Hospice Doctor


Company:	NHS Jobs
Salary:	from £129.85 a day
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	Harrogate, HG2 8NA
Job type:	Contract
Posting date:	7 Oct 2026
Closing date:	21 Oct 2026

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Summary

Hospice Doctor On Call Job Description North Yorkshire Hospice Care is a registered charity in England and Wales (518905) with a family of services operating as Herriot Hospice Homecare, Just B, Saint Michaels Hospice and Talking Spaces. Saint Michael's Hospice is an established independent voluntary sector provider of a range of specialist and general palliative care services including a 10 bedded specialist palliative care inpatient unit. It also provides @Home care; HCA care for patients with fast track funding in the community, lymphoedema clinics, bereavement services for children and young people, as well as adults (Just B), a hospice Allied Health Professional outreach team, a volunteer visitor scheme and a specialist community based nurse for patients living with Motor Neurone Disease. Medical staffing within the hospice services consists of 1 part time Palliative Medicine consultant and 2 part time hospice doctors. Two hospice doctor posts are based on the inpatient unit. The medical team provides specialist palliative care as part of a wider multidisciplinary team with access to physiotherapy, occupational therapy and chaplaincy support. There is a weekly MDT meeting to plan patient care. Patients over the age of 18, with an advanced, progressive, terminal illness may be admitted to the inpatient unit for symptom control, terminal care and crises of care. The medical on call rota is up to a 1 in 7 frequency of weeknights and weekends. The role of the on-call doctor is to provide out of hours advice to hospice inpatient unit, community teams, Harrogate and District Foundation Trust (HDFT) hospital teams and Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS). Face to face reviews are provided when needed for the hospice inpatients out of hours. The weekday on call hours run from 5pm until 8am. Weekends on call involve seeing any hospice inpatients that require review on both days from approximately 9.30am until all required face to face reviews have been completed. There is access to advice from the 2nd on call Palliative Medicine Consultant, who can provide a further face to face assessment if required. This post is to fill a current vacancy on the on call rota. This is a permanent post subject to satisfactory completion of the 6 month probationary period. Support There is an opportunity to access the online symptom management tutorials that we will provide for the GP registrars on rotation at the hospice. There will be additional on call telephone and if needed face to face support provided by the hospice consultants for the first three months of the post. The hospice has a policy of a six-month probationary period for all employees with an organisational appraisal at the end of this period. Hospice (nonclinical) appraisals are conducted every 6 months. All doctors must share revalidation ready appraisal outputs with their line manager. Contact meetings are held every 2 months and can be conducted remotely. There is the opportunity to access the virtual journal clubs every month. The post holder is required to complete relevant hospice mandatory training on WeLearn (accessible from home). The hospice will recognise any relevant raining undertaken in other healthcare settings if evidence is provided. The post holder is encouraged to spend two whole days (paid) each year working on the inpatient unit alongside other doctors to help update clinical skills and knowledge. There is the offer to work on inpatient unit to cover leave and to increase knowledge and skills. Access to professional supervision is available for issues that arise from work related to the hospice. Depending on previous palliative medicine experience, we encourage the post holder to enroll on the European Certificate of Palliative Care home-based learning programme. This is run by St Gemmas Hospice and part funding may be available. The post holder must hold their own medical indemnity that will also cover the hospice work and provide evidence of this cover once appointed and annually thereafter. Job Plan Job Summary To provide effective, high quality medical care and advice for patients of Saint Michaels Hospice and the surrounding community as identified in the job plan. Key Objectives 1.To provide effective high-quality medical care for all inpatients within Saint Michaels Hospice whilst on call. 2.To participate in the hospice doctor first on call rota. 3.To provide effective medical advice and support over the telephone, ensuring palliative care support is available within the hospital and community to other members of the specialist palliative care services, generalist teams and Yorkshire ambulance service. Advice to be recorded using agreed template and care record system. 4.To play an effective role within the multi-disciplinary team to ensure that holistic care of a high standard is available to all patients. 5.To liaise with other health care professionals in hospitals and communities to ensure seamless provision of palliative care for the patients. 6.To commit to continuous professional development to extend knowledge and skills in specialist palliative care. 7.To attend and participate in team education and business meetings (quarterly). 8.To play an effective personal role in all structures and forms of clinical governance and outcome measurement to ensure the maintenance and development of high standards. To carry out all duties in accordance with the law, Hospice philosophy and Hospice policies on equal opportunity and collective responsibility. The above is indicative of the tasks required as at the date the job description was written, however it may be subject to change in line with service need and development. Terms and conditions Line managed by - Medical Director Line management - No line management responsibility Salary - Pro rata on call payment for on call duties undertaken. Hours - up to a 1 in 7 on call rota Location - North Yorkshire Hospice Care Person Specification Essential Education and Qualifications Registered doctor Essential Experience 2 years post registration experience Essential Knowledge Skill Excellent interpersonal skills Effective communication skills Good team player Understanding of collective responsibility Note and report writing skills Organising and planning skills Assessment skills Able to remain calm in situations of pressure Able to pay attention to detail Commitment to continuous professional development Commitment to clinical governance Essential Attributes Interest in Palliative Care Ability to work in a multi-disciplinary team setting Willingness to undertake mandatory training Ability to travel between sites An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and diversity

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