Advanced Practitioner Central Halifax PCN

Job responsibilities

Provide the choice of direct access to an AP, both in the Practice and over the telephone, for the general practice population

Make professionally autonomous decisions for which he/she is accountable.

Provide a first point of contact within the Practice for patients presenting with undifferentiated, undiagnosed problems, making use of skills in history taking, physical examination, problem-solving and clinical decision-making, to establish a diagnosis and management plan.

Instigate necessary invasive and non-invasive diagnostic tests or investigations and interpret findings/reports.

To prescribe safe, effective and appropriate medication as defined by current legislative framework.

Provide safe, evidence-based, cost-effective, individualised patient care.

Offer a holistic service to patients and their families, developing where appropriate an on-going plan of care/support, with an emphasis on prevention and self-care.

Promote health and well-being through the use of health promotion, health education, screening and therapeutic communication skills.

Refer patients directly to other services/agencies as appropriate.

Take the Practice lead in developing and delivering specialist primary care services, such as long-term disease management (diabetes, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease and hypertension)

Work with nursing, medical and health care assistant colleagues to ensure that National Service Frameworks (eg Coronary Heart Disease/Older People/ Diabetes /Mental Health) are being delivered

Work with multi-disciplinary teams within the Practice, and across the wider Clinical Commissioning Group, to promote integrated and seamless pathways of care.

Contribute to the practice achieving its quality targets to sustain the high standards of patient care and service delivery.

Participate in identification of community health needs and develop patient/family-centred strategies to address them.

Help develop and set up new patient services and participate in initiatives to improve existing patient services.

Promote evidence-based practice through the use of the latest research-based guidelines and the development of practice-based research.

Monitor the effectiveness of their own clinical practice through the quality assurance strategies such as the use of audit and peer review.

Maintain their professional registration.

Participate in continuing professional development opportunities to ensure that up-to-date evidence-based knowledge and competence in all aspects of the role is maintained

Work within the latest Code of Professional Conduct relevant to your role (e.g. NMC)

Record accurate consultation data in patients records in accordance with the latest guidance and other pertinent standards.

Keep up to date with pertinent health-related policy and work with the practice team to consider the impact and strategies for implementation.

Work collaboratively with colleagues within and external to the practice.

Demonstrate leadership.

Pro-actively promote the role of the AP within the Practice, and externally to key stakeholders and agencies.

Participate in clinical supervision of the junior clinical team, and act as clinical advisor to other members of the clinical team.

Encourage and develop teamwork within the organisation.

Participate in multi-disciplinary protocol and Patient Group Directions development.

Identify appropriate opportunities to delegate both clinical and administrative tasks to more junior staff.

Help the practice operate in a cost-effective manner.

Identify and manage nursing care risks on a continuing basis.

Participate in practice meetings and partners meetings, reporting on progress as required.

Participate in audits and inspections as appropriate.

Work closely with the doctors and administrative managers in the setting up and/or improving of practice systems for monitoring/measuring performance against Clinical Governance and Quality Indicator targets.

Ensure that all Practice Policies are fully implemented

Maintain necessary Occupational health records for clinical staff.

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered first level nurse MSc or equivalent qualification.
• Current NMC / HCPC registration
• Specialist courses appropriate to Primary Care, (e.g. CHD, diabetes, family planning, asthma, COPD)
• Independent Prescriber (V100)
• Recognised Nurse Practitioner or equivalent qualification (MSc/BSc or Advanced Practitioner qualification

Desirable

• Teaching / Mentoring experience and /or qualification

Experience

Essential

• Minimum of 2 years post registration experience
• Evidence of appropriate continuing professional development activity to maintain up-to-date knowledge and on-going competence in all aspects of the AP role
• Experience in management long term conditions e.g. asthma, COPD, diabetes, CHD
• Evidence of working autonomously and as part of a team
• Proven ability to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of their own clinical practice
• Previous experience of managing and developing a nursing team
• Interpreting and implementing local and National policy agendas for health

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• Understanding and knowledge of policy developments related to the delivery of primary care services including General Practice, the GMS/PMS contract, Clinical Governance, Quality & Outcomes Framework
• Understanding of systems to gain an understanding of the health needs of the Practice population as they relate to primary care
• Understanding of evidence based practice
• Knowledge of national standards that inform practice (eg National Service Frameworks, NICE guidelines etc)
• Understanding of the accountability arising from the NMC Code of Professional Conduct (2004) and medico-legal aspects of the Nurse Practitioner role
• Understanding of equal opportunity and diversity issues
• Ability to assess and manage patient risk effectively and safely
• Good data processing / collection and IT skills
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills
• Reflective practitioner
• Time management and ability to prioritise workload
• Able to analyse data and information, drawing out implications for the individual patient/impact on care plan
• Able to establish and maintain effective communication pathways within the organisation, the local CCG and with key external stakeholders
• Ability to think strategically

Desirable

• Ability to think strategically
• SystmOne Experience
• proven record of effective use of networking and influencing skills
• Experience of presenting information to a wider audience

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).