The post holder is a registered Paramedic, who, acting within their professional boundaries, will provide care for the presenting patient from initial history taking to clinical assessment, diagnosis, treatment and evaluation of their care. They will demonstrate safe, clinical decision making and expert care for patients within the general practice environment. They will work collaboratively within the multi-disciplinary general practice team to meet the needs of patients, supporting the delivery of policy and procedures.
SCOPE AND PURPOSE OF ROLE
- To deliver a high standard of patient care as a Paramedic within the practice, using advanced autonomous clinical skills and a broad, in-depth theoretical knowledge base.
- As a member of a varied clinical team, manage a clinical caseload, dealing with presenting patient’s needs within a primary care setting, ensuring patient choice and ease of access to services.
- To support the Duty Doctor within the practice.
- To provide clinical leadership within the practice.
- To mentor and support staff in developing and maintaining clinical skills.
PRIMARY DUTIES AND AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY
CLINICAL ROLE
The post-holder will:
Ø Alongside the Duty Doctor they will provide a first point of contact within the Practice for patients presenting with undifferentiated, undiagnosed problems, making use of skills in history taking, physical examination, problem-solving and clinical decision-making, to establish a diagnosis and management plan.
Ø Provide assessment, treatment and diagnosis at point of first contact, by attending to patients in a variety of clinical or non-clinical settings according to patient’s needs.
Ø Undertake home visits, in accordance with the relevant protocols.
Ø Make professionally autonomous decisions for which you are accountable.
Ø Refer patients to an alternative care setting or treat & discharge as appropriate.
Ø Instigate necessary invasive/non-invasive diagnostic tests/investigations and interpret findings/reports.
Ø Ensure that professional standards are maintained and within the guidance issued by the DoH (Department of Health), the HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council) and the College of Paramedics (COP)
Ø Ensure that there is a robust system in place for maintaining clinical governance.
Ø Work with multi-disciplinary teams within the Practice and across the broader healthcare community, to promote integrated and seamless pathways of care.
Ø Contribute to the Practice achieving its quality targets to sustain the high standards of patient care and service delivery.
Ø Participate in the assessment of community health needs and help to develop patient and family-centred strategies to address them.
Ø Help to develop and set up new patient services and participate in initiatives to improve existing patient services.
Teaching and mentoring role
The post-holder will desirably:
- Promote a learning environment for patients, colleagues, and other health professionals.
- Contribute to the planning and implementation of the teaching of and support for new and existing staff in the Practice, including medical students, student Paramedics and newly-recruited Paramedics.
Professional role
The post-holder will:
- Promote evidence-based practice through the use of the latest research-based guidelines and the development of practice-based research.
- Monitor the effectiveness of their own clinical practice through the quality assurance strategies such as the use of audit and peer review.
- Maintain any professional registration such as with the HCPC.
- Participate in continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities to ensure that up to date evidence-based knowledge and competence in all aspects of the role is maintained including maintaining up to date CPR training.
- Record accurate consultation data within the patient’s records
- Keep up to date with pertinent health-related policy and work with the Practice team to consider the impact and possible strategies for implementation.
- Work collaboratively with colleagues within and external to the Practice.
- Pro-actively promote the Paramedic role within the practice and externally to key stakeholders and agencies.
- Identify own learning needs in order to remain current and improve service delivery.
Non-clinical team role
The post-holder will:
- Identify appropriate opportunities to delegate both clinical and administrative tasks to other appropriate staff
- Help the practice operate in a cost-effective manner.
- Identify and manage care risks on a continuing basis.
- Participate in practice meetings as required.
- Participate in audits and inspections as appropriate.
- Work closely with the doctors and managers in the setting up and/or improving of practice systems for monitoring/measuring performance against clinical governance and quality targets.
- Ensure all practice policies are fully implemented
Health & Safety and Risk Management
- The post-holder must comply at all times with the Practice Health and Safety policies.
- The post-holder will comply with the Data Protection Act (1998) and the Access to Health Records Act (1990)
The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others’ health, safety and security 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:
- Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines
- Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks.
- Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills.
- Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards.
- Actively reporting of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised.
- Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas clean, assisting in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness consistent with the scope of the job holder’s role.
- Reporting potential risks identified.
- Demonstrate due regard for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
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 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, 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.
Respect for patient confidentiality
The post-holder should respect patient confidentiality at all times and not divulge patient information unless sanctioned by the requirements of the role.
- 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.
Communication and working relationships
The post-holder will establish and maintain effective communication pathways with the following:
- GPs within the practice and externally with the ICB as a whole
- Whole nursing team including Nurse Practitioners
- Reception and Administration Teams
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.
Special Working Conditions
The post-holder is required to travel independently between sites, patient homes and to attend meetings etc. hosted by other agencies
The post-holder will have contact with bodily fluids, i.e. wound exudates, urine, blood etc. whilst in clinical practice and must take precautions as required to minimise the risk of infection/contamination using PPE.
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1994
Due to the nature of this work, this post is exempt from the provisions of Section 4 (2) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1994 (Exceptions) Order 1995. Applicants for posts are not entitled to withhold information about convictions which for other purposes are “spent” under the provisions of the Act and in the event of employment, any failure to disclose such convictions could result in disciplinary action or dismissal by the Practice. Any information given will be completely confidential and will be considered only in relation to an applicant of a position to which the order applies.
Personal/Professional Development
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 team’s performance.
- Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients' needs
- Effectively manage own time, workload and resources.
Job Type: Full-time
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Employee discount
- On-site parking
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Reading, Berkshire: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Work Location: In person
