Primary Care Paramedic

Job description

Job responsibilities

JOB PURPOSE

Working with BEMS and with locality based General Practice staff, the post-holder will, in summary:

• Work within the Home Visiting Service to undertake on the day requests from GP practices for home visits.
• Provide timely, high quality, person-centred clinical care to patients, addressing their needs within the current urgent primary care needs and their long-term self-management. This is achieved by collaborating with all health and social care agencies and including local community services and within primary care provision.
• Prevent inappropriate hospital admissions or attendances to the emergency department by providing/co-coordinating the provision of specialist care by other agencies for the patient in the most appropriate and agreed environment.
• Facilitate the timely attendance of clinically relevant patients to secondary care.
• Work collaboratively with hospital consultants and specialist registrars to ensure acutely ill patients receive the right care in the right place at the right time either in the community or prior to admission.
• Ensure the learning of new clinical skills and knowledge, including Non-Medical Prescribing, with the appropriate training and qualification within the curriculum competency framework.
• Write up full and discursive notes of patient encounters in the BEMS clinical system. Ensure full and effective communication with GP practices regarding patient assessment and outcomes using SystmOne TPP software.

CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• To act as an autonomous practitioner who directs, provides and evaluates the highest standard of evidence based clinical care to patients within their own home, founded on agreed management care plans and protocols.
• Assist in the development of an integrated approach to the delivery of urgent and emergency care involving all relevant stakeholders including health and social care organisations, particularly within the primary care field.
• Manage the unscheduled care of the patient within the primary health care setting by referral to alternative agencies thereby providing a wider range of care options at the point of patient contact and reducing inappropriate admissions.
• Deliver evidence based clinical practice by utilising applied knowledge of clinical audit, critical appraisal of research, research methodology, ethical review and research governance.
• Make appropriate use of and develop clinical decision support software when available.
• Develop, apply and evaluate clinical procedures, processes and instructions, in consultation with clinical and operational managers in BEMS in order to ensure that the highest standards of service are achieved in the interests of patient care.
• To work independently and without direct supervision in the home environment, prioritising workload to meet the regular unpredictable situations that may occur within this role.
• Demonstrate the ability to work independently and perform comprehensive patient assessments based upon the patients clinical record and physical examination.
• To make clinical decisions within the home autonomously and in liaison with GPs, hospital clinicians and other agencies in preventing some hospital admissions.
• Manage own capacity to ensure optimum provision of care to patients and responsive decision making to meet the needs of their needs. This includes making entries into the electronic patient administration system.
• Demonstrate highly developed clinical reasoning and decision-making.
• Undertake the learning of other professional skills and knowledge to include social assessment and social care planning in accordance with BEMS Risk Management Policies and Procedures.
• As appropriate order diagnostics, interpret results, advise on treatments and/or refer to relevant health care professional.
• Have the necessary knowledge, skills and training to recognise emergent clinical situations such as anaphylaxis, cardiac and respiratory deterioration, to act appropriately knowing when to seek assistance.
• Work in close collaboration with the clinical lead for the delivery of an effective service by defining and overseeing the development of service standards in-line with Government, NMC/HCPC guidelines and BEMS Policy.
• Ensure clinical effectiveness by use of evidence-based practice and outcome measures.
• Liaise with patients, carers and colleagues to assess the safety of a patients home environment, acting quickly to protect patients and staff from potential risk.
• Recognise high risk, difficult situations regarding the transfer of some patients and prioritise promptly, actions needed for the safety and well-being of patients/carers.
• To ensure that appropriate, consistent and realistic information is provided to patients and families.
• To provide sensitive and complex information to relatives and patients in sometimes hostile, and emotive atmospheres.
• Use expert communication skills to create and sustain new alliances. Using the highest level of interpersonal skills, to break down the barriers and develop inter-professional collaborative working relationships with staff in primary and secondary care.
• Recognise levels of competence and always work within them.

• Provide clinical leadership; by example and in regard to behaviour attitudes, conduct and appearance.
• Collaborate with clinical lead for induction, training, appraisal and personal development.
• Report and manage serious untoward incidents and liaise with BEMS.

FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

• Monitor consumable stock levels of own equipment and replenish as necessary.
• Have the ability to negotiate any amendments to planning if and when requested resources are unavailable.
• Bring to the attention of the clinical lead any requests for physical and financial resources that clearly show cost benefits without being detrimental to patient care.

• Abide by and promote all aspects of the NHS Code of Conduct.
• Comply with the Duty of Candour policy.
• Have/demonstrate knowledge of national and local health policy issues and their implications to the service.
• Contribute to the development of evidence based clinical protocols/guidelines that drive clinical actions.
• Undertake and manage the comprehensive assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation and auditing of clinical care provision both in primary, secondary and tertiary care when appropriate.
• Maintain the service clinical system (SystmOne) in order to successfully export data for report and audit purposes.
• All staff who are members of a professional body must comply with standards of professional practice/conduct. It is the post holder's responsibility to ensure they are both familiar with and adhere to these requirements.

• To analyse and interpret highly complex information gained during clinical examination and history taking to diagnose an individuals problem or illness and decide on an appropriate course of action or treatment.
• To identify and agree the appropriate data to be collected.
• Effectively use the agreed systems/methods for obtaining data collection.
• To collate and analyse the information obtained using the appropriate methods.
• To report in a timely manner the data and information obtained.

AUDIT AND EVALUATE ACTIVITY

• Participate in the critical evaluation and response to audit/information to inform/change patient care practices.
• Work in close partnership with colleagues and external agencies such as Social Services; Housing Associations and voluntary organisations. This may involve attending meetings outside the immediate workplace and sharing protocols and care management plans with other agencies.
• Ensure that professional clinical practice is in accordance with BEMS policies, procedures and guidelines and the relevant professional code of standards, ethics and proficiency. Maintain own professional and personal development. Ensure that operational clinical practice is in accordance with BEMS policies, procedures and guidelines.
• All clinical staff are expected to keep abreast of contemporary issues in health care provision.

EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

• Demonstrate theoretical knowledge and practical experience in a wide variety of acute clinical specialties and keep up to date with new techniques and developments for the promotion and maintenance of good practice across a range of clinical areas.
• Continuously review practices with the BEMS clinical lead, plan and work towards further improvement and development of services to ensure that service delivery matches patient, service and BEMS employee needs.
• Participate in the ongoing training and professional development in order to maintain Continuing Personal Development (CPD) as well as participating in annual appraisal jointly with BEMS.
• Act as a resource for patients/carers, colleagues, GPs and other agencies. This may involve teaching and presentations
• Embrace new ideas. Have an impact on suggesting change for patient benefit and support staff during the process of change within the team and BEMS in general. This could take the form of development of specialist knowledge and skills in line with extended role of the general practice team agreed protocols
• Inform the BEMS clinical lead of unmet needs and service shortfall and openly challenge ones own practice and current clinical practice in a constructive way to maintain and improve the standards of care.
• Maintain and adhere to BEMS mandatory training and keep records of training
• Take responsibility and maintain a CPPD plan and regularly meet to discuss ones professional development with the BEMS clinical lead.

Please read the full Job Description in the supporting documents.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• - Relevant professional qualification e.g. Specialist Paramedic Masters qualification or equivalent.

Desirable

• - Non-Medical Independent Prescriber qualification

Experience

Essential

• - Possess experience in palliative care (primary/urgent care).
• - Experience of, or a willingness to undertake advanced clinical practice enhancement; including interpretation of blood, culture results and radiological investigations.
• - Minimum of three years post-registration with demonstrable experience of using diagnostic skills.
• - Evidence of working within primary or urgent care clinical practice environments.
• - Evidence of working in a community setting.
• - Portfolio of evidence showing achievements in practice/speciality/recent contemporaneous CPD.
• - Experience in teaching & supporting junior staff/students.
• - Ability to support patients during acute episodes of illness and to self-manage long term conditions where feasible.
• - Excellent communication and leadership skills.
• - Implementation of audit/research recommendations.
• - Experience of clinical information systems.

Desirable

• - Use e-referral letters and pathways in primary care setting.
• - Demonstrates ability and knowledge on how to undertake audit and feedback to clinicians.

Other

Essential

• Full driving license and access to vehicle

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

BEMS (Banes Enhanced Medical Services)

Address

Unit 13a Church Farm Business Park

Bath

BA2 9AP

Employer's website

https://www.bems.uk.com/ (Opens in a new tab)