Sutton Primary Care Networks (PCNs)
Sutton has a population of approximately 200000 residents registered to 21 practices and there are currently 4 Primary Care Networks (PCNs); Carshalton, Cheam & South Sutton, Central Sutton and Wallington PCN; each serving a population of approximately 50000 patients. Primary care networks (PCNs) form a key building block of the NHS long-term plan.
Bringing general practices together to work at scale has been a policy priority for some years for a range of reasons, including improving the ability of practices to recruit and retain staff; to manage financial and estates pressures; to provide a wider range of services to patients and to more easily integrate with the wider health and care system. (The King’s Fund, Primary Care Networks Explained, 1.7.19)
Sutton PCN is forward-looking, friendly and focused on providing a wide range of excellent healthcare services to patients in Sutton and the surrounding area.
There are also currently 8 PCN Clinical Directors. We merged as we could see the benefits of working together in a larger GP partnership and we are delighted to be realising some of those benefits now. Because of our scale, not only are we more resilient and efficient but we are able to invest in continuous quality improvement, enhanced care, new services and training and developing our workforce. We value the diversity of our colleagues and actively champion an inclusive culture and are committed to helping our colleagues achieve a work/life balance.
Sutton is looking to employ Paramedics under the additional roles reimbursement scheme to work directly with its practices, to support the local acute home visiting service and to provide continuity of care to the frail elderly population. They will be accountable to the Primary Care Networks, working in individual PCNs and across PCNs to support the multi-disciplinary teams and relevant services required.
These individuals may also work across more than one PCN in some cases where flexibility allows and for the purposes of cross cover and to ensure general practice resilience in Sutton. You’ll be joining a great team in a great place, where your commitment will be genuinely valued, your skills respected, and your ambition rewarded. Thank you for taking the time of submitting your application and agreeing to meet with the Clinical Directors for the next stage of the recruitment process.
2. Purpose of the Role:
• To be responsible for the provision of care commensurate to the needs of the patient. This may require providing clinical intervention and resuscitation to prevent deterioration, promote recovery or in some cases, liaise with the end of life care team.
• To work within the community as an autonomous and accountable Paramedic Practitioner, in the provision of a holistic approach for individuals including assessment, diagnosis and treatment, to deliver quality patient services.
• Undertake home visits on behalf of the GP practice or PCN as directed and in accordance with relevant clinical guidelines. To work closely with the team of doctors and allied health care professionals to help manage their patients suffering acute/chronic diseases.
• Be prepared to assess, diagnose, treat, refer, signpost or educate patients who attend surgery with an undifferentiated or undiagnosed condition relating to minor illness or injury.
• Use advanced clinical skills to provide education to service users, promoting self-care and empower them to make informed choices about their treatment.
• Be involved in reducing unnecessary conveyance and hospital admissions, and engage effectively with patients, carer’s, families and other health and social care agencies when managing often complex situations.
• The post holder should have their own vehicle available for home visits with expenses remunerated in line with contractual terms.
3. KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
Internal
• Clinical Directors, Nurses, Allied Health professionals
• PCN staff, Practice Managers,
• Team Leaders and teams/staff within Practices
• Staff within centralised functions
External
• St Helier & Epsom NHS Trust, Sutton Health & Care, CCG, NHS provider/partner
• CQC, GP Federation, other regulatory or professional bodies
• Public Health England and other local Authority bodies or functions.
• Patient Liaison Group, third sector agencies and key interest groups/ stakeholders
4. Clinical Responsibilities:
• Triage, assess and treat patients at home, or in the surgery when directed to do so. Make any necessary referrals in collaboration with the referring or duty clinician to other members of the primary health care team, community or hospital teams or social care team as appropriate.
• Assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate treatment, interventions and care for patients presenting with an undifferentiated diagnosis on an acute basis within the boundaries of competence, seeking the advice of the referring or duty clinician if outside level of knowledge and scope of practice.
• Where appropriate, discuss with the referring or duty clinician doctor the needs of patients presenting with complex health needs or conditions requiring specific treatment, hospital admission or referral.
• Clinically examine and assess patient needs from a physiological and psychological perspective, interpret test results and plan clinical care accordingly.
• Follow-up patients in the short term and post discharge / 999 call to ensure continuity of care and assist with reducing unnecessary hospital admission or re-admission.
• Ensure clinical practice is safe and effective and remains within the boundaries of competence, and to acknowledge limitations.
• Advise patients on general health care and minor ailments, with referral to other members of the primary and secondary health care team as necessary.
• Support patients to adopt health promotion strategies that promote healthy lifestyles and apply principles of self-care where appropriate.
• Work as an autonomous practitioner within general practice or in the community setting, caring for patients and families, in accordance with the Health and Care Professions Council Standards and Proficiency, Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics. Ensure that personal and professional clinical standards and development are maintained.
• Prescribe/issue medications as appropriate following national policies, patient group directives and local pathways and in accordance with own competence.
• Formally and informally impart knowledge and skills to colleagues promoting peer review and best practice within the work environment, ensuring the delivery of a safe and effective service.
• Undertake the collection of pathological specimens including intravenous blood samples, swabs etc. Perform investigatory procedures requested by the GPs, only accepting to carry out procedures that you are appropriately trained to complete.
5. Other Responsibilities:
• Maintain accurate, contemporaneous healthcare records appropriate to the consultation.
• Assist with the development of local policies and procedures and participate in audit.
• Participate in PCN MDT where appropriate.
• Explore the potential for collaborative working and take opportunities to initiate and sustain such relationships.
• Liaise with other stakeholders as needed for the collective benefit of patients, including but not limited to;
Patients and their representatives
GP, nurses, AHPs and other practice staff
Social prescribers, first contact physiotherapists, physician associates and pharmacists
Community pharmacists and support staff
End of life care teams
Mental health teams
PCN Clinical Directors and other PCN staff
Practice managers
Community nurses and other allied health professionals
Hospital staff with responsibilities for prescribing and medicines optimisation
6. National Service Specifications
To assist PCNs in meeting these and any that are added at a later date
• Structured medication review and optimisation
• Enhanced health in care homes and implementation of the Vanguard model
• Anticipatory care for high need patients typically experiencing long term conditions, joined up with community services
• Supporting early cancer diagnosis
• Personalised care, implementation of the NHS comprehensive model
• Tackling neighbourhood inequalities
7. Communication
The post-holder should recognise the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:
• Communicate effectively with other team members
• Communicate effectively with patients and carers
• Recognise people’s needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly.
• Link with others within the PCN, to discuss CPD, service development and effective medicine management for the PCN, while sharing best practice proposals and learning.
8. Confidentiality
• In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carer’s, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential.
• Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.
9. Health & safety
The post-holder will implement and lead a full range of promotion and management of their own and others’ health and safety and infection control as defined in the practice Health & Safety policy, the practice Health & Safety manual, and the practice Infection Control policy and published procedures. This will include but will not be limited to:
• Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines
• Awareness of national standards of infection control and cleanliness and regulatory / contractual / professional requirements, and good practice guidelines
• Correct use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Use and monitoring of the correct use of Standard Operating Procedures for cleaning and infection control
• Responsibility for correct hand hygiene of self and others
• Ownership of infection control and clinically based patient care protocols, and implementation of those protocols within the team
• Active observation of current working practices across the team in relation to infection control, cleanliness and related activities, ensuring that procedures are followed and weaknesses / training needs are identified, escalating issues as appropriate
• Identification of the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks across clinical and patient process
• Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills, and initiate and manage the training of others across the full range of infection control and patient processes
• Monitoring practice facilities and equipment in relation to infection control, ensuring that provision of hand-cleansing facilities, wipes etc. are sufficient to ensure a good clinical working environment. Lack of facilities to be escalated as appropriate.
• Safe management of sharps procedures, including training, use, storage and disposal
• Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy, clean and sterile, and safe way, free from hazards. Initiation of remedial / corrective action where needed or escalation to responsible management
• Actively identifying, reporting, and correcting health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
• Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas generally clean, sterile, identifying issues and hazards / risks in relation to other work areas within the business, and assuming responsibility in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness across the business in consultation (where appropriate) with other sector managers
• Undertaking periodic infection control training as directed
• Routine management of own team / team areas, and maintenance of work space standards
• Waste management, including collection, handling, segregation, container management, storage and collection
• Spillage control procedures, management and training
• Decontamination control procedures, management and training, and equipment maintenance
• Maintenance of sterile environments
• Correct cleaning of equipment used for near patient testing, such as blood glucose monitoring equipment and smokelysers, using the manufacturer’s instructions as appropriate
• Demonstrate due regard for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
10. Personal/Professional development
The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, with such training to include but not limited to:
• Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development
• Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work
• Adhere to organisational policies and procedures, including all necessary mandatory training
• Be prepared to undertake L6/L7 development where available and appropriate to do so and in line with both personal and business needs
11. Contribution to the Implementation of Services
The post-holder will:
• Apply practice policies, standards and guidance when on site
• Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work
• Participate in audit where appropriate and asked to do so
12. Special working conditions
The post-holder will:
• be required to travel independently between work sites/patient homes/surgeries and to attend meetings etc hosted by other agencies.
• Probably have contact with body fluids, i.e. urine etc while in clinical practice.
• Need to be able to work remotely and access all required information in relation to the work needs
13. Data Protection
You must not at any time use the personal data held by the organisation for a purpose not described in the Register entry or disclose such data to a third party. If you are in any doubt regarding what you should or should not do in connection with the Data Protection Act then you must contact your line manager or appropriate senior lead at the time
14. Flexibility:
This job description is not intended to be exhaustive. The post-holder will be expected to adopt a flexible attitude towards the duties outlined which may be subject to amendment at any time in consultation with the post-holder and in line with the needs of the organisations in which it works.
The post holder may be required to fulfil other duties, as agreed with the PCN CDs, Business Manager, Practice Partners and/or Practice Managers.
15. Team working:
• Assist in the supervision of other staff or learners where appropriate.
• Work with the PCN member practice teams to ensure delivery of services and programmes.
• Actively engage in the performance cycle to identify training and support requirements.
16. Equality and diversity:
The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of all those around them and to include:
• Acting in a way that recognises the importance of people’s rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies and current legislation.
• Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, other staff and colleagues.
• Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings, priorities and rights.
17. Quality & governance:
The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the PCNs and practices will:
• Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk
• Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision
• Work effectively with individuals in other organisations
• Effectively manage own time, workload and resources
• Follow all available policies and procedures
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Education and Qualifications
Essential:
BSc Paramedic Science or other relevant and equivalent qualification or training pathway
Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) registration
Desirable:
MSc degree
Prescribing qualification
Clinical Experience
Essential:
Minimum 2 years post-qualification experience
Triage and patient examination skills
Knowledge of common acute and long-term conditions seen in general practice
Experience in collaborative working and building relationships across various organisations
Ability to facilitate change to improve clinical practice
Experience in policy review and clinical audit
Good knowledge of Emis / Clinical system
Understanding of clinical governance and quality issues
Desirable:
Experience working in an urgent care or primary care setting
Aptitudes/Personal Qualities
Essential:
Sensitivity to patient issues
Willingness to undertake continuing professional development
Meets DBS reference standards and has a clear criminal record (not subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974)
Ability to work as part of a team
Adaptability to new ways of delivering primary healthcare
Recognises the importance of people’s rights and respects their privacy, dignity, needs, and beliefs
Open and reflective approach
Willingness to work on a rota with flexibility to meet practice clinical commitments
Reliable and punctual
Competency Skills
Essential:
Communication and relational skills
Patient assessment
Managing workload
Evidence-based practice
Patient engagement
Understanding confidentiality
Safe practice and patient engagement
IT knowledge and computer skills
Commitment to learning and development
Alignment with Sutton PCN core values
Let me know if you’d like any refinements! 😊