Dr McIntosh, Consultant Paediatric Oncologist, talks about the new post in Glasgow

I am Dr Diana McIntosh, a Consultant Paediatric Oncologist based at the Glasgow Children's Hospital. I also undertake five and a half sessions a week for CHAS, Children's Hospices Across Scotland.

We are recruiting for a Consultant in Paediatric Palliative Medicine. The post-holder will be employed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, funded by CHAS. Cementing and growing the relationship between the NHS and CHAS is essential to improving outcomes for children with life-shortening conditions, and their families.

I wanted to share something of my own experience, and encourage you to consider applying for this post. I trained as a Paediatric Oncologist here in Glasgow, and then undertook a Diploma in Palliative Medicine (Paediatric Option) at the University of Cardiff. Last year I completed Specialist Interest (SPIN) training through the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. I am now applying knowledge from these within my Oncology practice but also out with this specialty where I can see that there is a growing need across hospital departments in order to support children with palliative care needs.

The new consultant post we are creating in Glasgow will support colleagues across professional boundaries to put in place effective clinical care plans for children who have life-shortening conditions and who may be nearing the end of their life. If you are appointed to this post, you will be working with other paediatric consultants here in the children's hospital like myself, but also likely to liaise with medical and nursing colleagues based at Robin House or Rachel House, the two CHAS hospices serving the whole of Scotland, and other NHS hospitals from where children may be referred to the Glasgow children's hospital. This means you will develop a set of relationships and knowledge where you can work together, exert influence, and help build the confidence of colleagues widely.

In the hospital, there is a strong culture of collaboration and multidisciplinary working. At the same time that this post is coming on-stream, we are appointing two clinical nurse specialist posts to join the team, so this is an exciting time of expansion for paediatric palliative care.

And I should say something about Glasgow and the west of Scotland - not only is it a wonderful place to work, it's a wonderful place to live too. Glasgow is a vibrant and exciting city, surrounded by amazing countryside just a short drive away. If you think you have what it takes to be successful in this post, I would encourage you to find out more and apply. It may just be the most rewarding move in your career.

You can find out more and apply here on the NHS Scotland recruitment portal: https://jobs.scot.nhs.uk/_Details.aspx?vacNo=525707