Advanced Nurse Practitioner

Job summary

We are looking to recruit a motivated and enthusiastic Advanced Nurse Practitioner to join our successful patient-focused team on a part-time basis of 30 hours (applications welcome for more hours).

Oaklands Health Centre is a friendly, dynamic, well-established GMS practice in the historic town of Hythe. We are an ambitious, innovative and forward thinking organisation that provides primary health care to over 12,000 patients.

We have a clinical team consisting of 2 GP partners, 3 salaried GPs, 4 Advanced Nurse Practitioners, 2 Paramedic Practitioners, 3 Practice Nurses, 3 Health Care Assistants and a fantastic administration team.

Main duties of the job

Our Advanced Nurse Practitioners provide high level clinical triage and minor illness assessment, that may result in onward referral or discussion with other services.

The post holder will also be part of our triage focused model and operating a minor illness service via telephone consultation or face to face clinics that are held each day. Supervision and support is provided by our very supportive doctors.

About us

We are the lead practice for our Primary Care Network (PCN) serving a population of approximately 48,000 people, enabling our patients access to Pharmacists, Social Prescriber, First Contact Physiotherapists, Mental Health Practitioner and an Occupational Therapist.

We actively embrace new technology and efficient ways of working to ensure the highest level of care for our patients by offering multi modal consultation such as video consultation, online consultation (eConsult) and online appointment booking. We have a strong team spirit and have developed a clinical model that ensures our GPs are protected from burn out and typically follow the BMA recommendations on number of daily clinical contacts with adequate protected time for administration.

We are advocates for Quality and Service Improvement and Primary care innovators as we offer opportunities for growth and development by accommodating students in medicine and nursing. We also are a training site for FY2 doctors and one of our GPs has completed the educational supervisor training to support trainees on the vocational training scheme. Our most recent CQC inspection in July 2021 had an overall rating as Good.

Oaklands Health Centre is also a vaccination site as part of the Covid-19 Vaccination Programme, which received the KALC Community Award for our contribution in the pandemic.

Job description

Job responsibilities

The post holder is an Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) or Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP) who acting within their professional boundaries, will provide care for the presenting patient from initial history taking, clinical assessment, diagnosis, treatment and evaluation of their care. They will demonstrate safe, clinical decision-making and expert care for patients. Experience of on-line consultation and minor illness is essential for this role. They will work collaboratively with the doctors, to meet the needs of patients, supporting the delivery of policy and procedures, and providing leadership as required. In order to work at this level, NMC or HCPC requirements for advanced practice must be met.

To deliver a high standard of patient care at Oaklands Health Centre, through triage of e-consultation(s), telephone consultations and face to face appointments.

Utilisation of advanced autonomous clinical skills, and a broad and in-depth theoretical knowledge base

To deliver a minor illness service for patients registered at Oaklands Health Centre via telephone consultation or face to face appointments.

The following are the core responsibilities of the Advanced Clinical Practitioner. There may be on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels:

a. Develop, implement and embed health promotion and well-being programmes

b. Provide a triage service, actively managing or referring patients or treating patients within own scope of practice

c. Deliver minor illness clinics

d. Prescribe in a safe an effective manner, in accordance with PGD and extant legislation

e. Support the clinical team in the development of individual treatment plans for chronic disease patients

f. Identify, manage and support patients as risk of developing long-term conditions, preventing adverse effects on the patients health

g. Provide routine nursing care to patients as required in accordance with clinical based evidence, NICE and the NSF

h. Request pathology services as necessary, processing and interpreting results as required

i. Refer patients directly to other services as appropriate

j. Maintain accurate clinical records in conjunction with extant legislation

k. Ensure read codes are used effectively

l. Maintain chronic disease registers

m. Chaperone patients where necessary

n. Assist GPs with minor surgery when required

o. Prioritise health issues and intervene appropriately

p. Support the team in dealing with clinical emergencies

q. Recognise, assess and refer patients presenting with mental health needs

r. Recognise, assess and refer patients with community health needs, developing strategies for effective care pathways

s. Liaise with external services / agencies to ensure the patient is supported appropriately (vulnerable patients etc.)

t. Delegate clinical responsibilities appropriately (ensuring safe practice and the task is within the scope of practice of the individual)

u. Support the clinical team with all safeguarding matters, in accordance with local and national policies

v. Understand practice and local policies for substance abuse and addictive behaviour, referring patients appropriately

w. Deliver opportunistic health promotion where appropriate

Secondary Responsibilities

In addition to the primary responsibilities, the nurse practitioner may be requested to:

a. Act as the audit lead, effectively utilising the audit cycle

b. Monitor and ensure the safe storage, rotation and disposal of medications.

c. Contribute to the implementation of an effective training programme for staff and students within the practice

d. Participate in local initiatives to enhance service delivery and patient care

e. Support and participate in shared learning within the practice

f. Continually review clinical practices, responding to national policies and initiatives where appropriate

g. Be aware of and contribute to the planning and implementation of ICB patient pathway initiatives

h. Participate in the review of significant and near-miss events applying a structured approach root cause analysis (RCA).

i. Maintain professional registration and adhere to revalidation requirements

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

ACP/ANP registered with appropriate professional body Post graduate diploma or degree Independent Prescribing Qualification

Desirable

MSc in Advanced Practice

Experience

Essential

Experience of minor illness management Experience of on-line consultation/triage Experience of autonomous working

Desirable

Experience of working as a practice nurse or community nurse.

Skills/Abilities

Essential

Excellent communication skills (written and oral) Strong IT skills Clear, polite telephone manner Competent in the use of Office and Outlook EMIS / Systmone / Vision user skills Effective time management (Planning & Organising) Ability to work as a team member and autonomously Good interpersonal skills Problem solving & analytical skills Ability to follow clinical policy and procedure

Desirable

Experience with audit and able to lead audit programmes Experience with clinical risk management Personal Qualities

Clinical Knowledge and Skills

Essential

Minor Illness Venepuncture Chaperone Procedure Requesting pathology tests and processing the results, advising patients accordingly Diebetes Hypertension Asthma CHD Immunisations/Vaccinations ( covid and flu) Womens health (Cervical cytology, contraception, etc.) Understands the importance of evidence based practice Broad knowledge of clinical governance Ability to record accurate clinical notes Ability to work within own scope of practice and understanding when to refer to GPs

Desirable

Wound Care / Removal of sutures and staples Knowledge of public health issues in the local area Awareness of issues within the wider health arena

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