Advanced Paramedic Practitioner

Job summary

Battersea PCNis looking for motivated, enthusiastic experienced Advanced Paramedic Practitionerto join our expanding team. This is an opportunity to be involved in developingnew ways of working in primary care alongside a paramedic already in post and our friendly, forward-thinkingpractice teams. Battersea is a fantastic place to work with its diverse, variedpopulation, proximity to central London and beautiful open spaces such asBattersea Park and Clapham Common.

The Advanced ParamedicPractitioner will work autonomously within the GP Practices and the community,using their enhanced clinical assessment and treatment skill set. Thepostholder will need to confidently provide safe care for the presentingpatient which would include initial history taking, clinical assessment,diagnosis, treatment and evaluation of care. The post holder will communicateand work collaboratively with the general practice team to meet the needs ofpatients and supporting the delivery of policy and procedures.

Main duties of the job

The Advanced ParamedicPractitioner will practice autonomously without direct supervision and providethe following services to patients:

Assessand triage patients with complex needs, including same day triage, and asappropriate provide definitive treatment (including prescribing medicationsfollowing policy, patient group directives, NICE (national) and local clinicalguidelines and local care pathways) or make necessary referrals to othermembers of the primary care team;

Activelytake a personalised care approach and population centred care approach toenable shared decision making with the presenting person.

Implementand participate in vaccination and immunisation programmes for both adults andchildren;

Torecognise the need for, initiate and where appropriate interpret relevantdiagnostic investigations and advice of relevant specialisms;

Tohave the ability to make clear decisions with confidence and communicate theseeffectively;

Toprescribe medication and work within the limitations of current extendedNon-Medical Prescribing legislation;

Dischargeor refer patients as appropriate to internal or external clinical pathways.

About us

Battersea PCN comprises5GP surgeries in a compact area of North Battersea (Bridge Lane, Lavender Hill,Battersea Fields, Queenstown Road, Battersea Rise) with a combined populationofapproximately 55,000patients. We enjoy excellent collaborativeworking relationships and we are excited about expanding our PCN Clinical team to improvehealth care services forour patientsandtosupport ourcurrent clinical andadministrative staff.

Our practices are high-achieving and innovative, and have a strong ethosof teaching and training. We will offer mentoring and educational support fromour PCN GP, prescribing and clinical leads, ICB pharmacists and additional peersupport systems being developed in South West London.

Job description

Job responsibilities

The Advanced ParamedicPractitioner will practice autonomously without direct supervision and providethe following services to patients:

Assessand triage patients with complex needs, including same day triage, and asappropriate provide definitive treatment (including prescribing medicationsfollowing policy, patient group directives, NICE (national) and local clinicalguidelines and local care pathways) or make necessary referrals to othermembers of the primary care team;

Activelytake a personalised care approach and population centred care approach toenable shared decision making with the presenting person;

Usecomplex decision making to inform the diagnosis, investigation, completemanagement of episodes of care within a broad scope of practice;

Proactivelyidentify, diagnose and manage treatment plans for patients at risk ofdeveloping a long-term condition (as appropriate);

Diagnoseand manage both acute and chronic conditions, integrating both drug andnon-drug-based treatment methods into a management plan;

Prescribeand review medication for therapeutic effectiveness, appropriate to patientneeds and in accordance with evidence-based practice and national and practiceprotocols, and within scope of practice;

Workwith patients in order to support compliance with and adherence to prescribedtreatments;

Provideinformation and advice on prescribed or over-the-counter medication onmedication regimens, side-effects and interactions;

Prioritisehealth problems and intervene appropriately to assist the patient in complex,urgent or emergency situations, including initiation of effective emergencycare;

Supportpatients to adopt health promotion strategies that promote healthy lifestyles,and apply principles of self-care;

Supportand manage health needs of women presenting for family planning, cervicalcytology or sexual health consultation;

Assess,identify and refer patients presenting with mental health needs in accordancewith the NSF for Mental Health;

Implementand participate in vaccination and immunisation programmes for both adults andchildren;

Torecognise the need for, initiate and where appropriate interpret relevantdiagnostic investigations and advice of relevant specialisms;

Tohave the ability to make clear decisions with confidence and communicate theseeffectively;

Toprescribe medication and work within the limitations of current extendedNon-Medical Prescribing legislation;

Dischargeor refer patients as appropriate to internal or external clinical pathways;

Theordering, storage, administration and disposal of medicines in a safe, securemanner in accordance with current policy and legislation;

Manageundifferentiated undiagnosed condition and identify red flags and underlyingserious pathology and take appropriate action;

Offer paediatricrelated services and clinics.

Communication

Utiliseand demonstrate sensitive communication styles, to ensure patients are fullyinformed and consent to treatment;

Communicatewith and support patients who are receiving difficult news;

Communicateeffectively with patients and carers, recognising the need for alternativemethods of communication to overcome different levels of understanding,cultural background and preferred ways of communicating;

Ensureawareness of sources of support and guidance ( PALS) and provideinformation in an acceptable format to all patients, recognising anydifficulties and referring where appropriate;

Anticipatebarriers to communication and take action to improve communication;

Maintaineffective communication within the practice environment and with externalstakeholders;

Act asan advocate for patients and colleagues.

Delivering A Quality Service

Recogniseand work within own competence and professional code of conduct as regulated bythe HCPC;

Produceaccurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient consultation,consistent with legislation, policies and procedures;

Prioritise,organise and manage own workload in a manner that maintains and promotesquality;

Delivercare according to NSF, NICE guidelines and evidence-based care;

Assesseffectiveness of care delivery through self and peer review, benchmarking andformal evaluation;

Initiateand participate in the maintenance of quality governance systems and processesacross the organisation and its activities;

Utilisethe audit cycle as a means of evaluating the quality of the work of self andthe team, implementing improvements where required;

Workcollaboratively with the PCN team to improve the quality of health careresponding to local and national policies and initiatives as appropriate;

Evaluatepatient responses to health care provision and the effectiveness of care;

Supportand participate in shared learning across the practice and wider organisation;

Use astructured framework ( root-cause analysis) to manage, review and identifylearning from patient complaints, clinical incidents and near-miss events;

Assessthe impact of policy implementation on care delivery;

Understandand apply legal issues that support the identification of vulnerable and abusedchildren and adults, and be aware of statutory child/vulnerable patients healthprocedures and local guidance;

Toadhere to the Infection Prevention and Control policy for the service beingprovided;

Work with practice management to ensure thewhole team have skills and knowledge regarding domestic violence, vulnerableadults, substance abuse and addictive behaviour. Provide guidance and supportto ensure appropriate referral if required;

Workingat a masters level aware or equivalent that encompasses the four pillars ofclinical practice, leadership and management, education and research, withdemonstration of core capabilities and area specific clinical competencies.

Leadership

Act asa clinical leader in the delivery of services ensuring that the needs of thepatient are a priority;

Takeresponsibility for own learning and performance including participating inclinical supervision and acting as a positive role model;

Supportstaff development in order to maximise potential;

Activelypromote the workplace as a learning environment, encouraging everyone to learnfrom each other and from external good practice;

Encourageothers to make realistic self-assessment of their application of knowledge andskills, challenging any complacency or actions that are not in the interest ofthe public and/or users of services;

Criticallyevaluate and review innovations and developments that are relevant to the areaof work;

Enlistsupport and influence stakeholders and decision-makers in order to bring aboutnew developments in the provision of services;

Workwith practice management to ensure sufficient staff of appropriate ability,quality and skill-mix are available to meet current and future servicedelivery, that selection and recruitment processes are effective and thatequality of treatment of the team incorporates quality HR principles andprocesses;

Contributeto the development of local guidelines, protocols and standards;

Maintaineffective communication with those responsible for the overall commissioningand procurement process;

Maintainactive involvement in the planning and processes of practice-basedcommissioning or similar initiatives;

Promotethe role of the advanced paramedic practitioner in general practice.

Team Working

Understandown role and scope and identify how this may develop over time;

Workas an effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploringthe mechanisms to develop new ways of working;

Delegateclearly and appropriately, adopting the principles of safe practice andassessment of competence;

Createclear referral mechanisms to meet patient need;

Prioritiseown workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are embeddedwithin the culture of the team;

Workeffectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policiesimpacting upon care delivery;

Discuss,highlight and work with the team to create opportunities to improve patientcare

Manageand lead on the delivery of specifically identified services or projects asagreed with the practice management team;

Agreeplans and outcomes by which to measure success.

Managing Risk

Manageand assess risk within the areas of responsibility, ensuring adequate measuresare in place to protect staff and patients.

Managing Information

Usetechnology and appropriate software as an aid to management in planning,implementation and monitoring of care, presenting and communicating information;

Reviewand process data using accurate Read codes in order to ensure easy and accurateinformation retrieval for monitoring and audit processes.

Learning AndDevelopment

Assessown learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate;

Providean educational role to patients, carers, families and colleagues in anenvironment that facilitates learning.

Equity And Diversity

Identifypatterns of discrimination and take action to overcome this and promotediversity and equality of opportunity.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Degree in Paramedic Science or Equivalent Have completed MSc level Advanced Clinical Practice education Professional registration with HCPC Driving Licence Registered as an independent non medical prescriber Completed relevant training in order to provide multi-professional clinical practice and CPD supervision to other roles within primary care

Desirable

Mentor/teaching qualification Clinical supervision training and experience

Experience

Essential

Substantial autonomous practice working and multi-professional team Can show evidence of using autonomous physical examination and assessment skills in practice Can demonstrate a broad and sound knowledge of complex and common conditions in primary care in both adults and children Recent primary/community Advanced Paramedic practitioner experience Management of minor illness, minor ailments and injuries Triage Compiling protocols and clinical guidelines Clinical Leadership Audit Research Experience of prescribing

Desirable

Project management Working with community development initiatives Health-needs assessment

Personal Characteristics

Essential

Ability to develop effective professional working relationships with colleagues and the public Able to use initiative/self-motivated Maintains a flexible and proactive approach to work Act with honesty and integrity Quality/patient focused Caring attitude and sensitivity to others Confident with the ability to take a lead role Ability to interact with people from varying cultural backgrounds and social environments Able to promote equality and value diversity Able to ensure care of own health and wellbeing to promote improvements to physical and emotional wellbeing Able to work within the trusts policy framework Demonstrates a positive and flexible approach in line with the changing nature of service delivery model Committed to the values based principles of high quality patient care to include; compassion; care; competence; communication; courage and commitment in all aspects of service delivery

Knowledge

Essential

Advanced clinical practice skills Management of patients with long-term conditions Management of patients with complex needs Clinical examination skills Accountability of own role Local and national health policy Wider health economy Clinical governance issues in primary care Patient group directions and associated policy

Desirable

Knowledge of public health issues Able to identify determinants on health in the area Knowledge of public health issues in the area

Skills

Essential

Clinical leadership skills Can complete a concise clinical history and physical examination Can formulate a differential diagnosis and management plan Demonstrable awareness of accountability in clinical practice Can give evidence of using effective communication skills within practice Computer literate Is able to use negotiation skills, employing critical thinking Ability to identify individual client needs Able to prioritize, effective time management. Facilitation & negotiation skills Communication of difficult messages to patients and families Negotiation and conflict management skills Change management Teaching and mentorship clinical setting Resource management

Desirable

Primary care experience Healthcare experience within NHS, nursing or voluntary organisation. Experience of supervision, mentorship and development of a range of clinical staff in relevant practice settings.

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