Paramedic Practitioner (Home Visiting) - Park & Orchard PCN

Paramedic Practitioner (Home Visiting) - Park & Orchard PCN

Park and Orchard Primary Care Network (PCN) is looking to recruit a home visiting Paramedic Practitioner on a flexible zero hour contract until 30th March 2025.

Park and Orchard PCN is an NHS Collaboration between 2 GP practices - Park Surgery and Orchard Surgery covering the Horsham Locality. The practices have a combined population of 30,000 patients. There is a wide socio-economic and demographic served within this area which will provide an interesting and varied case mix. Our PCN has an exciting opportunity to expand their Primary Care workforce by employing an additional Paramedic Practitioner to join their innovative and dynamic Primary Care Network.

You will be joining an enthusiastic team of clinicians and administrators including GPs, Paramedic Practitioners, Pharmacy Technicians, Clinical Pharmacists, Physician Associates, First Contact Physiotherapists, Social Prescribers, Health and Wellbeing Coaches, Care Coordinators, Practice Nurses, Healthcare Assistants, and more.

Our surgery teams work closely, sharing expertise and resources to develop new services including ambitions to soon establish a Women's Health project and an Anticipatory Care/Frailty project. Our vision is to continue to improve the quality of care that we provide in alignment with the needs of our patient population and find innovative solutions in general practice to deliver the best care we can for our patients.

Main duties of the job

Park and Orchard PCN is looking for a Paramedic Practitioner to primarily focus on supporting community and housebound patients. You will be provided with a range of clinical supervision and training opportunities to develop your skills in Primary Care.

You will work closely with clinicians from the practices and will play a vital role in increasing capacity for all appointments including home visits. The successful candidate will be provided with excellent support, the opportunity for development in the role, and will be clinically supervised by a General Practitioner.

As a Paramedic Practitioner, you will be required to work autonomously in the community across the network practices (Park Surgery and Orchard Surgery), providing a range of services such as assessment, diagnosis, treatment, telephone triage, clinical decision-making, and referring patients appropriately under supervision.

You will be predominantly community-based, undertaking home visits, and liaising with a multidisciplinary team including GPs as well as other services. The postholder will start their day at one of the surgeries and may be required to rotate accordingly.

The post holder will work within their level of competency and will report to a GP/Partner who will provide support and mentorship.

Alliance for Better Care CIC will provide support and ensure access to training programmes as required.

About us

Alliance for Better Care CIC is a GP Federation that unites 47 NHS GP practices across 12 Primary Care Networks in Sussex and Surrey. We support our Primary Care colleagues as well as their patients, to transform how healthcare is managed within the community.

As a membership organisation, our focus is to work in partnership with our members and help them to improve the provision of General Practices in the local area.

We work with and listen to our GP Practices, PCNs, Hospitals, Community Organisations, and the Third Sector. These vital partnerships ensure that, together, we deliver a truly integrated approach that offers the support and expertise needed to effectively serve our communities.

• Generous annual leave allowance
• Access to NHS pension
• Bespoke training programme
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Enhanced maternity pay
• NHS discounts
• Leadership Development Programme
• Salary sacrifice schemes technology and electric vehicle
• Opportunities for secondments

Job responsibilities

Clinical Responsibilities:

• Provide assessment, diagnosis, and treatment at first point of contact by attending to patients according to their needs either in the Practice or patients' homes under supervision.
• Work across the Practices within the Primary Care Network, including a combination of in person, remote, telephone, and video consultation.
• Undertake any tasks consistent with the level of the post and the scope of the role, ensuring that work is delivered in a timely and effective manner.
• Work with practice teams under supervision to ensure the process for referral of urgent on-the-day patients is smooth and appropriate patients are referred, making full use of the practitioner's skills.
• Accurately triage and prioritise patients, including in emergency situations under supervision, demonstrating the use of a variety of techniques to elicit the history of an event/illness, including past medical and drug history.
• Evaluate clinical information from examination and history taking and initiate appropriate treatment and/or referral.
• Undertake and interpret diagnostics and take appropriate action to manage patient care, whilst distinguishing between abnormal and normal findings in order to relate them to a possible diagnosis.

Use broad clinical guidelines (NICE etc.) relating them to individual cases, providing assistance and feedback to the organisation and others on how these should be interpreted.

Signpost appropriately to other services in the identified healthcare pathway.

Refer patients to appropriate care settings, within locally agreed healthcare pathways.

Advise and support members of the public on healthy lifestyles, health promotion, and disease prevention.

Maintain accurate and systematic documentation of patient interactions and clinical care provided, including adverse events.

Support delivery of anticipatory care plans and lead certain services (e.g., monitoring blood pressure and diabetes risk of housebound elderly patients).

Recognise opportunities to reduce inequalities and unwarranted variation in healthcare for the practice population. Play an active role in in-house practice and clinical meetings.

Communication:

• Ensure via use of clinical systems, attendance at meetings, and other means that are a core part of the practice MDT supporting patients and work with the wider MDT including staff from SCFT, SPFT, Local Authority, and Voluntary Sector organisations.
• Ensure high quality, clear communication with patients and carers including within challenging situations.

Professional:

• Proactively support audit of own caseload and that of colleagues to ensure the quality of the service is maintained and continuously improved. Seek out feedback from other members of the MDT and patients to support this.
• Undertake all necessary training and be familiar with all policies to ensure compliance with expected procedures and ways of working.
• Ensure practice is within good clinical governance and based on sound up-to-date clinical evidence. Identify and assess any risks associated with patient care or to oneself and communicate these risks to the appropriate clinical manager.
• Adhere to organisational policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, equality, diversity and inclusion training, and health and safety.
• Participate in the education and training of staff and students of all disciplines. Maintain continued education by attendance at courses and study days as deemed useful or necessary for professional development, ensuring CPD requirements are met.

Complete statutory training/updating and mandatory training as defined by the PCN.

Person Specification

Personal Qualities

• Ability to work cooperatively with the multi-disciplinary team
• Ability and willingness to develop professionally
• Demonstrated ability to foster an inclusive and supportive environment for colleagues and patients of all backgrounds
• Committed to bringing diverse perspectives to the team and fostering a culture of equity and inclusion
• Ability to use own initiative
• Ability to demonstrate professionalism and commitment to high standards of care, including equity and inclusion
• Ability to motivate other team members
• Ability to promote a learning environment

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Ability to manage and prioritise workload
• Proven ability to work autonomously and as part of a team
• Previous experience of non-medical prescribing and using PGDs
• Experience as an autonomous practitioner within a minor injury/illness centre or mobile service
• Experience of the ECP/Advanced Practitioner role within Primary or Secondary Care
• Understanding of and commitment to cultural competency, with the ability to work effectively with patients and colleagues from diverse backgrounds
• Current knowledge of government targets and initiatives and N.I.C.E. guidelines and their impact on clinical practice
• Understanding of the N.M.C/H.P.C Code of Professional Conduct
• Knowledge of child protection issues
• Understanding of clinical governance and its significance and impact upon practice
• Ability to communicate effectively with patients, carers, and colleagues, using various methods (written, verbal, assistive technology, etc.)
• Basic IT skills or the ability to learn to use IT systems, with appropriate adjustments or support as needed
• Experience in using IT based patient documentation systems
• Ability to demonstrate good organisational skills including effective time management
• Ability to professionally and appropriately challenge differing opinions as a patient advocate
• Experience of triage/initial assessment
• Ability to demonstrate leadership skills, with or without formal designation, including problem-solving, decision-making, and collaboration
• Ability to work autonomously, using own clinical judgment to form a diagnosis
• Skills for managing minor injuries
• Dispensing skills as per protocols and patient group directives
• Skills of multi-system assessment
• Knowledge of medical model of documentation
• Ability to give appropriate telephone advice
• Understanding of health education/promotion
• Ability to give relevant discharge advice
• Experience of following referral pathways
• Evidence of experience/competency in the form of a professional portfolio
• Ability to record/interpret ECG
• Experience of performing a social assessment
• Experience as a practitioner in an A&E Department or similar emergency care centre
• Experience of clinical audit
• Experience of research projects

Other

• Ability to perform in challenging environments, with appropriate support and adjustments as needed
• Vaccine and immunity status in accordance with UK Department of Health Guidelines
• Ability to address sensitive issues with cultural awareness and respect for individual beliefs and identities e.g. sudden death/bereavement, child abuse, domestic violence
• Ability to adjust and respond in rapidly changing environments
• Ability to work in a calm and organised manner in situations of extreme workload
• Ability to undertake home visits
• Hold a current driving licence with business insurance

Qualifications

• Registered Paramedic (HCPC)
• Evidence of continued professional development
• Relevant MSc or BSc
• ALS/APLS provider
• Has completed 2-year consolidation of learning period as a newly qualified paramedic; and has a further 3-year experience as a band 6 (or equivalent) paramedic
• Working at Level 7 capability in paramedic areas or practice (or aiming to achieve within 6 months of starting)
• ENP/ECP Minor Injuries and Minor Illness course Level 6
• Attended X-ray/IRMER course
• Experience or qualification in teaching, assessing, or mentoring

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.

£41,351.78 to £47,500.19 a year per annum dependent on experience (pro rata)