ACP and Nursing Clinical Lead - UCRT and Hospital at Home

Job overview

ACP and Nursing Clinical Lead  -Islington Urgent Community Response

Are you an experienced ACP with a passion for delivering high-quality patient care in the community? Or a ACP trainee in the last year of the MSc? Do you want to play a key role in shaping the future of urgent care services across Islington?

We are seeking an enthusiastic ACP to join our Urgent Community Response Team, This is an exciting opportunity to make a real difference by supporting  residents to remain safely in their usual place of residence, reducing avoidable hospital admissions and improving patient outcomes. The team also leads on the Islington Hospital at Home pathways which help get patients home sooner, improving their experience and recovery through acute hospital-level care in their own homes.

The successful postholder will have community experience and demonstrate specialist clinical skills and knowledge in advanced clinical assessment. The Advanced clinical practitioner will offer clinical expertise, guidance, and management plans, clinical decision making, and discharge planning to acutely unwell patients. Develop differential diagnosis and work in collaboration with primary care, community services and acute trust and the wider multidisciplinary team to agree what services need to be put in place; what clinical and medical support will be needed to manage and mitigate risk to ensure a safe and supportive care in their usual place of residence

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be practicing as a qualified ACP in order to provide patient-centred quality care. This will encompass the skills of assessment, examination, diagnosis and treatment within an agreed scope of practice.

Working autonomously, the post holder will have continuing responsibility for proactively monitoring and managing patients on the caseload. The post holder will be highly skilled in physical assessment, diagnostic reasoning and nurse independent prescribing and use these in the community to assist in the recognition of early symptoms of disease exacerbation, acute illness and injuries. The post holder will be expected to co-ordinate care and navigate the patient through pathways across the primary and secondary care interface.

The post holder will contribute to service development, support innovative models of care, and play a key role in delivering high-quality, responsive care to patients with complex needs in the community.

The post holder will be a senior nurse within the IUCRT and therefore act as a clinical leader and role model to staff within the service, offering clinical advice on the care of patients with complex needs as required. They will work with colleagues and managers to support the integration of care pathways and patient care across Islington community and acute settings

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To deliver and participate in clinical care of patients

Provide a level of advanced and comprehensive assessment, based on a specialist body of knowledge, under supervision.

Direct responsibility for the management of patients within own case load and for the supervision of junior members of the multidisciplinary team

To appropriately assess, examine, investigate, diagnose and treat patients, resulting in the safe management and appropriate referral or discharge of patients with undifferentiated and undiagnosed presentations.

Order and interpret investigations, laboratory tests, x-rays and act on results as appropriate.

Initiate drug therapy/medication within the parameters of agreed clinical guidelines, in line with Whittington Health Hospital at Home Medicines Management SOP and in accordance with present legislation supply and prescribing of medicines.

To contribute to the development and improvement of systems and processes that facilitates patient flow.

Maintain own clinical development by keeping abreast of new treatments and technologies

To improve the quality of the patient experience by identifying and meeting the individual clinical needs of patients.

To rigorously review all aspects of the patient’s plan of care and identify and address issues that may result in a sub-standard service.

Contribute to the review and development of integrated care pathways and clinical guidelines to ensure a standardised approach.

Under supervision practice with confidence and competence within NMC professional guidelines and code of conduct

To ensure that accurate documentation and records of patient care are kept.

To assist in the development of assessment systems, processes and tools within the clinical setting and adjacent clinical/assessment areas.

Ability to adapt specialist clinical knowledge and skills to different clinical settings and influence service delivery and patient care.

Actively implement effective systems and processes for infection control management and relevant audit within their clinical area.

Utilise and demonstrate sensitive communication styles, to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment.

Communicate patients’ conditions verbally and in writing to other members of the health care team and contribute to the decision-making processes in patient management. Acting as an advocate for patients and colleagues.

Ensure awareness of sources of support and guidance e.g., patient liaison service, and provide information in an accurate format to all patients.

Be able to anticipate barriers to effective communication and take action to improve communication.

Management and Leadership

To develop own leadership skills within the Advanced Clinical Practitioner role.

Contribute to the development of a specialist service and act as a change agent and facilitate the change process whilst encouraging others to be innovative and adaptable in the approach to change.

Contribute to evidence-based policies and procedures specifically required by the team.

Contribute to development of clinical competencies for junior staff working within the team.

Develop and maintain effective communication with the multidisciplinary team to ensure high standards of care.

Work collaboratively with representatives of other clinical areas, disciplines and services to provide a seamless pathway of care.

Participate in the recruitment, selection and retention of staff.

To be conversant with all Trust policies and procedures and ensure they are correctly implemented.

Adhere to confidentiality at all times with sensitive personal data

Prioritise, organise and manage own workload in a manner that maintains and promotes quality.

Education and Training

To help identify, plan and assist in the implementation of goals for clinical development of staff working within the designated clinical setting and adjacent assessment areas.

To develop and maintain a positive learning environment for the team by providing support, ensuring developmental requirements of junior staff are addressed.

To assist in the provision of clinical supervision and provide the opportunity to reflect and discuss areas of practice.

To participate in teaching programmes for nursing in the care of patients with a range of clinical presentations as defined by the clinical area of practice.

Audit /Quality Improvement and Research

To identify and lead on quality improvement projects in the team

Contribute/assist in the development of multidisciplinary research and clinical audit in the clinical setting and adjacent assessment areas, implementing effective and evidence-based practice.

To share best practice; through publications and attendance/presentation opportunities at conference level.

Resource Management

To apply sound financial evaluation to proposed service developments.

Maintain accurate records in relation to equipment used and maintained.

Risk Management

To ensure that systems are in place to manage, reduce and prevent clinical risk to self and others.

To monitor incidents highlighted by members of the team and communicate to appropriate areas to address risk issues.

Promote best practice in health & safety, utilising unit and Trust policies