Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical

1. Provide highly specialist, expert clinical knowledge and support to colleagues, patients and carers at the Trust and Network-wide.
2. Independently assess, implement, and evaluate patients with complex and intractable problems through the use of holistic needs assessment.
3. Ensure that all patient records both written and electronic are accurate.
4. Practice as a non-medical prescriber.
5. Independently deliver significant news to patients with complex psychological needs and support both patients and their carers. Demonstrate advanced communication skills when dealing with difficult or challenging situations. 
6. Manage clinical caseload, prioritising patient need across in-patient and out-patient settings (including the Enhanced Supportive Care clinics) to enable rapid response to calls for urgent advice.
7. Lead multi-disciplinary discussions on current caseload within the Trust to ensure continuity and co-ordination of optimum patient care.
8. Negotiate effectively with clinical colleagues across ward/departmental areas and the wider community.
9. Participate in the provision of out-of-hours specialist palliative care advice and 7 day working as per rota and operational policy.
10. Work collaboratively with other professionals and agencies across Greater Manchester to ensure patient needs are met, especially in relation to on-going supportive and palliative care needs and discharge arrangements.
11. To be flexible to the changes within the Supportive Care Team and within the organisation. 

Managerial and Clinical Leadership.

1. Provide specialist, palliative care knowledge to clinical colleagues, patients and carers/relatives both within and outside the Trust.
2. Evaluate service delivery; identify areas for improvement and initiate change. Collate and record quantitative and qualitative data to provide evidence of productivity, outcomes and quality, through audit and research and provides Macmillan with an annual report demonstrating the evidence.
3. Assist in the development of bids to support supportive and palliative care service developments within the Trust.
4. Guide, influence and implement palliative care policy development and implementation within the Trust.
5. Support the development of supportive and palliative care services at local, regional and national level through active representation on appropriate multi-disciplinary forums.
6. Initiate and support clinical developments/projects to promote excellence in     patient care. Participate in Macmillan bi-annual service reviews in order to drive service improvement.
7. Provide and receive clinical supervision and mentorship to facilitate reflective practice.
8. Collate, develop and evaluate statistics on the Supportive Care Service to ensure the delivery of a high quality cost-effective service. 

Education and Development.

1. To act as part of a specialist resource team within the hospital and assist with the assessment of palliative care training needs across the range of disciplines.
2. Maintain up to date, high standards of palliative care skills and knowledge and maintain awareness of professional/national issues.
3. Maintain advanced communication skills.
4. Identify supportive and palliative care training needs Trust-wide and implement and evaluate continuous teaching programme accessible to colleagues within the multi-disciplinary team.
5. Provide evidenced based education, information and training for a range of disciplines both internally and externally to the organization.
6. Facilitate the development of ongoing training needs and policies to ensure the sustainability of National and local policy and projects.
7. Maintain a professional portfolio
8. Disseminate best practice through presentation at regional, national and international palliative care/oncology conferences. Provide written and verbal feedback to colleagues.
9. Act always in accordance with NMC Code of Conduct and guiding documents.
10. Contribute to and participate in Service Reviews.

Clinical Governance.

1. Collaborate and actively participate in clinical audit and research to influence standards of palliative care and disseminate findings through presentation to professional groups.
2. Contribute to the writing of protocols relevant to specialist palliative care.
3. Promote patient and public involvement activities in the specialist area, leading to service improvement.
4. Promote people’s equality, diversity, and rights to shape appropriate service provision that is equitable and accessible.