Associate Chief for Advanced Clinical Practice

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has become available at South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust to develop and lead the organisational advanced practice strategy as the Trust’s Associate Chief for Advanced practice. As a Trust we are committed to delivering outstanding care to our patients and service users. Throughout the recruitment process you will be asked to think about how you demonstrate our values to all stakeholders.

The successful candidate will report into the Chief Nursing Officer working strategically to develop and lead the implementation of an Advanced Practice strategy. The role requires the successful candidate to have extensive clinical experience, with a MSc in Advanced practice, registered with the NMC or HCPC, with a proven track record of clinical education and leadership.

The post holder must have high levels of emotional intelligence, excellent clinical skills and credibility along with the ability to motivate, influence and inspire the workforce.

Closing Date: 21st October 2024

Stakeholder Assessment Panel: 28th October 2024

Interview: 29th October 2024

Main duties of the job

'The overriding purpose is to support the provision of the highest quality patient care through personal actions and continuous improvement.'

The Trust Lead for Advanced Clinical Practice will be responsible for the Trust-wide development and leadership of Advanced Practitioners (AP) working in various roles.  They will support the Chief Nursing Officer in developing, leading and implementing a multi-professional, organisational Advanced Practice Strategy.  They will provide highly specialised, expert advice, education, consultancy and clinical expertise at local, regional and national level.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post-holder will

• Lead on the design, delivery and implementation of the Advanced Practice strategy and workforce plan for the CNO.
• To work independently at a senior ACP level in the direct delivery of high-quality care within their own specialist field, making critical clinical decisions based on advanced clinical skills assessment.
• The post holder responsibility is to develop and actively manage strong relationships with key internal and external stakeholders and to encourage a network of mutual support.
• The post holder will work with health and care senior management and wider stakeholders in order to ensure the development of the Trust’s Advanced Practitioner Framework and all policies and guidelines are developed in line with national strategies.
• Represent the Trust at external and internal strategy level meetings within designated portfolio advocating for the interests of the patient population, promoting integrated pathways and whole health economy collaboration.
• Establish and develop partnerships and constructive working relationships within the Foundation Group other Trusts and the Integrated Care System and NHSE
• Lead, enable and facilitate change promoting innovative ways of working that are patient centred and not impeded by organisational and professional boundaries.

Clinical

Demonstrate the attributes of a clinical expert in terms of specialist theoretical and practical knowledge and expertise in the range of work procedures and the plethora of sub-specialties.

• The post holder will provide expert professional advice to patients, carers and colleagues.
• The post holder will be qualified to work clinically as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner within a specialty according to the Advanced Clinical Practitioner definition and framework, providing highly specialised clinical care to patients.
• Will report to the Clinical Specialty Lead for their clinical element and supervision.
• The post holder will have completed MSc in Advanced Practice and been practicing these advanced skills at a senior level, consolidating this knowledge and clinical experience.
• Practice as a senior clinician with an ongoing requirement to act with only minimal guidelines and to set goals and standards for others to follow.
• Use highly developed clinical knowledge to independently assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate treatments and interventions for patients presenting to the clinical area of practice, with complex undifferentiated and undefined presentations.
• Undertake physical examinations as indicated by the patient’s condition; autonomously analysing complex clinical signs and investigation results to consider differential diagnoses and diagnose conditions, initiating treatment as required.
• Perform clinical procedures appropriate to the history and physical examination of the patient, including further invasive testing and treatments requiring highly developed skills and precision.
• Autonomously formulate appropriate management plans for patients, formulate clinical decisions and often complex treatment plans to manage acute illness and acute episodes of chronic illness including referral, admission, or discharge.
• Review patients when requested by colleagues and provide expert clinical advice.
• Provide clinical advice, clinical supervision to support to junior clinicians, trainees and junior Aps.
• To provide specialist advice on patient care to the healthcare team taking into account all aspects of clinical governance, and act as a specialist resource within the service and wider Trust.
• Continuously evaluates findings and clinical response to treatment and establishes an appropriate ongoing management plan accordingly.
• Prioritise health problems and intervene appropriately in complex, urgent and emergency situations.
• Manage regularly clinical events involving patients often requiring unpredictable and high levels of physical effort according to the patient’s dependency and clinical need.
• Provide clinical cover to appropriate clinical areas according to patient and staffing needs.
• Prescribe and review medication (as an independent prescriber) for therapeutic effectiveness appropriate to patient need and in accordance with best/ evidence-based practice and national and local protocols and within the role’s scope of practice and legal framework.
• Integrate both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment in patient care/ management plans.
• Communicate effectively with patients, carers, colleagues and other using appropriate communication styles.  Anticipate barriers to communication and ensure patients and significant others are kept fully informed and consent to treatment.
• Act as a resource for staff, advising on local, national and Trust policy, procedures and guidelines ensuring patient safety and clinical governance.
• Communicate highly complex and contentious condition related information to patients or other health professionals.
• Challenge practice standards and influence constructive and positive change.
• Communicate effectively with patients and carers recognising the need for alternative methods of communication to overcome different levels of understanding, cultural background and preferred ways of communicating to anticipate barriers to communication.

• Leadership and Management:
• On behalf of the CNO takes the lead responsibility for the development of a Trust Advanced Practice Strategy that reflects local, regional and national priorities, supported by the Deputy Chief Nursing Officer.
• To develop the AP long term workforce plan in partnership with stakeholders, including the directorates, identifying interdependencies across projects/functions and the potential impacts on the wider organisation;
• The post holder is responsible for providing professional leadership, governance and expertise relating to Advanced Practice throughout the Trust, and more widely across PLACE, the ICS and the Foundation Group
• Work to raise the status, profile and understanding of AP and clinical specialists/ practitioner’s roles, both internally and externally, including with patient and public awareness across the ICS;
• Represent the CNO as required at Trust, ICS, regional and national Advanced Practice meetings.
• The post holder will define current processes, facilitate discussions and advise colleagues as to how best practice might be adopted.
• The post holder will develop relationships both regionally and nationally to share best practice.
• The post holder will facilitate standardisation of Advanced Practice/ Advanced roles across the Trust, determining a Trust’s training programme for Advanced Practice in conjunction with the Education team and local HEIs.
• The post holder will work with the Directorates and be involved in supporting advanced practitioner’s appraisal, job planning and supervision.
• To develop and maintain effective working relationships with local HEI providers whilst considering the financial implications and alternative methods of learning.
• The post holder will identify resources and effectively communicate with staff to secure appropriate utilisation of resources.
• The post holder will identify challenges that may accompany implementation of the Advanced Practice roles and direct or influence the necessary measures to overcome them.
• The post holder will provide clinical leadership and supervision for non-medical prescribing throughout the Trust;
• The post holder will use their highly developed specialist knowledge to support development of a range of advanced practice roles across the Trust.
• The post holder will provide support and guidance to the Directorates in developing plans for their non-medical advanced workforce.
• The post holder will support the development of skills and competencies within the non-medical workforce.
• The post holder will develop a clinical governance structure around Advanced Practice to ensure learning and quality improvement are embedded, ensuring the four pillars of practice are embedded.
• To be responsible for ensuring the AP workforce maintain their performance, training, supervision and annual appraisals.
• To identify resources and effectively communicate with directorates to ensure annual training needs analysis and secure appropriate utilisation of resources, matching AP capacity with directorate expectation and annual business planning.
• To provide expert clinical leadership in the development and delivery of new systems and processes which facilitate improved AP, recruitment, training, development and retention.
• To provide senior professional Trust leadership for APs to motivate, inspire and develop trainee APs and trained APs in achieving excellence in their role.
• Develop and lead the trainee and qualified AP forums reporting quarterly to the Nursing, Midwifery & AHP Board.
• Serve as a representative on the Nursing, Midwifery & AHP Board as well as applicable Trust and regional groups.
• Establish effective means of engaging and involving patients, carers and the wider public in the development and evaluation of the strategy for AP.
• Identify challenges that may accompany the implementation of an AP long-term workforce plan and direct or influence the necessary measures to overcome them.
• Provide a range of solutions to highly complex solutions that may exhibit unique characteristics and where opinion may differ or there is incomplete information available.
• Alongside the directorate senior teams manage and support submissions of future AP business plans and support the current AP finances.
• Lead and participate on timely recruitment in the department, liaising closely with Trust HR and recruitment to ensure recruitment best practice is in place at all times.