Job summary
Employer heading
Consultant in Palliative Medicine
Consultant
Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest and largest NHS foundation trusts in the country, with around 15,000 staff and an annual budget of £1.6 billion.
We have a long history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, and innovation in medical research regionally, nationally and internationally.
We’re in the top five providers of specialised health services in the country, supporting people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.
Our staff oversee around 6,500 patient contacts each day, delivering high standards of healthcare.
We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.
Newcastle Hospitals are proud to be one of the exemplar organisations across the NHS on sustainability, with a long history of delivering Sustainable Healthcare in Newcastle (Shine) and the first healthcare organisation in the world to declare a climate emergency. Our strategy includes commitments to being Net Zero by 2030, for our direct carbon footprint, and Net Zero by 2040 for our footprint plus. Delivering these ambitions will not be possible without the help, support and action of every single member of our team.
Job overview
We are delighted to be able to offer an opportunity for a highly motivated, ambitious individual to join the Newcastle Hospitals Palliative Care Service. This is a trust wide service working as 4 teams across RVI, FRH, NCCC and Newcastle Community, including into Care Homes. The service includes medical, nursing and psychology specialists. The successful candidate will primarily be based within one of the palliative care teams for clinical and strategic work; however, they are expected to cover any of the hospital or community sites as needed.
This post commences from April 1st 2026 and attracts 8.5 PAs for in hours NUTH work.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will join a team of Palliative Medicine Consultants working within the NUTH Palliative Care Service. This is a liaison service, consisting of doctors, a senior nurse, nurse specialists, health care assistants, psychologists and admin staff, which supports the delivery of high quality palliative and end of life care to patients within Newcastle Hospitals and those living in Newcastle community.
The post holder will work with a variety of clinicians in caring for adult palliative patients with cancer and non-cancer diagnoses within the Newcastle hospitals and in Newcastle community. Working alongside other specialists working within Newcastle hospitals and General Practice, the service supports proactive planning as well as reactive treatment and care, aiming to improve the quality of life and death for patients and their carers across Newcastle. The post holder will also be involved in teaching, training, research, audit, and strategic work within the Trust and with partner organisations.
The successful applicant will be involved in the development of a supportive care model and service, supporting the holistic care of patients receiving care at the Cancer Centre.
The post holder will also contribute to the out of hours on call service which is non-resident and provides advice and guidance to prescribers to all hospital sites and across Newcastle community.
Working for our organisation
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
Our staff oversee over 6,500 patient contacts every day, delivering high standards of healthcare from the following sites:
• Freeman Hospital
• Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)
• Health Innovation Neighbourhood (on the former Newcastle General Hospital and Centre for Ageing and Vitality site)
• Newcastle Dental Hospital
• Newcastle Fertility Centre
• Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria
• Northern Genetics Service
• Cramlington Manor Walks
These include a range of flagship services which deliver cutting-edge care (supported by state-of-the-art diagnostic services in both radiology and pathology) and are a catalyst for innovation to support pioneering clinical practice in the NHS.
We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.
Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under ‘Documents to download’ or ‘Supporting documents’.
For further information on The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please visit: Careers | Newcastle Hospitals | NHS | Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Clinical:
· Provide direct clinical care to patients and their families
· Support the palliative care nurse specialists to deliver care to patients and families through MDT, advice and joint visiting
· Provide advice and support to referrers to the service
Person specification
Education, Qualifications and Specialist Skills
Essential criteria
- Primary Medical Qualification.
- Full GMC Registration.
- Entry onto the GMC Specialist Register (within 6 months from the date of the AAC).
- Higher medical qualification: MRCP, FRCA, MRCGP
Desirable criteria
- Higher Degree.
- Special skills training in the specialty.
Clinical Experience
Essential criteria
- Evidence of experience in palliative care in hospital, community and hospice settings.
- Evidence of a substantial commitment to the specialty.
- Ability to offer an expert clinical opinion within the speciality, and to liaise with other specialists to support the clinical care of patients referred to the service.
- Ability to take independent responsibility for the clinical care of patients within the hospice when providing on-call cover.
Management and Administration Experience
Essential criteria
- Involvement with management and project leadership within the specialty.
- An understanding of Clinical Governance
Desirable criteria
- Proven management and administrative experience and understanding of management goals.
- Evidence of leadership / project management.
- Evidence of having implemented change.
- Evidence of involvement in authoring or reviewing clinical guidelines.
Teaching
Essential criteria
- Experience of supervising junior medical staff.
- Experience of formal and informal teaching and training of undergraduate and postgraduate doctors, nurses and allied health professionals.
- Ability to teach clinical / technical / practical skills.
Desirable criteria
- Attendance at courses to develop teaching skills
- Postgraduate qualification in medical education.
Research
Essential criteria
- Evidence of significant research commitment and experience.
Desirable criteria
- Higher degree.
- Publications/presentations in the last five years.
- Research/critical review of literature.
Audit
Essential criteria
- Evidence of participation in audit.
Desirable criteria
- Evidence of having changed practice as a result of audit.
- Evidence of having revisited the audit to assess improvement.
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Victoria Cowan
- Job title
- HR Advisor
- Email address
- victoria.cowan2@nhs.net
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