West Wales is seeking a consultant in palliative medicine to deliver excellent and improving care and experience for our population. Hywel Dda covers the population of Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion and you will work as part of a team of 5 consultants with a dedicated focus on delivery in Pembrokeshire as part of a local multi-disciplinary team.

There are 10 PAs per week available substantively and your principal place of employment will be Withybush GeneralHospital in Haverfordwest. You will also support community services and beds in South Pembrokeshire Hospital and Tenby Cottage Ward. We support flexible working, as balance in life is important, and we are keen to discuss ways you can make the most from living in our fantastic corner of Wales.

We have an ambitious Palliative and End of Life Care Strategy recently approved by the Board and this will offer opportunities for development, innovation and further specialisation. This is a replacement post and you will join colleagues in a dynamic and forward looking Specialist Palliative Care Team.

Main duties of the job

There is an opportunity to provide clinical leadership to a team of Clinical Nurse Specialists, Therapists and Medics whilst working with wider team members to ensure a strong, positive and curious team. Teaching, research, audit and improvement are supported and we are keen to find a candidate interested in further developing undergraduate and post graduate placements.

Key clinical duties include providing Consultant support to medical colleagues in Withybush General Hospital, intermediate care GPs in South Pembrokeshire Hospital and Tenby Cottage Ward and those cared for at home by their GPs and community nursing teams.

There are 24 hour, 7 day per week Intermediate Care Services across the Health Board which support the community based needs of the population. Consultant and CNS on-call cover supports this. There is no Specialist Palliative Care in-patient facility in Pembrokeshire however, a specialist purpose-built in-patient unit, Ty Bryngwyn is located in Prince Philip Hospital, Llanelli.

The Pembrokeshire specialist palliative care team works out of dedicated office on the Withybush General Hospital site and currently consists of:

• 1 consultant (working as part of a wider Health Board consultant team)
• 1 full time speciality doctor
• 1 Clinical Lead Nurse
• 8 WTE Clinical Nurse Specialists
• 1 Band 7 Specialist OT
• 1 part-time specialist palliative care pharmacist
• Service Level Agreements for Hospice at Home, Respite and Bereavement support

About us

Hywel Dda University Health Board is the planner and provider of NHS healthcare services for people in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and its bordering counties. Our 11,000 members of staff provide primary, community, in-hospital, mental health and learning disabilities services for around 390,000 people across a quarter of the landmass of Wales. We do this in partnership with our three local authorities and public, private and third sector colleagues, including our volunteers, through:

Four main hospitals: Bronglais General in Aberystwyth, Glangwili General in Carmarthen, Prince Philip in Llanelli and Withybush General in Haverfordwest

Seven community hospitals: Tenby and South Pembrokeshire Hospital Health and Social Care Resource Centre in Pembrokeshire; Amman Valley and Llandovery in Carmarthenshire and Tregaron, in Ceredigion.

48 general practices (four of which are managed practices), 47 dental practices (including three orthodontic), 99 community pharmacies, 44 general ophthalmic practices (43 providing Eye Health Examination Wales and 34 low vision services) and 17 domiciliary only providers and 11 health centres

Numerous locations providing mental health and learning disabilities services

Highly specialised and tertiary services commissioned by the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee, a joint committee representing seven health boards across Wales

Job description
Job responsibilities

The Health Board is planning to build a new hospital located between St Clears and Narberth within the next 7-10 years as part of the transforming clinical services strategy. This hospital will provide A&E, urgent and planned care. We have been invited to be involved with early discussions about the SPC services that may be provided in the new hospital and this offers an exciting opportunity to reconsider SPC provision across the Health Board and what that might look like with a new acute hospital site.

The successful candidate for this Consultant post will be eligible to hold an Honorary Academic title at a partner university on the understanding that they will participate in undergraduate teaching, including acting as an examiner, and support and facilitate research activities in an appropriate university faculty and school. They will take direction in these activities via the appropriate academic lead. The agreement to define the Honorary Academic responsibilities and associated programmed activities in relation to teaching time and research will be negotiated jointly between the post holder, the university and the Health Board. It will form part of the successful candidates job plan. The award of the Honorary Academic contract will be dependent upon a formal application being submitted to the university in accordance with the Honorary Appointments procedures and will be available on a fixed term basis subject to satisfactory performance in the academic activity undertaken.

For full details of the role requirements please see attached Job Description and Person Specification for this vacancy.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Full GMC Registration and Licence to Practice
• On Specialist Register/SpR due to obtain relevant CCT/CESR(CP) within 6 months of interview
• MRCP
• Valid certified advanced life support skills

Desirable

• Appropriate higher degree, MD, PhD or MSc or equivalent
• SCE Palliative Medicine

Clinical Experience
Essential

• Broad based experience in Palliative Care
• Knowledge of UK hospital systems (or equivalent)
• Knowledge and participation in CPD
• Competence in Palliative Medicine
• Able to apply knowledge
• Safe and effective written and verbal communication skills
• Knowledge and experience of communicating bad news
• Meet the requirement of the GMC's Good Medical Practice

Desirable

• Experience of NHS
• Wider experience, research and training in providing sub specialty service
• Evidence of above average performance
• Membership of the Association for Palliative Medicine
• Additional clinical qualification(s)

Clinical Governance
Essential

• Evidence of participation in clinical audit and understanding role of audit in improving medical practice
• Comprehension of core philosophy and building blocks of Clinical Governance

Desirable

• Knowledge of risk management
• Knowledge of annual job planning/appraisal review process

Research
Essential

• Evidence of participation in clinical audit and understanding role of audit in improving medical practice

Desirable

• Evidence of initiating, progressing and concluding research projects with publication
• Research degree

Teaching
Essential

• Evidence of organising programmes and teaching medical students and junior doctors
• Willingness to teach all grades of professional multidisciplinary staff

Desirable

• Organisation of further teaching programmes in medical education
• Training the Trainers experience

Management
Essential

• Knowledge of the management and structure of the NHS
• Willingness to participate in clinical management

Desirable

• Evidence of management training

BMJRef: BMJ-114967/100-MED-WGH-113