Advanced Clinical Practitioner - Urgent Community Response

Job overview

An exciting opportunity is now available for a qualified Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) to join the Urgent Community Response Team at Lewisham Hospital. The ACP will practice with a high degree of autonomy supported by the Clinical Leads for Frailty. Under the direction of the Frailty consultant and in conjunction with the UCR team, the ACP will use expert, evidence-based clinical practice to care for patients within the community. The ACP will be responsible for the assessment of patients, implementation and completion of agreed clinical management plans, requests and review clinical investigations, prescribe relevant medications and referral to other specialities and tertiary centres.

The successful candidate will work a shift pattern including out of hours and will primarily be based in the community setting. This post holder will be able to evidence the completion of Master level studies in advanced clinical practice. In addition, applicants will have to provide a portfolio of evidence with the relevant advanced capabilities demonstrating relevant experience in frailty or related speciality.

We welcome applications from those interested in developing into the role of ACP. You will initially be employed as a trainee ACP (band 7) and you will be supported through the Trust ACP credentialing program, once all the set elements of the program are completed and signed off, you will automatically progress into ACP Role (band 8a).

Main duties of the job

As an ACP, you will deliver advanced clinical care to acutely unwell patients in the community, undertaking comprehensive assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning and non-medical prescribing. You will work collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams to support admission avoidance, optimise patient outcomes and deliver high-quality, evidence-based care. The role also includes leading service improvement initiatives, supporting clinical governance, education and workforce development, contributing to research and audit, and providing leadership to drive innovation and continuous improvement across the UCR service.

The ACP provides clinical leadership within the multidisciplinary team, supports and supervises junior staff, contributes to workforce development and recruitment, and works collaboratively across services to ensure seamless patient care. The role also supports education and training through clinical supervision and teaching, participates in audit, research and quality improvement activities, and promotes evidence-based practice. In addition, the ACP contributes to resource and risk management by ensuring safe clinical practice, implementing governance processes, monitoring incidents, and supporting continuous service improvement.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Promote the improvement of quality and clinical effectiveness.
• Evaluate and audit own and others’ clinical practice, selecting and applying valid, reliable methods, then acting on the findings.
• Take a critical approach to identify gaps in the evidence base and its application to practice, alerting appropriate individuals and organisations to these and how they might be addressed in a safe and pragmatic way.
• Develop and implement robust governance systems and systematic documentation processes, keeping the need for modifications under critical review
• Lead new practice and service redesign solutions in response to feedback, evaluation and need, working across boundaries and broadening sphere of influence.
• Implement practices that are appropriate for patient and service need through understanding the wider implications of epidemiological, demographic, social, political, legislative, and professional trends and developments.
• Identify the need for change and proactively generate practice innovations to implement solutions to better meet the needs of patient and the service.
• Develop and undertake activities to monitor the progress and efficiency of the service and owns practice.
• Continually assess and monitor risk in their own and others practice and challenge others if necessary.
• Critically appraise and synthesise the outcomes of relevant research, service evaluation and audits, and apply the information when seeking to improve practice.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.