Job summary
Are you ready to unlock your potential within a challenging, creative and fast paced work environment? Do you want to escape your current job role and work with people to build positive and productive lives, whatever their past? Now is the time to breakinto offender healthcare and develop your career.
As part of the South West Prison Healthcare contract awarded to Oxleas NHS trust in 2022, we are able to expand recruitment and are looking for a compassionate, knowledgeable and motivated Paramedic to join our friendly team at HMP Bristol.
Our healthcare team have a real impact on promoting health and well-being to those in prison and we pride ourselves on using skills and strategies that instil hope for patients future resettlement back into the community. We directly deliver Mental Health, Physical Health, Pharmacy and Clinical Substance Misuse in an integrated healthcare delivery model to provide effective and responsive care to improve wellbeing and support better outcomes in the future.
Step into a role that promises unparalleled challenges, professional growth, and the chance to significantly impact the lives of those within the criminal justice system. As a Band 6Paramedic at HMP Bristol, you will become integral to a dedicated healthcare team committed to delivering exceptional care in a unique and dynamic environment.
Main duties of the job
In this role, you will conduct comprehensive health assessments, develop care plans, and provide routine healthcare services. Your efforts will ensure the physical and mental well-being of the prison population, addressing a wide range of health issues and promoting overall wellness. You will be the frontline responder to medical emergencies within the prison. Utilising your advanced skills, you will swiftly and effectively stabilise, treat, and manage acute incidents, providing immediate and appropriate care in critical situations. Working alongside mental health professionals, you will identify, assess, and manage individuals in crisis. Your role will also involve educating the prison population on health-related issues, promoting healthy lifestyles, and reducing health inequalities. Adapting your clinical practice to meet the unique challenges of working in a secure setting is essential. You will maintain high standards of care while ensuring that safety and security protocols are strictly followed, balancing the demands of healthcare delivery with the requirements of a custodial environment. Working as aParamedic at HMP Bristol is not just a job; it's an opportunity to improve lives. This role will, in return, provide a stimulating and varied workload, professional development opportunities, and the profound satisfaction of making a difference where it is needed most.
About us
Oxleas - About Us
Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children's centres, schools and people's homes.
We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.
Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:
We're KindWe're FairWe ListenWe Care
Job description
Job responsibilities
Management responsibilities
1. To be responsible for primary care staff rotas, taking into account efficient use of resources, staff capacity and changing service needs.
2. Responsible for staff supervision and annual appraisal.
3. To lead in the implementation of effective and appropriate patient centred care planning tools / Care Programme Approach (CPA) and consistent delivery throughout all the prisons and forensic units within the service.
4. Involve HR policies disciplinary.
5. The post holder will participate in all service reviews as required .
6. Act as an Authorised Signatory as well as being responsible for the booking of temporary staffing.
Leadership
7. To demonstrate and provide robust clinical leadership to junior staff with a sound understanding of evidence based nursing practice to provide a pro-active approach to ensure quality and outcome driven practice on a day-to-day basis.
8. To lead in the professional clinical supervision programme, to ensure all junior staff receive appropriate supervision, training and annual appraisal to ensure that it becomes an integral part of team practice.
9. Lead in the identification of all aspects of specific service, training and personal development needs.
Clinical
10. As an Oxleas AECP / Paramedic you will ensure that care is always delivered in collaboration with the key people involved and will provide support and information to the people in your care and to their carers where appropriate.
11. You will be directly involved in handling and administering prescribed medication and controlled drugs and involved in procedures where you are expected to be appropriately trained and competent suturing and wound care.
12. You will monitor physiological observations by undertaking a full assessment using a structured and prioritized approach and the recognition of the acutely ill patient ABCDE approach, ECG recognition, pathways for CVA and the diagnosis and referral of a range of cardiac conditions.
13. You will complete all patient documentation associated with an episode of patient using Systemone clinical record.
14. The post holder will exercise a degree of personal and professional autonomy, make complex and critical judgments under the management of the Primary Care Clinical Lead and have decision making skills to satisfy the expectations of the role.
Research
15. To support and undertake research, clinical audit and evaluate the service as directed. This will include acute care, long term conditions management and health promotion activities and be in line with the NHS Plan, public health and National Service Frameworks.
16. To participate in all monitoring systems to promote the development of evidence based practice in the specialist field and to promote research as appropriate.
Communication
17. You will be committed to establishing good working relationships with other professionals and partner organisations involved in providing that care and will work closely with the multidisciplinary team, providing excellent written and verbal feedback on the people in your cares progress.
18. You will be a competent and skilled communicator, listening and being involved in shared decision making and will appreciate the cultural diversity of your client group and the stigma that can be related to health issues.
19. This role requires a Registered Nurse / Paramedic to work as part of a team delivering care to patients within the prison.
20. You will communicate report and document the patients history, condition and treatment to a full range of medical staff including colleagues, nurses and doctors as appropriate.
21. You will be expected to liaise with local hospital wards where prisoners are admitted as well as undertaking hospital ward visits to support discharge and continuity of care within the prison
IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE READ: All applicants must be willing to undertake National Security Vetting in order to work in a Prison Setting. This will be completed as part of the pre-employment checks through Oxleas and the prison vetting team.
You will need to provide: Proof of right to work documentation Proof of ID, needs to include 1 photographic ID Proof of address documentation Non-UK passport holders will need to have correct documentation (right to work in the UK) and a Home office Share code.
Address History: 5 years address history will be needed. Applicants that are not UK Passport holders who provide less than 5 years UK address history will need to provide a Police Certificate which must be in English from where they resided previously. Applicants who are UK Passport holders who have lived abroad for a period of more than six months during the last three years will need to provide a certificate of good conduct or an overseas police check in English from the countries resided in or visited. In order to assist you in obtaining a Police Certificate, guidance can be sought from: If the country you have resided in is not listed here, you can obtain the necessary information by contacting the relevant Embassy or High Commission for that Country. Their contact details can be found on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website (
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
22. Recognised higher education qualification eg - Bachelor's Degree in Nursing / Paramedic Science, Paramedic Studies or Paramedic Practice or have the BTECH Level 4 Paramedic qualification.
23. NMC or HCPC Registration
Experience
Essential
24. In-depth knowledge of Emergency nurse / paramedic-led care and the treatments/ interventions and their application in a prison environment.
25. Emotionally resilient and be able to deal with trauma injuries.
Desirable
26. Understanding and or experience of secure environments (prisons or forensic services)
Skills
Essential
27. Effective written and verbal communication skills
28. Understanding of clinical audit and governance