Senior Clinical Assessor

Job overview

ECHO is the nurse-led Single Point of Access for referral management, clinical triage, signposting and coordination of highly effective Community-based services within SCFT for patients registered with a Coastal West Sussex GP.

ECHO operates 24hr service, 7 days a week, including all bank holidays.

The post involves the handling of all calls to and from the ECHO service, supporting patient needs effectively and accessing or signposting to the appropriate community services wherever possible to prevent unnecessary hospital admission or where this is not possible, to facilitate admission to hospital. The role of the ECHO Senior Clinical Assessor is to support the patient’s choice of preferred place of care and death.

The main focus for ECHO is to support patients towards the end of their life by using a co-ordinated approach, which is achieved through the use of effective call triage, communication, and a keen desire to compassionately meet the needs of patients and referrers.

The service receives approximately 200 calls per day and all calls need to be managed using a holistic approach with commitment, compassion and understanding. All calls need to be managed in a timely manner, whilst ensuring that the patients’ needs are being met. The referral details will be accurately recorded onto the SystmOne Patient Record database. ECHO also receives many electronic referrals each day, which all staff should action effectively and respond to within an agreed timeframe.

Main duties of the job

• The post holder will be responsible for leading the shift, ensuring that all staff have the tools and support required to perform their role to the highest quality standards. To proactively seek resolutions to any issues observed or that arise and to take a forward-thinking, positive approach to the motivating the team, ensuring all aspects of clinical care are delivered in line with service needs and to lead by example.
• To ensure that rotas are filled, staff are present at work and are supported throughout the shift, highlighting and resolving any upcoming rostering issues, sickness management and issues relating to the high quality delivery of the service.
• Appropriately answering, handling, and actioning telephone calls to the ECHO service.
• Effectively triaging the needs of patients and ensuring the clear and accurate documentation of all assessments undertaken, demonstrating a clear rationale of the outcomes achieved.
• To use local pathways and protocols to process all referrals in a timely manner to the appropriate teams and/or to signpost service users effectively and appropriately to the correct service
• Be able to respond to conflict situations whilst remaining calm and professional to ensure that a satisfactory outcome is achieved
• Provide empathy to those using the service, being sensitive to their needs and ensuring that ReSPECT and Anticipatory Care Plans are clear appropriate.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To ensure all referrals are responded to in a safe and timely manner, to enable the patient to receive appropriate care and support the patient’s wishes within the community whenever it is safe to do so or, if appropriate, to arrange hospital admission if needs cannot be met within the community.
• To resolve, where possible, and escalate in a timely manner any concerns the post holder has in terms of clinical, service or quality-related issues.
• To work in compliance with the NMC or HCPC code of professional conduct and within ethical, legislation and organisational frameworks, working as an autonomous practitioner, the Senior Clinical Assessor will ensure that the privacy, dignity, and confidentiality of the patient is adhered to at all times.
• The Senior Clinical Assessor will have an excellent all-round medical knowledge and in particular have experience with end of life care.
• The post holder will be responsible for leading the shift and will be expected to respond to any issues as they arise, dealing with these promptly, effectively and by demonstrating good leadership qualities in every sense.  They will also be expected to manage call answer performance and all call queues effectively and efficiently during their shift, escalating any concerns appropriately as they arise.
• The post holder will be expected to identify gaps in knowledge and to assist in the development of appropriate educational resources to support junior staff within the team.
• The Senior Clinical Assessors involvement in lifelong learning will be integral to maintaining and developing practice utilising CPD, self-directed learning, reflective practice methods, coaching, clinical supervision, and the principles of performance management in the interests of their self, their colleagues and the service.
• The post holder will be expected to lead, influence, reflect on and participate in feedback from partner organisations, using this information as a development indicator to proactively identify areas of growth, service need and areas for personal development.
• To prioritise own workload and organise and carry out work effectively, identifying and managing risks to quality.
• The post holder does not have any financial responsibilities, including being a budget holder, a budget manager, responsibility for cash or valuables or responsibility for the maintenance of equipment, buildings, or other physical assets.