Consultant in Palliative Medicine

This is a post for Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust. The successful candidate will work with the existing palliative medicine consultant and support the Specialist Palliative Care (SPC) and Enhanced supportive Care (ESC) services on both sites of the Trust. The post is part of the Oncology directorate and the post will be based at Maidstone hospital, the main site for Kent Oncology services.

Main duties of the job

1. To provide a high standard of care to any patient for whom you have clinical responsibility. This will include any patients referred to you and cared for by you personally or by members of your team, and, in addition, any patients of consultant colleagues when you are covering on-call or for annual leave.

2. To participate in clinical and other service activities and development to ensure a high standard of patient care across the Trust.

3. To work in close co-operation with other medical, professional and managerial colleagues, both within and outside the speciality, to provide high-quality health care to the Trust's patients, and to contribute to future thinking about the Trust's strategic direction.

4. To participate fully in and share leadership of the clinical governance of the speciality covering its Trust-wide activities. To attend clinical governance half-days as detailed in the Trust's Guide to job planning, unless on agreed leave or while attending emergencies.

5. To participate actively in departmental audits, sharing co-ordination of audit activities within the department and implementation of change.

About us

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust ranks among the top 10 NHS Trusts nationwide and was named the second-best Trust to work for in the South East in the 2023 and 2024 NHS Staff Survey.

We are a large acute hospital trust in south-east England, providing general hospital services and specialist care to around 600,000 residents in West Kent and East Sussex. With a dedicated and diverse team of over 8,000 staff we are proud to offer specialised cancer services to over two million people through the Kent Oncology Centre.

Fordcombe Hospital, near Tunbridge Wells, became part of the Trust in October 2024. Specialising in planned care, it offers two operating theatres, 28 inpatient and day-care beds, diagnostic services (X-ray, MRI, CT, and endoscopy), and consultation/treatment rooms.

Looking for flexible working?We are a flexible working-friendly organisation. Whether it's adjusting your hours or exploring other flexible arrangements, we want to work with you to find the best solution for you, our patients, and the Trust. Talk to us about how we can accommodate your working needs.

Joining us includes a comprehensive benefits package:

• Generous annual leave entitlement
• Membership in the NHS Pension Scheme, with a employer contribution of 23.7% and life assurance benefits
• Blue Light card eligibility
• And more, additional benefits can be found in the benefits documents below

Details

Date posted

05 October 2026

Pay scheme

Hospital medical and dental staff

Grade

Consultant

Salary

£113,565 to £150,569 a year

per annum pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

359-8208562ONC

Job locations

Maidstone Hospital and Tunbridge Wells Hospital (Cross Site)

Hermitage Lane

Maidstone

ME16 9QQ

United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

1. The post-holder will be accountable to the Clinical Director, who in turn is accountable to the Medical Director and the Chief Executive.

2. The post-holder will be a member of the Trust Consultants Committee and will be expected to represent colleagues at various committees.

3. The post-holder will have full clinical responsibility for patients in their care

4. The post-holder is expected to communicate widely, including:

Chief of Service

Clinical Director

Consultant Oncologists

Hospital Consultants

Lead nurse for Palliative and End of Life Care

General Manager Kent Oncology Centre

General Manager Specialist Services Division

Cancer Lead Nurse

Oncology Site Managers

Commissioners of Health Services

GPs

Specialist Palliative Care Services

Agencies concerned with Health Care Services and those representing consumers interests.

Medical Director

Chief Nurse

Acute oncology Team

Cancer site specific Nurses

Clinical Responsibilities

1. To clinically manage patients requiring specialist palliative and enhanced supportive care within MTW.

2. To maintain continuing clinical responsibility for the patients in the post-holders charge allowing for all proper delegation to, and training of, medical staff.

3. It is anticipated that in the future that the post holder may wish to rotate to the role of lead palliative care clinician, this will be facilitated through job planning.

4. To participate in and contribute to the Trust and Oncology Centre Clinical Governance programme.

5. To participate in Clinical Trials and R&D programmes in order to ensure that clinical practice is evidence based.

6. To prepare business cases for new / developmental therapies for network / trust approval.

Job responsibilities

1. The post-holder will be accountable to the Clinical Director, who in turn is accountable to the Medical Director and the Chief Executive.

2. The post-holder will be a member of the Trust Consultants Committee and will be expected to represent colleagues at various committees.

3. The post-holder will have full clinical responsibility for patients in their care

4. The post-holder is expected to communicate widely, including:

Chief of Service

Clinical Director

Consultant Oncologists

Hospital Consultants

Lead nurse for Palliative and End of Life Care

General Manager Kent Oncology Centre

General Manager Specialist Services Division

Cancer Lead Nurse

Oncology Site Managers

Commissioners of Health Services

GPs

Specialist Palliative Care Services

Agencies concerned with Health Care Services and those representing consumers interests.

Medical Director

Chief Nurse

Acute oncology Team

Cancer site specific Nurses

Clinical Responsibilities

1. To clinically manage patients requiring specialist palliative and enhanced supportive care within MTW.

2. To maintain continuing clinical responsibility for the patients in the post-holders charge allowing for all proper delegation to, and training of, medical staff.

3. It is anticipated that in the future that the post holder may wish to rotate to the role of lead palliative care clinician, this will be facilitated through job planning.

4. To participate in and contribute to the Trust and Oncology Centre Clinical Governance programme.

5. To participate in Clinical Trials and R&D programmes in order to ensure that clinical practice is evidence based.

6. To prepare business cases for new / developmental therapies for network / trust approval.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Full registration and a licence to practise with the GMC:
• MRCP (UK) or equivalent
• Entry on the GMC Specialist Register for Palliative Medicine by CCT or Portfolio Pathway in Palliative Medicine, or training to a level commensurate with the award of Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT), or within six months of award of CCT by date of interview

Desirable

• Research degree in allied fields (MD/PhD)

Experience

Essential

• Ability to take full and independent responsibility for clinical care of patients
• Clinical training and experience equivalent to that required for gaining UK CCT in specialty.
• Experience in working effectively within a multidisciplinary team and specialist palliative care unit.
• Ability to provide palliative care advice and support to other healthcare professionals in the palliative care team, hospital and community settings.

Desirable

• Experience in Clinical Audit and/or Research
• Experience in medical education
• Experience in Enhanced Supportive Care or equivalent

Skills

Essential

• Enthusiasm for development of service.
• Ability to organise and manage workload.
• Ability to undertake palliative care assessments in a variety of settings including hospital wards and outpatient clinics.
• Ability to undertake training & mentoring of staff in junior grades
• Ability to use IT equipment (e-mail, word processing etc) and learn clinical IT systems use

Desirable

• An interest and a capacity to teach and learn from members of the multidisciplinary team
• Sound knowledge of NHS Management structures/systems

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Full registration and a licence to practise with the GMC:
• MRCP (UK) or equivalent
• Entry on the GMC Specialist Register for Palliative Medicine by CCT or Portfolio Pathway in Palliative Medicine, or training to a level commensurate with the award of Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT), or within six months of award of CCT by date of interview

Desirable

• Research degree in allied fields (MD/PhD)

Experience

Essential

• Ability to take full and independent responsibility for clinical care of patients
• Clinical training and experience equivalent to that required for gaining UK CCT in specialty.
• Experience in working effectively within a multidisciplinary team and specialist palliative care unit.
• Ability to provide palliative care advice and support to other healthcare professionals in the palliative care team, hospital and community settings.

Desirable

• Experience in Clinical Audit and/or Research
• Experience in medical education
• Experience in Enhanced Supportive Care or equivalent

Skills

Essential

• Enthusiasm for development of service.
• Ability to organise and manage workload.
• Ability to undertake palliative care assessments in a variety of settings including hospital wards and outpatient clinics.
• Ability to undertake training & mentoring of staff in junior grades
• Ability to use IT equipment (e-mail, word processing etc) and learn clinical IT systems use

Desirable

• An interest and a capacity to teach and learn from members of the multidisciplinary team
• Sound knowledge of NHS Management structures/systems

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see

NHS Careers website .

Additional information

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see

NHS Careers website .

Employer details

Employer name

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust

Address

Maidstone Hospital and Tunbridge Wells Hospital (Cross Site)

Hermitage Lane

Maidstone

ME16 9QQ

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.mtw.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust

Address

Maidstone Hospital and Tunbridge Wells Hospital (Cross Site)

Hermitage Lane

Maidstone

ME16 9QQ

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.mtw.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Job responsibilities

1. The post-holder will be accountable to the Clinical Director, who in turn is accountable to the Medical Director and the Chief Executive.

2. The post-holder will be a member of the Trust Consultants Committee and will be expected to represent colleagues at various committees.

3. The post-holder will have full clinical responsibility for patients in their care

4. The post-holder is expected to communicate widely, including:

Chief of Service

Clinical Director

Consultant Oncologists

Hospital Consultants

Lead nurse for Palliative and End of Life Care

General Manager Kent Oncology Centre

General Manager Specialist Services Division

Cancer Lead Nurse

Oncology Site Managers

Commissioners of Health Services

GPs

Specialist Palliative Care Services

Agencies concerned with Health Care Services and those representing consumers interests.

Medical Director

Chief Nurse

Acute oncology Team

Cancer site specific Nurses

Clinical Responsibilities

1. To clinically manage patients requiring specialist palliative and enhanced supportive care within MTW.

2. To maintain continuing clinical responsibility for the patients in the post-holders charge allowing for all proper delegation to, and training of, medical staff.

3. It is anticipated that in the future that the post holder may wish to rotate to the role of lead palliative care clinician, this will be facilitated through job planning.

4. To participate in and contribute to the Trust and Oncology Centre Clinical Governance programme.

5. To participate in Clinical Trials and R&D programmes in order to ensure that clinical practice is evidence based.

6. To prepare business cases for new / developmental therapies for network / trust approval.

Qualifications

Essential

• Full registration and a licence to practise with the GMC:
• MRCP (UK) or equivalent
• Entry on the GMC Specialist Register for Palliative Medicine by CCT or Portfolio Pathway in Palliative Medicine, or training to a level commensurate with the award of Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT), or within six months of award of CCT by date of interview

Desirable

• Research degree in allied fields (MD/PhD)

Experience

Essential

• Ability to take full and independent responsibility for clinical care of patients
• Clinical training and experience equivalent to that required for gaining UK CCT in specialty.
• Experience in working effectively within a multidisciplinary team and specialist palliative care unit.
• Ability to provide palliative care advice and support to other healthcare professionals in the palliative care team, hospital and community settings.

Desirable

• Experience in Clinical Audit and/or Research
• Experience in medical education
• Experience in Enhanced Supportive Care or equivalent

Skills

Essential

• Enthusiasm for development of service.
• Ability to organise and manage workload.
• Ability to undertake palliative care assessments in a variety of settings including hospital wards and outpatient clinics.
• Ability to undertake training & mentoring of staff in junior grades
• Ability to use IT equipment (e-mail, word processing etc) and learn clinical IT systems use

Desirable

• An interest and a capacity to teach and learn from members of the multidisciplinary team
• Sound knowledge of NHS Management structures/systems