Job description

Job responsibilities

The role will lead the development, design, implementation, and delivery of a new community specialist palliative care service.

The aim of the service is to scope, test and refine a new approach to specialist hospice palliative care, with the longer-term ambition of establishing a sustainable commissioned service for the Wakefield District. The service aims to provide clinical leadership, professional advice and operational coordination for End-of-Life and Palliative care needs across the Wakefield District.

The role will be working closely with system partners involved in End of Life and Palliative care provision, the hospice teams, and the newly forming neighbourhood teams. The post holder will play a key role in developing and delivering an innovative community model of care.

The role will act as the clinical operational lead across both hospices and the wider End-of-Life care system, overseeing patient identification, assessment, triage, allocation and care coordination to ensure better coordinated care, including timely access to hospice services and the effective use of specialist resources. The role will support service development to improve the experience of care, reduce avoidable hospital admissions, facilitate coordinated transitions between services, and enable more patients to receive care and die in their preferred place care.

Key Responsibilities

Service Development and Implementation

Lead the design, development and implementation of the new community service model, working collaboratively with system partners, hospice leaders, newly forming neighbourhood teams and other key community partners.

Lead the day-to-day development of the service, building and adapting the model as the pilot evolves in response to patient need, service demand and learning from delivery.

Launch and embed the service reviewing efficiency and impact.

Work with hospice leaders to develop safe and sustainable staffing models that align with agreed budgets, service demand and workforce capacity.

Provide operational clinical leadership, support and supervision to staff within the service, ensuring high-quality, responsive and safe care is delivered to patients and families.

Collaborate with stakeholders to establish eligibility criteria, referral pathways, pilot service parameters and plans for future service growth and full implementation.

Coordinate resources effectively to ensure the service meets patient need while maintaining quality, safety and efficiency.

Monitor service activity, demand, outcomes and capacity, recommending and implementing changes to support continuous improvement as the pilot develops.

Contribute to the development of a sustainable model of care and provide evidence to support future commissioning of the service.

Ensuring accurate tracking of patient interactions to ensure clear information for commissioning

Day to day line management

Community Support and Care Delivery

Alongside the wider team, manage a small but intensive caseload, promoting continuity of care and ensuring patients and families receive timely, responsive support as needs change.

Undertake specialist assessment, triage and care coordination for patients with complex palliative and end of life care needs.

Coordinate multidisciplinary input, ensuring patients have timely access to the most appropriate professionals and services based on their identified needs.

Facilitate communication and collaborative working across hospice, primary care, community, acute and voluntary sector services.

Ensure care is delivered in line with agreed clinical standards, policies and professional requirements, seeking advice, support or escalation where appropriate to maintain safe and effective patient care.

Ensuring accurate tracking of patient interactions to ensure clear information for commissioning

Support patients to achieve their preferred place of care and, wherever possible, their preferred place of death.

Evaluation and Service Improvement

Support the ongoing evaluation of the service, monitoring activity, demand, outcomes and workforce capacity.

Use patient, family and stakeholder feedback to identify opportunities for service improvement.

Review and refine referral pathways, caseloads, operating hours and workforce models based on learning from delivery.

Contribute to reports and recommendations that support future service planning, commissioning decisions and the transition from pilot to a sustainable commissioned service.

Leadership

Provide supportive and visible leadership to staff involved in the delivery of the service.

Work with key stakeholders from both hospices and partner organisations to design, develop and deliver the service.

Proactively monitor demand and capacity, ensuring resources are deployed effectively and patients receive a responsive service.

Continuously review, evaluate and improve service performance, identifying opportunities for development and innovation.

Promote a positive learning culture, supporting the development and wellbeing of colleagues.

Facilitate the sharing of knowledge, skills and best practice across teams and identify training and development opportunities where required.

Advice Line

Support the enhancement and development of the hospices' 24/7 advice line, ensuring patients, families and healthcare professionals have timely access to hospice specialist palliative care advice and support.

General Duties and Responsibilities

All employees are required to abide by the Health and Safety at Work Act, attend annual mandatory training sessions and ensure they comply with Hospice policies and procedures at all times;

Employees must demonstrate commitment to their own personal development and are required to make a positive contribution to fundraising and raising the profile of the Hospice;

Strict confidentiality applying to all aspects of Hospice business must be observed at all times. Report promptly any untoward incident, complaint, grievance, etc or other aspect likely to affect the safe and efficient functioning of the service.

The tasks and responsibilities outlined in this job description is not exhaustive and the post holder may be required to undertake other tasks in agreement with their line manage

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Experience of:
• Multidisciplinary and multi-agency working
• Service development, quality improvement or implementing change
• Providing clinical leadership and support to colleagues
• Working autonomously and managing competing priorities
• Leading or supporting projects, service redesign or transformation programmes
• Reporting service activity and outcome data
• Working collaboratively across organisational boundaries

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Nurse
• Evidence of ongoing professional development
• Post-registration qualification or significant experience in palliative and end of life care.

Desirable

• Degree

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Wakefield Hospice

Address

Wakefield Hospice

Aberford Road

Wakefield

West Yorkshire

WF1 4TS

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.wakefieldhospice.org/ (Opens in a new tab)

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Responsibilities

Leadership and Team Development

Provide visible, compassionate and inclusive leadership to the multidisciplinary Family Care Team.

Create a positive, collaborative and high-performing team culture founded on accountability, psychological safety and continuous improvement.

Lead supervision, appraisal, recruitment, induction, workforce planning, succession planning and professional development.

Support staff wellbeing, reflective practice, learning and professional growth.

Educate, coach and mentor team members, students, volunteers and colleagues to promote evidence-based practice and integrated working.

Provide strategic leadership for the continued development of Family Care Services in response to patient need, organisational priorities and developments in specialist palliative and end-of-life care.

Lead service improvement and innovation, using evidence, activity, quality and patient-experience data to evaluate impact and inform service redesign.

Contribute to strategic planning, pathway development and business cases relevant to Family Care Services, patient flow and hospice capacity.

Family Care Services

Lead the coordinated delivery and ongoing development of rehabilitation, reablement, discharge planning, family support and bereavement services.

Ensure the professional and volunteer elements of the Family Care Team operate as an integrated pathway rather than as separate services.

Promote seamless transitions and continuity of care throughout the patient and family journey.

Ensure services remain responsive, person-centred, evidence-based and aligned with organisational priorities.

Ensure the Family Care Team is fully integrated within the operational life of inpatient and wider hospice services.

Act as a specialist resource for colleagues managing complex patient and family situations.

Promote effective collaboration between Family Care, Inpatient Services, Wellbeing, Outreach, Spiritual Care and developing Out of Hospice services.

Discharge Leadership and Patient Flow

Lead the development and implementation of an organisation-wide approach to patient flow and discharge planning.

Champion proactive discharge planning from the earliest appropriate stage of admission, ensuring patient choice, clinical need, rehabilitation potential and available community resources are considered.

Promote shared ownership of patient flow and discharge planning across the multidisciplinary team.

Develop the knowledge, confidence and capability of clinical staff to initiate and autonomously progress routine discharge planning within their professional roles.

Provide expert advice, leadership and coordination where discharge arrangements involve significant clinical, psychosocial, legal, safeguarding, funding or system complexity.

Coordinate and, where appropriate, chair complex discharge-planning meetings involving internal and external partners.

Support patients and those important to them to understand discharge options, care pathways and the implications of available choices.

Develop effective systems for identifying, monitoring and escalating barriers to discharge, using this intelligence to inform improvement activity and strategic planning.

Lead initiatives to reduce avoidable delays, improve patient flow and maximise the effective use of hospice beds and respite capacity.

Develop and monitor meaningful measures of patient flow, including delayed discharges, length of stay, discharge outcomes, patient experience and effective utilisation of hospice capacity.

Work with Continuing Healthcare, social care, community services, primary care, care providers, acute trusts and voluntary-sector partners to improve pathways and facilitate timely transitions.

Provide expert guidance on Continuing Healthcare, Fast Track funding and other relevant care and funding pathways.

Ensure the specialist contribution of the post is focused on complex practice, workforce capability and strategic improvement, rather than replacing the routine discharge responsibilities of the wider clinical team.

Quality, Governance and Professional Practice

Promote safe, high-quality and evidence-based care.

Maintain professional standards, accurate records and compliance with legislation, regulation and hospice policy.

Together with the Deputy Director of Care Services and the Quality and Audit Nurse, undertake audit, service evaluation and quality-improvement activity.

Provide leadership and support in safeguarding alongside the nominated Safeguard Lead, mental capacity and complex decision-making processes.

Work collaboratively with hospice staff and external agencies to identify, manage and respond to safeguarding concerns in line with local policies and procedures.

Analyse and report on service performance, patient flow and discharge outcomes, using findings to inform improvement.

Contribute to organisational learning arising from incidents, complaints, feedback and service evaluation.

Participate in the Specialist Palliative Care multidisciplinary team and clinical on-call rota.

Act as a role model, promoting accountability, learning and excellence in care.

Education and Partnership Working

Lead the development of a culture in which discharge planning, rehabilitation and family-centred care are recognised as responsibilities shared across the multidisciplinary team.

Design and deliver education, coaching, guidance and practical resources that improve staff confidence in discharge planning, Continuing Healthcare, Fast Track funding, community pathways and associated documentation.

Provide advice and professional support to staff, students and volunteers, particularly when managing complex patient and family situations.

Identify learning needs through audit, incidents, complaints, feedback, service evaluation and review of delayed discharges.

Promote reflective practice, professional curiosity, shared learning and continuous development.

Develop strong and credible relationships with health, social care and voluntary-sector partners.

Influence pathway development and system working to improve transitions, patient flow and outcomes for patients and families.

Work closely with Spiritual Care volunteers and other hospice services to ensure holistic support for patients and those important to them.

Contribute to organisational induction, education and leadership-development programmes.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Nurse/AHP/Social Worker
• Experience within palliative care
• Experience in a management and leadership role

Experience

Essential

• Experience of service development and evaluation
• Experience of managing multidisciplinary teams
• Track record of driving quality improvements and clinical excellence
• System leadership
• Strategic oversight capabilities to coordinate diverse community-facing services
• Knowledge of current regulatory standards, including CQC regulations and Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOEs), with a proven commitment to outstanding care practices and continuous quality improvement.
• Demonstrated experience in complex discharge coordination, multidisciplinary team CHC/Fast Track pathways, safeguarding and mental capacity

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Ability to build relationships at all levels and with different stakeholder groups.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Inspirational and Compassionate leadership skills.
• Committed to own personal development.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Wakefield Hospice

Address

Wakefield Hospice

Aberford Road

Wakefield

West Yorkshire

WF1 4TS

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.wakefieldhospice.org/ (Opens in a new tab)