Locum Consultant in Palliative Medicine

NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.

The Tayside Palliative Care Service welcomes applications for a 6.5PA Locum Consultant post based at Roxburghe House, Dundee. This post represents an exciting opportunity to join the existing, dynamic multidisciplinary team at Roxburghe House Specialist Palliative Care Unit.

The successful applicant will join 2 established and experienced Consultants in providing shared clinical leadership for inpatients in Roxburghe House and the Dundee Specialist Palliative Care Community Service. 

Roxburghe House, Dundee

Roxburghe House is a purpose built NHS palliative care unit in the Royal Victoria Hospital, Dundee, which comprises of an 18 bed inpatient unit, Macmillan Day Services and a Specialist Community Palliative Service.   It is situated in the west of the city, less than one mile from Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, and serves the populations of Dundee and Angus.  There is a dynamic multidisciplinary team in Roxburghe House which works flexibly across care settings.   This includes medical staff, community palliative care nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, pharmacists, bereavement support workers, volunteers and volunteer manager, complementary, chaplain and service manager.

There is an established programme of undergraduate activity within Roxburghe House which includes Year 4 and Year 5 placements, and a highly commended Year 5 SSC programme. There are established post graduate training programmes in Palliative Medicine, GP and Foundation Training which rotate through Roxburghe House; it has been awarded multiple green flags for post graduate training by the GMC and has been formally recognised by NES Scotland for its quality of training and training environment.  

Tayside Specialist Palliative Care Service

The Tayside Specialist Palliative Care Service comprises a diverse medical workforce across Tayside, which includes 6 Consultants, FY, IMT and GP trainees, three Palliative Medicine STs, Clinical Fellows and an experienced team of Specialty Doctors. On call for weekends and weeknights is non-resident, 3^rd on call with a 5% availability supplement and a frequency of approximately 1 in 7 weekends.

NHS Tayside serves a population of approximately 415,000 people over the local councils of Perth and Kinross (151,000), Dundee (148,000) and Angus (116,000). It also accommodates patients from North East Fife (74,000). It is a large geographical area with its population scattered over an area of approximately 100 miles by 80 miles. Tayside Specialist Palliative Care Service aims to provide quality care appropriate to location [home, palliative care unit, nursing home or hospital] and level of complexity. Education and telephone advice for all health professionals are core activities of the service. The Tayside Specialist Palliative Care Service is hosted within the Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership but operates across four main clinical hubs: Angus Specialist Palliative Care Service, Roxburghe House & Dundee Specialist Palliative Care Service (18 inpatient beds), Ninewells Hospital Specialist Palliative Care Service and Perth and Kinross Specialist Palliative Care Service (10 inpatient beds in Cornhill Macmillan Unit).

There are strong links with Dundee Medical School with delivery of undergraduate education and a variety of post-graduate education events organised and delivered for Foundation doctors, GP trainees, Specialty Trainees and other Health and Social Care professionals.

Within the wider NHS Tayside Palliative Care Service there are a number of innovative developments taking place, in particular: The Macmillan Tayside Managed Clinical Network for Palliative and End of Life Care; an Acute Palliative Care Unit (3 beds) based in Ninewells Hospital; a Renal Supportive Care Service; an Interstitial Lung Disease Supportive Care Service; the ECHO (Enhanced Community Healthcare Outcomes) education project; Enhanced Community Care Innovation and a Master of Public Health (Palliative Care Research) Course and research links with the University of Dundee.

Tayside is a beautiful region with close proximity to countryside and coast, offering a perfect blend of urban and rural lifestyle. There are a number of easily accessible and attractive places to live, including Perth, St Andrews and Dundee.

Applicants must be fully registered with the General Medical Council and have CCT or CESR in Palliative Medicine.

Informal enquiries are welcomed by: Dr Elinor Brabin, Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Roxburghe House and Dundee Community Team , elinor.brabin@nhs.scot) and Dr Katharine Thompson, Clinical Lead in Palliative Medicine, Roxburghe House and Angus , katharine.thompson@nhs.scot).

For further information on how to apply