The Advanced Nurse Practitioner 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 ANP provides an opportunity for patients to avoid the need to be referred to a GP, thereby enabling them to receive timely care and negate unnecessary delay in receiving treatment. ANPs 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. Confidentiality The organisation is committed to maintaining an outstanding confidential service. Patients entrust and permit us to collect and retain sensitive information relating to their health and other matters pertaining to their care. They do so in confidence and have a right to expect all staff will respect their privacy and maintain confidentiality. It is essential that, if the legal requirements are to be met and the trust of our patients is to be retained, all staff must protect patient information and provide a confidential service. Quality and Continuous Improvement (CI) To preserve and improve the quality of this organisations output, all personnel are required to think not only of what they do, but how they achieve it. By continually re examining our processes, we will be able to develop and improve the overall effectiveness of the way we work. The responsibility for this rests with everyone working within the organisation, to look for opportunities to improve quality and share good practice, and to discuss, highlight and work with the team to create opportunities to improve patient care. At this organisation, we continually strive to improve work processes which deliver healthcare with improved results across all areas of our service provision. We promote a culture of continuous improvement where everyone counts, and staff are permitted to make suggestions and contributions to improve our service delivery and enhance patient care. Staff should interpret national strategies and policies into local implementation strategies that are aligned to the values and culture of general practice. All staff are to contribute to investigations and root cause analyses whilst participating in serious incident investigations and multidisciplinary case reviews. Learning and development The effective use of training and development is fundamental to ensuring that all staff are equipped with the appropriate skills, knowledge, attitude, and competences to perform their role. All staff will be required to partake in and complete mandatory training as directed. It is an expectation for this post holder to assess their own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate The post holder will undertake mentorship for team members, and disseminate learning and information gained to other team members, to share good practice and inform others about current and future developments e.g., courses and conferences. The post holder will provide an educational role to patients, carers, families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning. Collaborative working All staff are to recognise the significance of collaborative working, understand their own role and scope, and identify how this may develop over time. Staff are to prioritise their own workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are embedded within the culture of the team. Teamwork is essential in multidisciplinary environments, and the post holder is to work as an effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploring the mechanisms to develop new ways of working, while working effectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon care delivery Effective communication is essential, and all staff must ensure they communicate in a way which enables the sharing of information in an appropriate manner. All staff should delegate clearly and appropriately, adopting the principles of safe practice and assessment of competence. Plans and outcomes by which to measure success should be agreed. Managing information All staff should use technology and appropriate software as an aid to management in the planning, implementation and monitoring of care, and presenting and communicating information. Data should be reviewed and processed using accurate SNOMED/read codes to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes. Professional conduct All staff are required to dress appropriately for their role. Primary key responsibilities The following are the core responsibilities of the Advanced Nurse Practitioner. There may be, on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels: a. Develop, implement and embed health promotion and wellbeing programmes b. Manage patients presenting with a range of acute and chronic medical conditions, providing subject matter expert advice c. Implement and evaluate individual specialised treatment plans for chronic disease patients d. Identify, manage and support patients at risk of developing long-term conditions, preventing adverse effects to the patients health e. Provide advanced, specialist nursing care to patients as required in accordance with clinical based evidence, NICE and the NSF f. Provide wound care ,ulcer/Doppler, etc. g. Provide specialist clinics such as ear syringing, contraception, etc. h. Undertake the collection of pathological specimens i. Provide travel medicine services j. Request pathology services as necessary k. Process and interpret pathology and other test results as required l. Provide chronic disease clinics, delivering patient care as necessary, referring patients to secondary/specialist care as required m. Maintain accurate clinical records in conjunction with extant legislation n. Ensure SNOMED CT codes are used effectively o. Maintain chronic disease registers p. Develop, implement and embed well woman clinics q. Develop, implement and embed well man clinics r. Develop, implement and embed travel clinics s. Develop, implement and embed an effective call/recall system t. Be responsible for the implementation of an effective immunisation programme u. Chaperone patients where necessary v. Prioritise health issues and intervene appropriately w. Support the team in dealing with clinical emergencies x. Recognise, assess and refer patients presenting with mental health needs y. Implement vaccination programmes for adults and children z. Be an extended and supplementary prescriber, adhering to extant guidance aa. Support patients in the use of their prescribed medicines or over the counter medicines ,within own scope of practice, reviewing annually as required bb. Contribute to practice targets,QOF, etc., complying with local and regional guidance cc. Liaise with external services/agencies to ensure the patient is supported appropriately,vulnerable patients, etc. dd. Delegate clinical responsibilities appropriately, ensuring safe practice and that the task is within the scope of practice of the individual. ee. Support the clinical team with all safeguarding matters in accordance with local and national policies ff. Understand practice and local policies for substance abuse and addictive behaviour, referring patients appropriately gg. Deliver opportunistic health promotion where appropriate Secondary responsibilities In addition to the primary responsibilities, the Advanced Nurse Practitioner may be requested to a. Act as the audit lead, effectively utilising the audit cycle b. Act as the IPC lead for the practice, ensuring compliance, undertaking audit as necessary c. Monitor and ensure the safe storage, rotation and disposal of medicaments d. Undertake overall management of the nursing team, providing guidance when necessary, acting as a mentor to students and newly qualified staff e. Maintain an effective nursing staff rota ensuring all clinics are staffed appropriately f. Participate in local initiatives to enhance service delivery and patient care g. Support and participate in shared learning within the organisation h. Develop an area of specialist interest, taking the lead within the organisation i.Continually review clinical practices, responding to national policies and initiatives where appropriate j.Participate in the review of significant and near-miss events applying a structured approach i.e., root cause analysis, RCA. k. Drive the development of nursing services within the organisation, liaising with external agencies and professional organisations as required l. Develop practice administrative and clinical protocols in line with the needs of the patient and current legislation