Job summary
An exciting opportunity has been presented for a clinician to join our expanding team of healthcare professionals at DGS Health to be part of our Frailty Team. The role will require the individual to work, collaboratively, build relationships and work as part of a multi-disciplinary team to provide safe, high quality care.
Working within our Frailty Team offers both variety and flexibility, in terms of your day to day work, training and development, career progression.
Main duties of the job
The post will sit within the Frailty Service and will support provision of the framework for enhanced health in care homes.:Aim of the service is to deliver the DES of Enhanced healthcare in Carehomes on behalf of those GPs who wish to contract this service to DGS Health. Aim of the service is to see:
- A reduction in ambulance hospital journeys required by residents of the care home within the service
- A reduction in hospital attendances for the residents of the care home within the service.
- A reduction in hospital admissions for the residents of the care home within the service.
Emphasis of service provision will be centred on pro-active care, involving a fully integrated approach which includes a DGS Health GP Federation core team of a pharmacist, advanced nurse prescribers, frailty nurse, paramedics and healthcare assistants who will work closely with the care home staff and a nominated GP from the Practice.
Please note you will be required to drive across the Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley area.
About us
DGS Health is a GP Federation based in Gravesend, North Kent. We are comprised of 100% of local GP practices across Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley. We pride ourselves on being clinically led and managerially enabled and like to ensure we recruit people who share our ethos and culture. We are a small and friendly but growing organisation, employing over 90 people across a range of roles both within our own organisation and within Primary Care Networks. Our services include urgent treatment services, paramedic home visiting, wound care, phlebotomy, care home support, frailty nursing, pharmacy services to name a few. We employ a diverse range of roles including GPs, nurses, administrators, physicians associates, pharmacists, managers, care co-ordinators, HCAs and paramedics.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The overall philosophy of the service will be that the Enhanced Health in Care Homes Service staff will work pro-actively in the home to review the residents health and medication and spot early-warning signs that might otherwise have led to a deterioration in their health. This will ensure that they can be treated and looked after to prevent their condition warranting having to go to hospital. In addition, it will also result in more effective communication and engagement between the GPs and the Care Home staff and the development of a stronger relationship between the home and the surgery.
This service has been specifically designed to meet all of the key principles of a successful enhanced health in care home care models identified in the NHS Framework for enhanced health in care homes (September 2016) which are;
- Person-centred change
- Co-production
- Quality
- Leadership
To provide a high quality, person-centred approach to care delivery which always considers peoples safety, privacy and dignity.
To provide specialist care and interventions, assessments, treatments and managing patients on a caseload, as part of the wider multidisciplinary care team.
To provide specialist advice to others regarding the management and care of patients / service users.
To devise specialist programmes of care for other professionals to deliver and ensure they are delivered appropriately.
To plan, implement and review health improvement programmes in a range of settings.
Provide supervision, mentorship, training and clinical support to students and trained practitioners.
Clinical Responsibilities
- To assess, plan, implement and evaluate specialist treatment and care through personalised care plans to people on an allocated caseload; promoting independence and autonomy; working within a multi-disciplinary team.
- Supporting the GP in improving diagnosis and screening of people with dementia within the care home, this will be by the review of all care home residents.
- The provision of support to care home staff to reduce the use of antipsychotic drugs through nonpharmacological interventions - slowing down escalation to higher levels of care, improving quality of life of residents and reducing avoidable admissions.
- Advance own clinical knowledge, skill and competence based on current evidence through advanced educational programmes.
- Provide highly specialist advice to others regarding the management and care of patients/service users.
- To demonstrate clinical effectiveness by use of evidence-based practice and outcome measures.
- Plan, implement and review health improvement programmes in a range of settings.
- Recognise, assess, and manage risk across the immediate and wider working environment and make appropriate decisions autonomously, ensuring statutory requirements are met.
- To be responsible for patient safety through knowledge of systems, legal requirements and understanding of litigation.
- To communicate effectively in verbal and written form in the exchange of highly complex, sensitive or contentious information in difficult situations using de-escalation, mediation, resolution and professional Duty of Candour.
- To evaluate care, taking appropriate action leading to improvement in quality standards through clinical audit, root cause analysis and dealing with complaints.
- Provision of support to the care home in considering what can put in place to support their residents mental health and wellbeing, by the use of tools to identify deterioration in wellbeing and mental state.
- Liaison between local organisations and the Care Home Manager to local organisations such as volunteering etc to provide services that can support the delivery of care within the care home setting.
- Referral too and attendance at MDTs involving a range of health and care professionals, from one or more organisations, working together to deliver comprehensive patient care. The benefits of such an approach can include improved health outcomes, enhanced satisfaction for residents and a more efficient use of resources.
Other Responsibilities
- To provide holistic assessment of older adults living with frailty
- To participate in the delivery of education and training to care home staff and staff within DGS Health services as appropriate.
- To undertake urgent visits to patients in care homes
- To be able to recognise deteriorating patients and to respond appropriately.
- To work as part of the Home Plus team to provide pro-active and enhanced clinical management for patients within a care home setting to reduce admissions to hospital and urgent referrals to primary care. To work flexibly to meet the demands of the service and adapt to changing priorities within the working day/week
Working Conditions
- This post requires the post holder to travel across the boroughs of Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley to Care Homes and to other venues in the course of fulfilment of their duties.
Please see attached Job Description for further details.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The overall philosophy of the service will be that the Enhanced Health in Care Homes Service staff will work pro-actively in the home to review the residents health and medication and spot early-warning signs that might otherwise have led to a deterioration in their health. This will ensure that they can be treated and looked after to prevent their condition warranting having to go to hospital. In addition, it will also result in more effective communication and engagement between the GPs and the Care Home staff and the development of a stronger relationship between the home and the surgery.
This service has been specifically designed to meet all of the key principles of a successful enhanced health in care home care models identified in the NHS Framework for enhanced health in care homes (September 2016) which are;
- Person-centred change
- Co-production
- Quality
- Leadership
To provide a high quality, person-centred approach to care delivery which always considers peoples safety, privacy and dignity.
To provide specialist care and interventions, assessments, treatments and managing patients on a caseload, as part of the wider multidisciplinary care team.
To provide specialist advice to others regarding the management and care of patients / service users.
To devise specialist programmes of care for other professionals to deliver and ensure they are delivered appropriately.
To plan, implement and review health improvement programmes in a range of settings.
Provide supervision, mentorship, training and clinical support to students and trained practitioners.
Clinical Responsibilities
- To assess, plan, implement and evaluate specialist treatment and care through personalised care plans to people on an allocated caseload; promoting independence and autonomy; working within a multi-disciplinary team.
- Supporting the GP in improving diagnosis and screening of people with dementia within the care home, this will be by the review of all care home residents.
- The provision of support to care home staff to reduce the use of antipsychotic drugs through nonpharmacological interventions - slowing down escalation to higher levels of care, improving quality of life of residents and reducing avoidable admissions.
- Advance own clinical knowledge, skill and competence based on current evidence through advanced educational programmes.
- Provide highly specialist advice to others regarding the management and care of patients/service users.
- To demonstrate clinical effectiveness by use of evidence-based practice and outcome measures.
- Plan, implement and review health improvement programmes in a range of settings.
- Recognise, assess, and manage risk across the immediate and wider working environment and make appropriate decisions autonomously, ensuring statutory requirements are met.
- To be responsible for patient safety through knowledge of systems, legal requirements and understanding of litigation.
- To communicate effectively in verbal and written form in the exchange of highly complex, sensitive or contentious information in difficult situations using de-escalation, mediation, resolution and professional Duty of Candour.
- To evaluate care, taking appropriate action leading to improvement in quality standards through clinical audit, root cause analysis and dealing with complaints.
- Provision of support to the care home in considering what can put in place to support their residents mental health and wellbeing, by the use of tools to identify deterioration in wellbeing and mental state.
- Liaison between local organisations and the Care Home Manager to local organisations such as volunteering etc to provide services that can support the delivery of care within the care home setting.
- Referral too and attendance at MDTs involving a range of health and care professionals, from one or more organisations, working together to deliver comprehensive patient care. The benefits of such an approach can include improved health outcomes, enhanced satisfaction for residents and a more efficient use of resources.
Other Responsibilities
- To provide holistic assessment of older adults living with frailty
- To participate in the delivery of education and training to care home staff and staff within DGS Health services as appropriate.
- To undertake urgent visits to patients in care homes
- To be able to recognise deteriorating patients and to respond appropriately.
- To work as part of the Home Plus team to provide pro-active and enhanced clinical management for patients within a care home setting to reduce admissions to hospital and urgent referrals to primary care. To work flexibly to meet the demands of the service and adapt to changing priorities within the working day/week
Working Conditions
- This post requires the post holder to travel across the boroughs of Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley to Care Homes and to other venues in the course of fulfilment of their duties.
Please see attached Job Description for further details.
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Experience at Practitioner Band 5 level
- Experience of working with older adults living with frailty
- Recent previous experience within a comparable role in the community
- Experience of managing change
- Demonstrable knowledge of assessment and therapeutic interventions in area of specialism
- Experience of providing clinical supervision and mentoring to junior staff
- Experience of devising and delivering training
- Experience of developing specialist programmes of care for an individual or groups of patients/clients and of providing highly specialist advice
- Able to demonstrate specialist clinical reasoning skills to assimilate information in order to make a clinical judgement regarding diagnosis and intervention.
- Ability to prioritise and organise workload effectively
Personal qualities and atributes
Essential
- Evidence of demonstrating the organisations values and behaviours.
- Able to communicate effectively at different levels of the organisation and with staff, patient/service users, visitors or external organisations both verbally and in writing in the exchange of highly complex, sensitive or contentious information which may require the use of negotiating and/or persuasive skills.
- Able to overcome barriers to understanding where there are physical or mental disabilities.
- Able to analyse and assess situations and to interpret potentially conflicting situations and determine appropriate action, where there is a range of options and judgement is required.
- Experience of planning and organising complex activities, e.g. organise own time and that of junior staff and learners, undertaking care planning involving co-ordination with other agencies
- Ability to use own initiative within sphere of authority
- Demonstrable ability of using tact and diplomacy
- Demonstrable ability to analyse situations and provide a resolution
- Knowledge and understanding of legislation relevant to practice
- Ability to evaluate care leading to improvement in quality standards and service improvement
- Demonstrable leadership qualities and the ability to perform as a role model
- Willingness to advance own clinical knowledge, skill and competence based on current evidence
Qualifications
Essential
- Registered practitioner to degree/diploma level supplemented by post registration diploma level specialist training and/or short courses or demonstrable extensive experience in the relevant specialty
- Completion of history taking and physical examination course
- Membership of the relevant Professional body
- Learning and Assessing in Practice Qualification or equivalent practice assessors training
- Evidence of recent professional development in an up to date portfolio
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Experience at Practitioner Band 5 level
- Experience of working with older adults living with frailty
- Recent previous experience within a comparable role in the community
- Experience of managing change
- Demonstrable knowledge of assessment and therapeutic interventions in area of specialism
- Experience of providing clinical supervision and mentoring to junior staff
- Experience of devising and delivering training
- Experience of developing specialist programmes of care for an individual or groups of patients/clients and of providing highly specialist advice
- Able to demonstrate specialist clinical reasoning skills to assimilate information in order to make a clinical judgement regarding diagnosis and intervention.
- Ability to prioritise and organise workload effectively
Personal qualities and atributes
Essential
- Evidence of demonstrating the organisations values and behaviours.
- Able to communicate effectively at different levels of the organisation and with staff, patient/service users, visitors or external organisations both verbally and in writing in the exchange of highly complex, sensitive or contentious information which may require the use of negotiating and/or persuasive skills.
- Able to overcome barriers to understanding where there are physical or mental disabilities.
- Able to analyse and assess situations and to interpret potentially conflicting situations and determine appropriate action, where there is a range of options and judgement is required.
- Experience of planning and organising complex activities, e.g. organise own time and that of junior staff and learners, undertaking care planning involving co-ordination with other agencies
- Ability to use own initiative within sphere of authority
- Demonstrable ability of using tact and diplomacy
- Demonstrable ability to analyse situations and provide a resolution
- Knowledge and understanding of legislation relevant to practice
- Ability to evaluate care leading to improvement in quality standards and service improvement
- Demonstrable leadership qualities and the ability to perform as a role model
- Willingness to advance own clinical knowledge, skill and competence based on current evidence
Qualifications
Essential
- Registered practitioner to degree/diploma level supplemented by post registration diploma level specialist training and/or short courses or demonstrable extensive experience in the relevant specialty
- Completion of history taking and physical examination course
- Membership of the relevant Professional body
- Learning and Assessing in Practice Qualification or equivalent practice assessors training
- Evidence of recent professional development in an up to date portfolio
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).
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.
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
DGS Health LTD
Address
Rectory Cottage
Springhead Road
Gravesend
Kent
DA11 8HN
