Advanced Clinical Practitioner (Band 8a)
Older Person Rehabilitation & Ambulatory Care (OPRAC)
Shape the future of advanced practice in older persons care.
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and highly motivated Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) to join our Older Person Rehabilitation and Ambulatory Care (OPRAC) service at Band 8a level.
This post is aligned to the NHS England Advanced Clinical Practice Framework, operating across the four pillars of advanced practice. The successful candidate will practise with a high level of autonomy and complex decision-making authority, delivering expert care to frail older adults across hospital and community settings.
Working across Hospital at Home, Day Hospital and Ambulatory Care services, you will play a key role in admission avoidance, early supported discharge and the transformation of out-of-hospital pathways for older people.
This role requires an active UK NMC or HCPC Registration
Based Location: Christchurch Day Hospital, Poole Hospital and community working across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole locality
Interview Date: 16th September 2026
Clinical Practice
Provide advanced, autonomous assessment, diagnosis and treatment for older adults with complex, frailty-related and multi-morbid presentations.
Manage undifferentiated and highly complex clinical scenarios across hospital and home environments.
Synthesize information from multiple sources to formulate differential diagnoses and evidence-based management plans.
Support safe, effective patient flow and proactive pathway management.
Leadership & Management
Provide visible clinical leadership within OPRAC and across the Directorate.
Support prioritisation of workload and operational flow across community-facing services.
Contribute to service transformation, redesign and integration aligned to national and Trust strategic priorities
Support workforce development and advanced practice role modelling
Education
Act as an expert resource for ACPs, trainee ACPs, ECPs and the wider multidisciplinary team.
Provide clinical supervision, mentorship and support.
Develop, deliver and evaluate specialist education programmes.
Contribute to embedding the ACP role in line with national capability standards.
Research & Evidence-Based Practice
Promote a culture of enquiry and continuous improvement.
Apply critical appraisal skills to inform clinical decision-making and pathway development.
Participate in audit, service evaluation and quality improvement initiatives
UHD are investing, developing and transforming Trust services in line with the New Hospital Programme. As part of this, some services may move site this year or next, either temporarily or permanently. Recruiting Managers will be happy to answer any service-specific questions at interview.
If a role or service relocates as part of a planned move, excess mileage will not be reimbursed. Travel from home to the new work base will be classed as a normal commute. Any other changes will be managed under Trust or national terms and conditions.
UHD has active networks including Women’s, BAME, Pride, EU, Pro Ability, and Armed Forces. We support Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant interview schemes.
AI tools may be used, but applications must honestly reflect your own skills and experience. Integrity is key to our recruitment process.
You will:
Hold a Master’s degree in Advanced Clinical Practice (or be near completion) aligned to the NHS England framework.
Demonstrate capability across all four pillars of advanced practice.
Be an independent prescriber (or working towards).
Have substantial experience managing frailty, complex multi-morbidity and older adult care.
Be confident practising autonomously across hospital and community environments.
Show strong leadership, influencing and service development skills.
Be a car driver, hold a drivers licence valid in the UK and have access to a car for work purposes.
Why Join OPRAC?
Be at the forefront of integrated, out-of-hospital care transformation.
Shape innovative frailty and rehabilitation pathways.
Work within a supportive, forward-thinking multidisciplinary team.
Influence strategic direction of advanced clinical practice locally.
Make a meaningful impact on outcomes and experience for older people.
If you are an experienced ACP ready to lead, innovate and practise at the highest level of advanced capability, we would love to hear from you.
Apply now and help redefine advanced practice in older persons services.
Two Exciting Opportunities Available
An exciting opportunity has arisen for two experienced, motivated and forward-thinking Band 8a Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACPs) to join our Older Persons Directorate at University Hospitals Dorset. This is a unique opportunity to help redefine advanced practice in older persons' services, lead innovative models of care, and play a key role in shaping the future of integrated, out-of-hospital care.
Working in line with the NHS England Advanced Clinical Practice Framework, the successful candidates will practise across the four pillars of advanced practice, delivering expert care, leading service development, supporting education, and driving quality improvement and research.
As part of a supportive and ambitious multidisciplinary team, you will work with a high degree of autonomy, exercising advanced clinical judgement and complex decision-making to deliver specialist care for frail older adults across acute, community and virtual settings. You will support patients to receive care closer to home, providing effective alternatives to hospital admission wherever possible.
This is an exciting time to join the service as we continue to develop innovative pathways that connect Day Hospital, Ambulatory Care, Virtual Clinics and Hospital at Home, creating seamless care for older people across the communities served by University Hospitals Dorset.
The successful candidates will provide visible clinical leadership across our community-facing older persons services, helping to prioritise and coordinate care while driving service transformation and integration in line with Trust and national strategic priorities. You will champion quality improvement, clinical governance and person-centred care, while supporting colleagues through clinical supervision, mentorship and role modelling.
This role offers a genuine opportunity to influence the future direction of advanced clinical practice locally, contributing to service redesign and helping shape the delivery of high-quality, sustainable care for older people.
For further information or to arrange an informal discussion about the role, please contact Nikita-jo.Johnstone email –
[email protected]