About this role
Job summary
County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting salaried General Practitioners to join its Urgent Treatment Centres, providing safe, effective and patient-centred urgent care for children and adults.
You will work as part of a multidisciplinary team delivering a 24-hour, seven-day service across County Durham. The role includes daytime, overnight and weekend working across agreed UTC locations, in line with your rota and job plan.
Working autonomously within the agreed service scope, you will assess and manage undifferentiated illness and injury, identify patients requiring emergency or specialist care and support timely access to appropriate treatment. You will be clinically accountable to the Clinical Lead and operationally accountable to the General Manager.
The nominal base is University Hospital of North Durham withwork across the Trust's UTC sites. Full-time and part-time applications are welcomed.
You will also have opportunities to teach and support colleagues, contribute to clinical governance and improve services through evidence and patient feedback.
Main duties of the job
You will assess, diagnose and treat patients presenting with urgent illness and injury, prioritising clinical need and recognising serious illness or deterioration. You will agree treatment plans, prescribe safely, request and review appropriate investigations, and arrange referral, discharge or follow-up.
You will provide face-to-face consultations and telephone assessment where commissioned. Home visits will be undertaken where included in the agreed service model and job plan.
Clear communication, shared decision-making and recorded safety-netting advice will be central to your practice. You will maintain accurate clinical records and provide structured handovers, including outstanding results and unresolved risks.
Working with advanced practitioners, nurses, pharmacy and operational colleagues, you will support safe patient flow and provide clinical advice within your competence. You will contribute to safeguarding, incident learning, audit, quality improvement and teaching, while maintaining professional registration, appraisal, revalidation and required training.
About us
If you are being interviewed you must accept an interview slot in the system to continue, even if you have arranged with the manager.
You must be able to produce ALL certificates stated essential in the person specification or you will not be able to complete pre-employment checks.
We provide hospital services from two acute sites - Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham. We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester-le-Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community based settings and providing care in patients' homes.
We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under-represented.
Full Job Descriptions can be found in the adverts supporting documents.
Over reliance on AI-generated content is discouraged and may diminish the applicant's chances of success.
For the most up-to-date information on visa requirements and eligibility, please check online to determine whether you can apply.
Please note that we may close any vacancy early once a sufficient number of applications have been received.
Job description Job responsibilities
The post holder is clinically accountable to the Clinical Lead and operationally accountable to the General Manager, providing urgent medical care as part of a 24-hour, seven-day service across County Durham, working across agreed Trust UTC locations within the service scope and job plan. The role includes daytime, overnight and weekend working in line with the agreed rota.
Clinical assessment and management
Assess, diagnose and manage urgent illness and injury, using clinical judgement, evidence and local pathways.
Provide face-to-face and telephone consultations, with home visits where included in the agreed service model.
Recognise serious illness and deterioration, initiate treatment within competence and arrange timely escalation or transfer.
Request appropriate investigations, ensure results are acted upon and prescribe safely.
Involve patients in decisions, provide clear safety-netting advice and arrange referral, discharge or follow-up.
Safe care and clinical governance
Maintain accurate clinical records and follow Trust policies and professional standards.
Act on safeguarding concerns, obtain valid consent, assess capacity where relevant and maintain confidentiality.
Report incidents and risks, escalate safety concerns and contribute to audit, improvement and learning from patient feedback.
Teamworking and clinical support
Work with multidisciplinary colleagues to coordinate care and support safe patient flow.
Provide clinical advice, teaching and supervision within competence and agreed accreditation.
Ensure clear handovers of outstanding investigations, patients awaiting review and unresolved risks.
Service development and professional practice
Contribute to service improvement, pathway development and approved research where appropriate.
Address barriers to access, arrange reasonable adjustments and promote self-care.
Maintain professional registration, relevant competencies, continuing development, appraisal, revalidation and mandatory training.
Appointment requirements are detailed in the person specification.
Person Specification
Special Requirements Essential
Able to travel across Trust sites to meet the requirements of the post, with reasonable adjustments where required. Able to work the agreed rota and service operating hours as specified in the job plan. Demonstrates patient-centred care, respect, compassion and behaviours consistent with Trust values. Commitment to equality, inclusion and responding to individual patient needs. Willingness to raise concerns, reflect on practice and act on feedback.
Special Skills & Knowledge Essential
Ability to assess, diagnose and manage undifferentiated presentations within the agreed UTC service scope. Ability to recognise serious illness, clinical deterioration and safeguarding concerns, and arrange timely escalation or referral. Sound clinical judgement, including recognition of personal limits and when to seek advice. Knowledge of safe prescribing, antimicrobial stewardship and evidence-informed practice. Ability to communicate clearly and sensitively with patients, families and colleagues, including explaining uncertainty and providing safety-netting advice. Ability to prioritise clinical workload and make safe decisions in a busy service. Ability to work autonomously and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team. Knowledge of consent, mental capacity, confidentiality and professional responsibilities. Ability to maintain accurate electronic clinical records. Understanding of clinical governance, incident reporting, audit and quality improvement.
Desirable
Knowledge of local urgent care pathways and community services. Experience using SystmOne. Skills in telephone assessment and remote consultation. Additional clinical skills relevant to the agreed UTC scope, including minor injury assessment and management.
Experience Essential
Clinical experience gained through GP training or subsequent practice in assessing and managing acute and undifferentiated illness. Experience caring for patients across the age range including children and adults. Experience of multidisciplinary working, referral and clinical handover. Evidence of participation in clinical audit, quality improvement or learning from incidents and patient feedback.
Desirable
Experience working in an urgent treatment centre, out-of-hours service, emergency department or comparable urgent care setting. Experience supporting or supervising multidisciplinary colleagues. Experience teaching healthcare professionals or learners. Experience contributing to service development or clinical pathway improvement.
Qualifications Essential
Recognised primary medical qualification. Completion of GP specialty training, or an alternative recognised route to entry onto the GMC GP Register, by the date of appointment. Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to general practice and urgent care. Safeguarding and resuscitation training appropriate to the role, or willingness to complete required updates before undertaking relevant duties.
Desirable
Additional qualifications or training relevant to urgent care, paediatrics, minor injuries, medical education or clinical leadership. Recognised teaching or clinical supervision qualification.
Statutory Registration Essential
Full GMC registration with a current licence to practise. Inclusion on the GMC GP Register by the date of appointment. Participation in appraisal and revalidation appropriate to professional requirements.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details Employer name County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
Address University Hospital Of North Durham
North Road
DURHAM
DH1 5TW
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.cddft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)