Band 7 Single Point of Access Clinical Practitioner

Job overview

"Please note that this post will close once sufficient applicants have been received so may closed before the advertised closing date.  Please submit your application as soon as possible"

The post holder will be able to provide clinical expertise in Triage across the Adult Community Services Division.

The post holder will work in partnership with patients, carers and other health and social care agencies to promote independence and develop individual plans of care relevant to patient need. The post holder must plan and organise their own complex workload to ensure safe and effective telephone triage, balancing urgent calls with routine assessments. They will anticipate and respond to fluctuating demand across the service.

To provide clinical expertise and leadership within the Single Point of Access to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions and contribute to effective admission avoidance and facilitate early hospital discharge. This includes effective history taking, clinical triage, diagnosis, and the implementation of a range of care services for patients with acute, undiagnosed conditions and long-term conditions.

Main duties of the job

• Work in accordance within professional code of conduct.
• Provide clinical triage and expertise.
• Act as a first contact, exercising a high degree of professional autonomy and critical judgement in providing advanced clinical assessment for patients referred with undiagnosed needs through a range of consultation mediums.
• With support of the Advanced Clinical Practitioner, initiate investigations, interpret diagnostic results and manage and evaluate care where appropriate/necessary.
• Make direct referrals as appropriate for medical assessment and diagnostic procedures within agreed pathways.
• Contribute to the service achieving its quality targets to sustain high standards of patient care and service delivery.
• Signpost, refer and support access to health services to reduce inappropriate attendances and admissions to A&E.
• To safeguard individuals from abuse by reporting any incidents involving potential or actual abuse and acting upon concerns immediately.
• Prioritise health problems and intervene appropriately to assist the patient in complex, urgent or emergency situations, including the initiation of effective emergency care.
• Support professionals/patients/carers to make informed decisions and delegate care appropriately within the Service.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Provide monitoring of patients’ health and support work with the MDT to plan discharge planning, discharging back to appropriate Services when their condition no longer requires the expertise and level of care provided by the Service. Provide clinical leadership within the Single Point of Access and across the wider trust and key partner organisations as appropriate. Provide clinical supervision, education and training. Establish and maintain excellent communication with individuals and groups, exploring issues relating to care options and decisions, and ensuring actions are in line with, where clinically appropriate, the feedback received. To communicate complex and sensitive information to the service user, carers, families and staff regarding diagnosis and possible prognosis and treatment options. Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient’s assessment and care, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures. Communicate effectively verbally and in writing with colleagues and stakeholders, utilising electronic methods of communication within the remit of the Data Protection Act ensuring clinical information is conceived within a timeframe that ensures patient safety. Work collaboratively across primary and secondary care, to both establish and maintain communications in order to enhance the patient experience. Effectively manage acute caseloads identifying when patients are ready for either discharge or care transfer to other service providers internally or externally. Ensure timely inputting of relevant activity data within the designated timeframe agreed.