About this role
Job summary
The Home Visiting Advanced Practitioner will provide a high-quality, responsive and patient-centred home visiting service to patients registered with Cramlington & Seaton Valley PCN who are unable to attend the practice due to their clinical condition.
The postholder will work autonomously, within their professional competence and agreed scope of practice, undertaking comprehensive clinical assessments, diagnosis, treatment and ongoing management of patients presenting with acute, complex and long-term conditions.
The role will focus on providing timely assessment and treatment within patients' homes, supporting admission avoidance where clinically appropriate, managing clinical deterioration and ensuring patients receive care in the most appropriate setting.
The postholder will work closely with GPs, nursing staff, the wider multidisciplinary team, community services and other healthcare professionals to ensure safe, effective and coordinated patient care.
Main duties of the job
The Advanced Practitioner(AP) has been assessed as competent in practice using their expert clinical knowledge and skills. They have the freedom and authority to act and make autonomous decisions in the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of patients.
The AP provides an opportunity for patients to receive timely care and negate unnecessarily delay in receiving treatment and without the need to refer to a GP.
APs in primary care can develop close, long-term relationships with their patients and work in partnership with them to achieve optimum health. They are autonomous in making decisions based on assessment, diagnosis and interpretation of test results.
They can independently prescribe appropriate medication, evaluate or refer to other specialists if necessary.
About us
Our PCN comprises of 4 GP practices who work together to deliver services that improve outcomes for our combined population of around 34,000 registered patients. You will be at the forefront of driving this valuable expansion and collaboration of the primary care services across the three practices in the Network.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Home Visiting and Clinical Assessment
- Undertake planned and urgent home visits to patients who have been clinically assessed as requiring care at home.
- Independently assess patients presenting with undifferentiated and potentially complex clinical conditions, within the postholder's agreed scope of competence.
- Obtain comprehensive clinical histories and undertake appropriate physical examinations.
- Use advanced clinical reasoning and diagnostic skills to identify potential diagnoses and formulate appropriate management plans.
- Recognise and respond promptly to signs of serious illness, acute deterioration and medical emergencies.
- Assess and manage a range of acute presentations, including respiratory infections, urinary tract infections, exacerbations of chronic conditions, dehydration and other common presentations encountered in primary care.
- Assess frail and elderly patients with multiple comorbidities and complex health or social care needs.
- Assess patients following falls, considering injuries, underlying causes, mobility, medication and environmental risks.
- Request and interpret appropriate diagnostic investigations where authorised and clinically indicated.
- Initiate appropriate treatment, including medicines, within prescribing qualifications and professional competence.
- Arrange timely follow-up, onward referral or escalation to a GP, community service or secondary care provider when required.
- Provide clear clinical safety-netting advice to patients, relatives and carers. Urgent Care and Admission Avoidance
Urgent Care and Admission Avoidance
- Assess patients with acute illness or deterioration to determine the appropriate level and setting of care.
- Identify opportunities to provide safe treatment and monitoring at home rather than arranging hospital admission.
- Liaise with urgent community response teams, hospital services, community nursing teams and other healthcare providers.
- Recognise situations requiring urgent hospital assessment or emergency ambulance attendance and arrange escalation without delay.
- Support appropriate discharge planning and follow-up for patients recently discharged from hospital.
- Ensure admission avoidance decisions are based on individual clinical need, patient safety and informed decision-making.
Frailty, Long-Term Conditions and Palliative Care
- Undertake holistic assessments of patients with frailty, multiple long-term conditions or declining functional ability.
- Identify changes in physical, cognitive or functional health that may require further intervention.
- Review clinical needs and contribute to personalised care plans.
- Support the identification and management of patients requiring enhanced community support.
- Contribute to anticipatory care planning and appropriate discussions regarding future care preferences.
- Support patients receiving palliative or end-of-life care, including symptom assessment, treatment review and liaison with specialist services.
- Work collaboratively with community nursing, social care, palliative care and other relevant professionals.
- Recognise and respond appropriately to concerns relating to mental capacity, consent, safeguarding and carer wellbeing.
Care Coordination and Multidisciplinary Working
- Maintain effective communication with the duty GP and wider clinical team regarding home visiting outcomes and identified risks.
- Participate in relevant multidisciplinary team discussions and clinical meetings.
- Liaise with care home staff, district nurses, social workers, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals to coordinate patient care.
- Facilitate appropriate referrals and ensure responsibility for follow-up is clearly documented.
- Promote continuity of care, particularly for patients with complex or recurring healthcare needs.
- Support collaborative working across the wider Primary Care Network where required.
Clinical Documentation and Information Governance
- Maintain comprehensive, contemporaneous and accurate patient records using SystmOne.
- Record clinical assessment findings, differential diagnoses, clinical reasoning, management plans and safety-netting advice.
- Ensure appropriate SNOMED CT coding and accurate recording of relevant clinical information.
- Communicate significant clinical findings or concerns promptly to the responsible GP or appropriate healthcare professional.
- Maintain patient confidentiality and comply with UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and practice information governance policies.
- Ensure clinical documentation supports continuity of care and appropriate clinical accountability.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Current NMC or HCPC registration, or other appropriate statutory professional registration
- Relevant advanced practice master's-level qualification or recognised equivalent evidence of advanced practice capability
Desirable
- Independent prescribing qualification
Experience
Essential
- Experience assessing and managing undifferentiated illness
- Experience working within primary care, urgent care or community healthcare
Desirable
- Experience of undertaking home visits
- Experience managing frailty, complex comorbidities and palliative care
- Experience using SystmOne
- Experience of clinical audit, teaching or service improvement
Knowledge and skills
Essential
- Significant post-registration clinical experience
- Advanced clinical assessment and diagnostic skills
- Ability to make autonomous clinical decisions and manage clinical risk
- Strong understanding of safeguarding adults and children
- Excellent communication, documentation and interpersonal skills
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team
- Valid UK driving licence and access to a vehicle insured for business use
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.
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
The Village Surgery
Address
Dudley Lane
Cramlington
Northumberland
NE23 6US
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.thevillagesurgery.com/ (Opens in a new tab)