divdied between the clinical team. There are oportunities for teaching of medical students, Foundation year doctors, IMT trainees and many other professional groups as needed
• Other care of inpatients or outpatients
• Clinical and other administration as required by agreement
• Teaching and training of junior staff and undergraduates
• Participation in clinical governance
• Liaison with primary and secondary care as appropriate to ensure continuity of medical care and at times be available to advise and support in the management of palliative patients transferred to the community setting

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The consultants share the workload fairly between them as best is possible, and each consultant has designated non-clinical time.  It is recognised that administrative tasks will also be performed flexibly on other days, if other medical staff are not available, the post holders may have to take on other additional clinical commitments, as required.  The job plan may be amended by negotiation with the Specialty lead and the other consultants. It is expected that approximately 3-6 specialist palliative care patients would be seen per typical PA.

For each 10 Programmed Activities (PA) 7.5 PAs are designated for clinical care and indirect clinical care including clinical administration, MDTs and meeting relatives. 2.5 PA’s will be for supporting professional activities (these will be worked flexibly to cover revalidation including personal development, education, or research, support/supervision of trainees, management and teaching as appropriate to agreed role).