Job description

Job responsibilities

Clinical Responsibilities:

In accordance with the Practice timetable, as agreed, the post-holder will make him/her-self available to undertake a variety of duties including surgery consultations, telephone consultations and queries, visiting patients at home, checking and signing repeat prescriptions and dealing with queries, paperwork and correspondence in a timely fashion.

Making professional, autonomous decisions in relation to presenting problems, whether self-referred or referred from other health care workers within the organisation.

Assessing the health care needs of patients with undifferentiated and undiagnosed problems

Screening patients for disease risk factors and early signs of illness.

In consultation with patients and in line with current Practice disease management protocols, developing care plans for health.

Providing counselling and health education.

Admitting or discharging patients to and from the caseload and referring to other care providers as appropriate.

Recording clear and contemporaneous consultation notes to agreed standards.

Collecting data for audit purposes.

Compiling and issuing computer-generated acute and repeat prescriptions (avoiding hand-written prescriptions whenever possible).

Prescribing in accordance with the Practice prescribing formulary (or generically) whenever this is clinically appropriate.

In general the post-holder will be expected to undertake all the normal duties and responsibilities associated with a GP working within primary care.

Other Responsibilities within the Organisation:

Awareness of and compliance with all relevant Practice policies/guidelines, e.g. prescribing, confidentiality, data protection, health and safety.

A commitment to life-long learning and audit to ensure evidence-based best practice.

Contributing to evaluation/audit and clinical standard setting within the organisation.

Contributing to the development of computer-based patient records.

Contributing to the summarising of patient records and Read-Coding patient data.

Attending training and events organised by the Practice or other agencies, where appropriate.

Confidentiality:

In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately

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 carers, 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.

Health & Safety:

The post-holder will implement and lead on a full range of promotion and management their own and others health and safety and infection control as defined in the practice Health & Safety Policy and the practice Infection Control policy. 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.

Providing advice on the correct and safe management of the specimens process including collection, labelling, handling, use of correct and clean containers, storage and transport arrangements.

Correct personal use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and ensuring correct use of PPE by others, advising on appropriate circumstances for use by clinicians, staff and patients.

Management of the full range of infection control procedures in both routine and extraordinary circumstances (e.g. pandemic or individual infectious circumstances).

Hand hygiene standards for self and others.

Managing directly all incidents of accidental exposure.

Active observation of current working practices across the practice in relation to infection control, cleanliness and related activities, ensuring that procedures are followed, escalating issues as appropriate to the responsible person.

Identifying 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 proper use is made of hand cleansing facilities, wipes etc, and that these are sufficient to ensure a good clinical working environment. Lack of facilities to be escalated as appropriate to the responsible manager.

Safe management of sharps use, storage and disposal.

Maintenance of own clean working environment.

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 correction of 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 responsible managers .

Undertaking periodic infection control training.

Correct waste and instrument management including handling, segregation, and container use.

Maintenance of sterile environments.

Equality and Diversity:

The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:

Acting in a way that recognizes the importance of peoples 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, carers 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.

Personal/Professional Development:

In addition to maintaining continued education through attendance at any courses and/or study days necessary to ensure that professional development requirements for PREP are met, the post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the Practice as part of this employment, such training to include:

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.

Quality:

The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the Practice, and 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.

Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance.

Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs.

Effectively manage own time, workload and resources.

Communication:

The post-holder should recognize the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:

Communicate effectively with other team members.

Communicate effectively with patients and carers.

Recognize peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly.

Contribution to the Implementation of Services:

The post-holder will:

Apply Practice policies, standards and guidance

Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work

Participate in audit where appropriate.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• MRCGP

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Todmorden Group Practice

Address

Todmorden Health Centre

Lower George Street

Todmorden

West Yorkshire

OL14 5RN

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.todmordengrouppractice.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Job description

Job responsibilities

Clinical practice

Assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate treatment and or interventions of care for patients presenting with an undifferentiated diagnosis.

Clinically examine and assess patient needs from a physiological and psychological perspective, and plan clinical care accordingly.

Assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate interventions and or treatments for patients with complex needs. Proactively identify, diagnose and manage treatment plans for patients at risk of developing a long-term condition (as appropriate).

Diagnose and manage both acute and chronic conditions, integrating both drug- and non-drug-based treatment methods into a management plan.

Prescribe and review medication for therapeutic effectiveness, appropriate to patient needs and in accordance with evidence-based practice and national and practice protocols, and within scope of practice.

Work with patients in order to support compliance with and adherence to prescribed treatments. Provide information and advice on prescribed or over-the-counter medication on medication regimens, side-effects and interactions.

Prioritise health problems and intervene appropriately to assist the patient in complex, urgent or emergency situations, including initiation of effective emergency care.

Support patients to adopt health promotion strategies that promote healthy lifestyles, and apply principles of self-care.

Communication

Utilise and demonstrate sensitive communication styles, to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment.

Communicate with and support patients who are receiving bad news.

Communicate effectively with patients and carers, recognising the need for alternative methods of communication to overcome different levels of understanding, cultural background and preferred ways of communicating.

Anticipate barriers to communication and take action to improve communication.

Maintain effective communication within the practice environment and with external stakeholders.

Act as an advocate for patients and colleagues.

Ensure awareness of sources of support and guidance and provide information in an acceptable format to all patients, recognising any difficulties and referring where appropriate.

Delivering a quality service

Recognise and work within own competence and professional code of conduct as regulated by the NMC. Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient consultation, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures.

Prioritise, organise and manage own workload in a manner that maintains and promotes quality.

Deliver care according to NICE guidelines and evidence-based care.

Assess effectiveness of care delivery through self and peer review, benchmarking and formal evaluation.

Initiate and participate in the maintenance of quality governance systems and processes across the organisation and its activities.

Utilise the audit cycle as a means of evaluating the quality of the work of self and the team, implementing improvements where required.

In partnership with other clinical teams, collaborate on improving the quality of health care responding to local and national policies and initiatives as appropriate.

Evaluate patients response to health care provision and the effectiveness of care.

Support and participate in shared learning across the practice and wider organization.

Use a structured framework (eg root-cause analysis) to manage, review and identify learning from patient complaints, clinical incidents and near-miss events.

Assess the impact of policy implementation on care delivery.

Understand and apply legal issues that support the identification of vulnerable and abused children and adults, and be aware of statutory child/vulnerable patients health procedures and local guidance.

Leadership personal and people development

Take responsibility for own learning and performance including participating in clinical supervision and acting as a positive role model.

Support staff development in order to maximise potential.

Critically evaluate and review innovations and developments that are relevant to the area of work.

Enlist support and influence stakeholders and decision-makers in order to bring about new developments in the provision of services.

Take a lead role in planning and implementing changes within the area of care and responsibility.

Contribute to the development of local guidelines, protocols and standards.

Market the role of the nurse practitioner in general practice.

Team working

Understand own role and scope and identify how this may develop over time.

Work as an effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploring the mechanisms to develop new ways of working.

Delegate clearly and appropriately, adopting the principles of safe practice and assessment of competence.

Create clear referral mechanisms to meet patient need.

Prioritise own workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are embedded within the culture of the team.

Work effectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon care delivery.

Discuss, highlight and work with the team to create opportunities to improve patient care.

Manage and lead on the delivery of specifically identified services or projects as agreed with the practice management team.

Agree plans and outcomes by which to measure success.

Management of risk

Manage and assess risk within the areas of responsibility, ensuring adequate measures are in place to protect staff and patients.

Monitor work areas and practices to ensure they are safe and free from hazards and conform to health, safety and security legislation, policies, procedures and guidelines

Apply infection-control measures within the practice according to local and national guidelines.

Advocate for policies that reduce environmental health risks, are culturally sensitive and increase access to health care for all.

Interpret national strategies and policies into local implementation strategies that are aligned to the values and culture of general practice.

Managing information

Use technology and appropriate software as an aid to management in planning, implementation and monitoring of care, presenting and communicating information

Review and process data using accurate Read codes in order to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes.

Manage information searches using the internet and local library databases.

Understand responsibility of self and others to the practice regarding the Freedom and Information Act.

Learning and development

Disseminate learning and information gained to other team members in order to share good practice and inform others about current and future developments (eg courses and conferences.)

Assess own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate.

Provide an educational role to patients, carers, families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning.

Equality and diversity

Identify patterns of discrimination and take action to overcome this and promote diversity and equality of opportunity.

Enable others to promote equality and diversity in a non-discriminatory culture.

Support people who need assistance in exercising their rights.

Monitor and evaluate adherence to local chaperoning policies.

Act as a role model in the observance of equality and diversity good practice.

Accept the rights of individuals to choose their care providers, participate in care and refuse care.

Assist patients from marginalised groups to access quality care.

Undertake any training required in order to meet the needs of the practice.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered first level nurse
• Relevant nursing degree
• Independent prescribing qualification
• Level 7 (PG Cert) in: Consultation, clinical skills-diagnostics

Desirable

• MSc or equivalent

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Todmorden Group Practice

Address

Todmorden Health Centre

Lower George Street

Todmorden

West Yorkshire

OL14 5RN

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.todmordengrouppractice.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)