Specialty Doctor in Palliative Care

Hours:   This role can be offered as a whole time equivalent of 37.5 hours or on a job share basis. Please state the number of hours and days you would like to work in your application. You will also be part of the on-call rota up to a maximum 1 in 6 weekends and weeknights.

About the role

We are seeking a dedicated, enthusiastic and highly motivated speciality doctor in palliative medicine to join our palliative medical team. You will work with us across our Hospice services - including in the inpatient unit, day services, and community as required.

If you're passionate about providing high-quality end-of-life care and are eager to contribute to our value-driven organisation, we encourage you to apply.

You will provide medical care for patients on our inpatient unit, where patients are admitted for symptom control and/or for end-of-life care. You will have the opportunity to participate in research/audit projects, teaching junior doctors, medical students, nursing staff and develop your own knowledge through the strong team setting.

Your main responsibilities will include:

• Ensuring that patient care is of the highest quality and always delivered with compassion and respect.
• Responsibility for the evidence-based assessment, planning, delivery, and evaluation of medical care for in-patient, day service, and community patients. 
• Demonstrating advanced empathetic interpersonal and communication skills in dealing with patients and carers through the patient experience.
• Managing referrals to the in-patient ward and the allocation of beds with the consultants and ward nurses.

To get full details on what the role includes please read the attached Job Description, call the recruiting manager for an informal chat, or come and visit us.

About you:

We encourage applicants from a wide variety of clinical settings with a motivation for delivering the highest standards of Palliative Care and commitment to continuous improvement and personal development. We hope to recruit someone with experience of working with terminally ill patients, and ideally with experience of working within specialist palliative care (but not essential). This is an ideal opportunity for a doctor with a special interest in Palliative Medicine and end of life care. The post would suit someone wishing to pursue a career or gain experience in this rewarding speciality, or a GP looking to develop a portfolio career or considering a complete change of speciality.

Support with training and ongoing professional development will be provided as appropriate.

Skills and experience required:

• GMC registration
• Experience of working in palliative care
• Evidence of involvement in Multidisciplinary Team Working
• Experience of working in a hospital/hospice environment

About Ashgate:

Ashgate Hospice is a registered charity that provides compassionate, specialist palliative and end of life care, free of charge, to patients with a life-limiting illness and their families across North Derbyshire. Our values are at the heart of everything we do at Ashgate. They are grounded in our commitment to being the best we can be for our patients and the people who are important to them, and for each other. We are compassionate. We are a team. We are respectful, open, and inclusive.

We are proud of our Outstanding CQC rating and our recent RCN award-winning in-patient unit and have ambitious plans for high quality and sustainable patient care.

We’re committed to providing a happy, safe, and supportive environment for all our people which is why nearly 4 out of 5 of our staff would recommend us as a place to work. We recognise the need to support our employees’ well-being including their work-life balance, which is why we are open to, and encourage flexible working arrangements, including job-sharing.

As a valued member of the team, you will have a wide range of training and development available to support your own personal, professional development, opening doors to new career pathways.

Please visit our website and social media accounts or listen to our podcast “The Life and Death Podcast” to get a feel for what it is like to be part of the Ashgate team and gain an understanding of the people we support.

  Some of our current benefits include:

• A highly compassionate and supportive working environment
• A highly compassionate and supportive working environment
• A wide range of initiatives to support your wellbeing, and the time out to practice self-care
• Generous holiday entitlement
• Annual Buy and Sell annual leave scheme
• A progressive approach to flexible working to help meet your and our needs
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Tech Benefit Salary Sacrifice Scheme
• Westfield Health Cash Plan includes free annual eye tests, dental checks and money back for a range of treatments and therapies
• Access to a free, confidential Employee Assistance Program
• Free access to Westfield Rewards, offering discounts from hundreds of retailers
• Pension scheme with 7% employer contribution
• Life assurance scheme
• Total commitment to your learning and development
• Ample, free parking when working onsite

What next:

If you would like to find out more about the role, please contact Dr Anne-Marie Carey (Consultant Palliative Medicine) through Ashgate Hospice medical secretaries on 01246 568801 or via email: a.carey@nhs.net. You can arrange to visit the Hospice to see what it would be like to work with us.

Please note we only accept applications via the ‘Apply now’ button on our website. Please do not send your application to HR or the recruiting manager.

Any candidate who identifies themselves as disabled will be shortlisted if they meet the essential criteria for the role. Essential criteria can be found in the job description and person specification for the role. If you require any accessibility adjustments, please contact a member of the HR team at hr@ashgatehospice.org.uk or by calling 01246 568801

If successful, you will be required to have a DBS check carried out as part of the conditional pre-employment checks. For more information, please refer to the candidate assistant notes.

As a healthcare provider, it is very important to us that our staff have the annual flu jab and are fully vaccinated against COVID 19. It is our expectation that all of our staff will have the vaccinations unless there are strong compelling reasons why not. We believe that having the vaccination not only protects you but also helps us to keep our patients, staff and visitors safe.