Job Description

Are you an experienced palliative care practitioner with a strong work ethic and an interest in leadership?



If you answered yes, we've got the perfect role for you!



We are looking for a dedicated individual with robust clinical expertise, excellent communication skills and significant experience to lead our Hospital Palliative Care Team, providing a high quality in-reach service to inpatients within the acute trust.



This role involves good partnership working with the End of Life Care Team at the hospital, working together to promote good palliative and end of life care for patients admitted with acute illness.



The successful applicant will provide leadership and support to our existing team within Medway Foundation Trust. The role will focus predominantly on managing the team but there will also be a requirement to work clinically to maintain skills and demonstrate positive role-modelling.



Working hours will be Monday - Friday 08:30 - 16:30 .



All Team Leads also participate in an on-call rota for the wider Hospice service.



Please ensure that your supporting statement evidences your aptitude and enthusiasm for the role as this will form part of the shortlisting process.



This role is a split clinical / management role, approximately 70:30, but will be dependent on service needs.



Would you like to know more? Please contact us or pop in for a chat!



Clinical responsibilities include assessing physical and psychological presentation and subsequent planning of treatment programmes or providing support, advice and guidance to primary healthcare providers. The post holder will be a non-medical prescriber to allow for

effective and efficient medicines management in the acute and community teams, and facilitate swift transfers to the Wisdom Hospice IPU. They will also be ensuring that patients and their families are well educated in order to make informed decisions. The caseload is varied and

includes neurological, respiratory, fragility as well as cancer. The post holder will have the opportunity to work in the community to ensure full understanding of pathways and networks to

ensure high quality evidence-based outcomes are achieved with the patient and their loved ones at the centre. The post holder will be expected to participate in delivering structured / planned and ad hoc education programmes / teaching to a wide variety of healthcare professionals.



The post holder will have a key leadership and management role within the HPCT in order to ensure that a consistently high standard of patient and family / carers services are delivered across the team / service.

The post holder will participate in the palliative care managers on call rota.



If the post holder is not a NMP they will be expected to undertake this training as a clinical development, although this is not dependent on their grade.



So what else?



This is your chance to join a progressive and innovative service in a social enterprise that is patient and staff focused - you'll even have the opportunity to become an MCH shareholder.



We encourage staff to get involved in exploring new ways of working and service development.



We'll provide well established, in-service training, one to one supervision, and appraisals with regular support.



You'll be able to develop your skills in a friendly and supportive team.



Would you like to work flexibly? In the NHS, we are reminded every day of how important work life balance is. As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us, for our patients and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement.



The small print



Informal visits can be arranged on request.



We will offer you the choice of two pension schemes; the NHS Pension scheme and the scottish widows group pension scheme.



MCH encourages all staff to be double COVID vaccinated to protect themselves, their colleagues, their family and their patients.



Role requirement and person specification



Qualifications, training, knowledge and experience

Essential:

Degree in nursing/physiotherapy/paramedical sciences



Advance Communications



Advance clinical assessment and consultation skills



Non-medical prescribing qualification



Working in a specialist palliative care environment

Desirable:

Previous experience of line management service development and working across various settings



MSc in palliative care



Communication skills

Essential:

Provide and receive highly complex, sensitive or contentious information



There may be barriers to understanding and acceptance exacerbated by disease progression, or its speed, or prognosis, in a highly emotive atmosphere. Negotiation, education, empathy and reassurance will be needed to reach agreement or understanding.



Information may be received from or given to patients, family or other health and social care professionals in own organisation or externally



Advocating for patients / clients wishes as these may not be the same as others



Analytical and judgement skills

Essential:

Ability to analyse complex situations with multiple options and make plans to support staff with this process too.



Full JD and person specification can be found in attachments