Job summary
A great opportunity has arisen to join our vibrant rural GP practice as an Urgent Care Practitioner. The post holder will work as part of our clinical team as well as providing home visits to our patient population.
The post holder is a registered clinician with post graduate qualifications relevant to the position who acting within their professional boundaries and under the leadership of our GPs will provide a high standard of care to meet the needs of our patients.
Main duties of the job
The post holder is an Urgent Care Practitioner who acts within their professional boundaries, supporting and working alongside the team of clinicians at the practice.
The post holder will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient facing role undertaking clinical assessments, diagnostics and treatment either in the practice or at a patients residence and supporting the practice virtual ward and frailty workload.
You will be able to demonstrate safe, competent clinical decision making and deliver expert care including history taking, assessment, diagnostic skills, treatment, and evaluation.
The post holder will be an experienced, professional, and caring person who can demonstrate highly developed clinical skills and be able to demonstrate critical thinking whilst working within their professional boundaries including independently prescribing appropriate medication and making any necessary referrals for investigations in the appropriate manner.
About us
We work from three purpose-built sites with our sites at Llanfyllin and Four Crosses being our main hubs of care and provide medical services to over 11,000 patients. Our exceptional team comprising of 8 partners and a highly skilled clinical and non-clinical team provide high quality general practice services to meet the needs of our patient population.
We are a training practice at all levels from doctors to receptionists and have a large multidisciplinary team with a strong track record of developing services locally for our very supportive patients.
Who are we?
There are 8 partners comprising of 6 GPs, a Pharmacist and our Managing Partner as well as 3 Salaried GPs and a regular locum as needed. Most of us work part time and all have special interests. We always work together and there is always someone in the next room to mull over an issue or have a quick chat to help the day go by.
Our pharmacist provides medical expertise, supports our training of dispensary staff, and mentors pharmacy interns.
We have 5 prescribing nurse practitioners who support same day services, 5 practice nurses who all have areas of expertise, and 3 HCAs who are constantly interested in developing their work and knowledge.
The clinical team could not function without the non-clinical team which is led by our amazing Managing Partner who brings a transparent and open approach to all aspects of our large teams activities both day to day and in planning for the future.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Primary responsibilities
The following are the core responsibilities of the Urgent Care Practitioner. There may be on occasion a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent on factors such as workload and staffing levels. The Urgent Care Practitioner will work within their scope of clinical practice and:
Assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate treatment/interventions and care for patients presenting with an undifferentiated diagnosis.
Undertake consultations with patients including visiting in their own home or a care home environment.
Assess, plan, implement and evaluate individual treatment plans for patients with a known long term condition.
Diagnose and/or liaise with GPs to agree diagnosis, any further investigations which may be needed and appropriate treatment.
Refer patients as appropriate to other members of the multidisciplinary team, secondary care and to other relevant care providers.
Work as an independent practitioner and as part of the multidisciplinary and multi-agency teams in order to ensure patients needs are met.
Maintain accurate clinical records in line with extant legislation
Ensure complete an accurate documentation and read coding of each and ever patient contact.
Ensure continuity of care, arranging follow-up consultations or reviews as necessary
Review the effectiveness of the treatment provided, making changes where necessary to improve patient outcomes
Demonstrate sensitive communication styles to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment.
Recognise, assess and refer patients presenting with mental health needs
Support patients in the use of their prescribed medicines or over-the-counter medicines (within own scope of practice)
Liaise with external services/agencies to ensure that the patient is supported appropriately (vulnerable patients, etc.)
Ensure that they adhere to the relevant patient group directives and local clinical pathways at all times
Support the clinical team with all safeguarding matters, in accordance with local and national policies
Deliver opportunistic health promotion where appropriate
Any other duties appropriate to the post
Must have access to own transport and a clean driving licence
Secondary responsibilities
In addition to the primary responsibilities, the Urgent Care Practitioner may be requested to:
Support the practice audit programme, undertaking audits when necessary
Support junior members of the team, providing guidance when necessary
Participate in local initiatives to enhance service delivery and patient care
Support and participate in shared learning within the practice
Continually review clinical practices, responding to national policies and initiatives where appropriate
Participate in the review of significant and near-miss events, applying a structured approach, root cause analysis (RCA)
Take personal responsibility for own learning and development, including the requirement to maintain currency, achieving all targets set in own Personal Development Plan (PDP)
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
1. Registered Paramedic (HCPC) with current registration on the HCPC Register, or
2. Qualified Registered Nurse with current registration on the NMC Register
Desirable
3. Postgraduate diploma or degree (primary care)
4. First Contact Practitioner qualification
Experience
Essential
5. Experience of working to protocols or guidelines
6. Experience of dealing with a range of clinical conditions
Desirable
7. Experience in visiting patients in their own home
8. Experience of working in a primary care environment
Other
Essential
9. Flexibility to work outside core office hours
10. Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check
11. Occupational Health clearance
Desirable
12. *For full criteria please see attached job description*