Job Description
Brompton Health PCN Physician Associate
Brompton Health PCN is seeking to recruit a PCN Physician Associate to join their team. This is a fantastic opportunity for a suitably qualified Physician Associate to join a very varied and flexible role, dealing with acute & minor illness treatment and chronic disease management.
If you are keen to learn and develop your role as a Physician Associate within our PCN, we would love to hear from you.
You will be acting within your professional boundaries, providing care for patients from initial history taking, clinical assessment, diagnosis, treatment and evaluation of their care under the supervision of a GP. You will demonstrate safe, clinical decision-making and expert care for patients within the general practice, in consultation with the duty GP. You will work with the multi-disciplinary general practice team to support the delivery of policy and procedures and meet the needs of patients.
We will provide a supportive learning environment, especially structured in the first preceptorship year (if applicable). Mentorship and supervision will be provided by designated senior medical personnel. The level and type of supervision will be dependent on the post holder’s skills and knowledge and determined by the organisation’s clinical governance arrangements. You will follow recommended annual appraisals and continuing professional development set out by the Faculty of Physician Associates (FPA).
You are passionate about working in the health and social care sector. You’re self-motivated and you can prove your ability to deliver high-quality outcomes.
You will be employed by London Medical Associates, West London GP Federation, but working for Brompton Health PCN.
About London Medical Associates:
London Medical Associates is a central London organisation that’s committed to collaboration and
innovation across the NHS and to fostering its people's professional development. It’s been
described as inspiring, inclusive, and supportive. We care about a great job done well. We’re open
to discussing different ways of making work, work for you. This isn’t a remote opportunity; you
need to be hands-on and visible and come into sites as appropriate.
About Brompton Health PCN:
Primary Care Networks (PCNS) enable GP practices to work together in a collaborative way to develop and deliver network-based services that respond to the needs of the local population. Brompton PCN covers a varied population demographic. The PCN works through a set of guiding principles which includes working for the greater good of its population and patients, a mission to improve services, be innovative, and continue to improve and deliver excellent NHS services uniformly across all practices.
Job Description
Post Title: PCN Physician Associate x 4
Accountable to: Chief Delivery Officer - LMA GP Federation
Responsible to: Brompton Health Associate Clinical Director (Dr Benjamin Brodie) and Federation Development Manager
Key Relationships: Patients
Host Practice Site
General Practitioners and other staff in GP surgeries
PCN Primary Care team members
Voluntary & community sector/groups
Hours: 37.5 hours per week.
Salary: £45,000-50,000/annum
Contract: Fixed term 12-month contract
Main purpose of the role:
- To deliver a high standard of patient care using advanced autonomous clinical skills with in-depth theoretical knowledge and evidence based practice working under the supervision of a GP
- To manage a clinical caseload and deal with presenting patient’s needs in a primary care setting
- To provide clinical leadership where appropriate within the practice and support other members of the team to develop and maintain clinical skills appropriate to your role and expertise
Key relationships:
London Medical Associates West London GP Federation, Brompton Health Primary Care Network and the PCN member practices, practice clients, General Practitioners and other staff in GP surgeries and diverse range of voluntary & community sector organisations in West London
Main duties:
The post holder will under appropriate supervision:
- Provide first point of contact for patients presenting with undifferentiated, undiagnosed problems, utilising history taking, physical examination, problem-solving and clinical decision-making skills to establish a working diagnosis and management plan working in partnership with patients.
- Undertake as agreed surgery based consultations for emergency or routine problems including management of long term conditions. In addition, undertake telephone consultations / home visits and participate in duty rotas
- Instigate necessary invasive and non-invasive diagnostic tests or investigations and interpret findings/reports within the scope of a PA’s practice. Discuss the result and implications of laboratory investigations with patients
- Utilise clinical guidelines and promote evidence-based practice
- Offer a holistic service to patients and their families, developing where appropriate an on-going plan of care/support with an emphasis on prevention and self-care
- Refer patients directly to other services or agencies using appropriate referral pathways
- Ensure safe handover of care within and outside the practice as appropriate
- Work directly with members of the practice primary health care team and support integrated patient centred care through appropriate working with wider primary care / social care networks
- Identify community health needs and participate in the development of patient/family-centred strategies to address them
- Contribute to the practice quality targets to consistently achieve high standards of safe, evidence-based, cost-effective patient care and service delivery
- Work clinical sessions consisting of either telephone triage, face to face, video or e-Consulting appointments or all four.
- Participate in all treatment and preventative healthcare services in the Practice as delegated and agreed by the supervising GP(s).
- Provide direct clinical care to patients using established clinical guidelines.
- Perform specialised diagnostic physical exams and treatment procedures.
- Instruct and educate patients in preventative health care.
- Be confident in explaining to patients their clinical management plan and be able to modify that plan according to their age and co-morbidities.
- Identify, signpost or refer patients at risk of developing long-term conditions, preventing adverse effects on the patients’ health.
- Give confidence to the supervising GP in your use of your clinical findings to justify the differential diagnosis.
- Organise onward investigation, treatment and referral where appropriate.
- Ensure continuity of care, arranging follow-up consultations or reviews as necessary.
- Provide appropriate preventative health care and advice.
- Attend regular practice clinical meetings.
- Support the clinical team with all safeguarding matters, in accordance with local and national policies.
- Under supervision of the GPs in the practice, make professional, autonomous decisions in relation to presenting problems, whether self-referred or referred from other health care workers within the organisation.
- Record clear and contemporaneous IT based consultation notes to agreed standards.
- Review and act on Laboratory results and Clinical communication from Hospitals and other providers.
- Develop consultation skills to enable shared patient and practitioner decision-making.
- Recognise assess and refer where appropriate patients presenting with mental health problems.
- Understand practice and local policies for substance abuse and addictive behaviour, referring patients appropriately.
- Be able to justify choice of medication, and support patients in the use of their prescribed medication (within own scope of practice).
- Be able to understand the impact of comorbidities and other medications and poly-pharmacy.
- Deliver integrated patient centred-care through appropriate working with the wider primary care multi-disciplinary team and social care networks.
- Conduct home visits and Care Home visits (following adequate training).
- Act on alerts (e.g. QOF, local enhanced services etc.) and reminders during a consultation.
- Assist the practices in achieving their clinical targets and objectives in QOF, Local enhanced services etc.
- Training and development:
- Participate in continuing professional development opportunities to keep up-to-date with evidence-based knowledge and competence in all aspects of the role to meet clinical governance guidelines for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and a Personal Development Plan (PDP) utilising a reflective approach to practice. This requires 50 hours of CPD every year: a minimum of 25 hours must be in accredited direct learning programmes
- Undertake a variety of research and analysis tasks associated with the improvement of clinical care, medical diagnosis and treatment where appropriate using the following means.
- * Audit of clinical practice
*
- Significant event review / root cause analysis
- Review of relevant literature
- Research unusual symptoms and treatment options through consultation with general practitioners, physicians and other specialists
- Promote and support a learning culture within the practice and assist in clinical instruction, mentoring and supervision of medical, nursing or physician associate students and other learners that may periodically be attached to the practice
- Contribute to regular multi-disciplinary and or practice educational meetings
- Participate in multi-disciplinary protocol and patient group directions (PGDs) development as appropriate
- Work closely with other clinical staff and administrative managers in the setting up and/or improving of practice systems for monitoring/measuring performance against Clinical Governance and Quality Indicator targets
- Administration:
- Fully document all aspects of patient care and complete all required paperwork for legal and administrative purposes in accordance with relevant standards
- Work in accordance with internal administrative systems relating to but not limited to the management of clinical data,
- Send and receive written information on behalf of the practice relating to the physical and social welfare of patients
- Work closely with other clinical staff and administrative managers in the setting up and/or improving of practice systems for monitoring/measuring performance against Clinical Governance and Quality Indicator targets and work to deliver the NHS contract pertinent to the practice including the terms of the Quality and Outcomes Framework and locally enhanced services
- Ensure that all practice policies are fully implemented
- Support, contribute to and participate in external inspections
- Professional:
- Take the UK PA National Re-Certification Exam every six years - required for Physician Associates AND maintain your professional registration working within the latest Code of Professional Conduct (CIPD)
- Undertake statutory and mandatory training as required by the practice
- Demonstrate clinical leadership
- Pro-actively promote the role of the PA within the practice and externally to key stakeholders and agencies
- Respect patient confidentiality at all times and not divulge patient information unless sanctioned by the requirements of the role.
Person Specification
Education/qualifications
Essential:
Desirable:
- Qualified Physician Associate
- Postgraduate diploma/master in Physician Associate (formally Physician Assistant with a bachelor degree in Life Science/Biomedical/Nursing or Allied Health Science).
- Membership of the Faculty of Physician Associates of the RCP, which includes UK Physician Associate Registration (the PA Managed Voluntary Register)
Experience:
Essential
Desirable
- Experience of continued professional development
- Experience of working in a primary care environment
- Experience of QOF and clinical audit
- General understanding of the GMS contract
- Basic IT skills
- Experience in Telephone Triage.
- Ability to supervise others.
- Familiarity with SystmOne and online shared working tools such as SharePoint
- Working with a range of partners across different sectors
Skills, Knowledge and understanding:
Essential
Desirable
- Experience of working as a physician associate
- Experience of dealing with a range of clinical conditions
- Able to work under supervision of a Doctor.
- Ability to effectively triage, assess and diagnose
- Wound care
- Chaperone procedure
- Understand the importance of evidence-based practice
- Broad knowledge of clinical governance
- Ability to record accurate clinical notes
- Ability to work within own scope of practice and understanding when to refer to GPs
- Good IT Skills
- Able to work under pressure
- Work effectively and independently as a Team member
- Demonstrate accountability for delivering professional expertise and direct service provision
- Strong interpersonal skills and ability to communicate with a wide range of stakeholders
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Experience of working in a primary care environment
- Experience of continued professional development
- A strong team player but able to work alone and self-motivate as required
- An ability to adopt an analytical and methodical approach to problem solving
- Ability to routinely travel between sites within the PCN
- Strong commitment to improving the lives of vulnerable people
- Ability to manage multiple priorities effectively
- An understanding of the needs of people with a long-term illness or disability and the impact this has on their health and wellbeing
- Knowledge and understanding of the principles of safeguarding vulnerable adults
- Placement Experience in the following areas:
- acute and emergency medicine / community medicine
- General surgery
- obstetrics and gynaecology
- paediatrics
- mental health
- Familiarity with working in multi-disciplinary teams in a holistic and person-centred way
- Knowledge of the principles of managing risk in a health and care context
- An understanding of the emotional and mental health implications of living with long-term health conditions
- Knowledge of general practice and voluntary sector, community services and facilities in West London
Values
The post holder will adhere to PCN and host practice values:
Compassion: Our staff will be led by compassion and embody the values of care outlined in our Staff Charter.
Respect: We will respect and value the diversity of our patients, service users and staff, to create a respectful and inclusive environment, which recognises the uniqueness of each individual.
Empowerment: We will involve, inform and empower our patients, service users, carers and their families to take an active role in the management of their illness and adopt recovery principles. We will ensure our staff receive appropriate direction and support, to enable them to develop and grow.
Partnership: We will work closely with our many partners to ensure that our combined efforts are focused on achieving the best possible outcomes for the people we serve.
General Information
The following responsibilities are applicable to all employees:
Safeguarding
You have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and adults at risk of abuse. You should be aware of local safeguarding procedures and how to contact named professionals for advice and support as well as reporting any concerns. You will be supported with the supervision and training needed to recognise and act on welfare concerns and to respond to the needs of children and adults. You have a responsibility to ensure that you are up to date with the safeguarding training required for all Trust employees.
Infection Control and Waste Disposal
Infection prevention and control is the responsibility of all staff. All duties must be carried out in accordance with hand hygiene and infection control policies and procedures.
You must also ensure that waste produced is disposed of in such ways that control risk to health, or safety of staff and the public alike in accordance with relevant legislation and procedures contained within the policy.
Data Protection, Confidentiality and Access to Health Records
All information concerning patients/clients and other staff members must be treated as confidential and you must adhere to the policies related to this subject. You are likely to have access to computerised data systems and you are required to obtain, process and/or use information held in these systems in a fair and lawful way. You must hold data only for the specific registered purpose and not to use or disclose it in any way incompatible with such purpose. Only disclose data only to authorised persons or organisations as instructed.
Promoting Equality and Diversity
Brompton Health PCN aims to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of sex, sexual orientation, marital/partnership status, race, religion, age, creed, colour, ethnic origin, disability, part time working status and real or suspected HIV/AIDS status. You are expected to adhere to the policy and support equality and value diversity by making sure that you do not discriminate, harass or bully colleagues, visitors or service users. You are also expected to make sure that you don’t contribute to discrimination, harassment or bullying or condone discrimination, harassment or bullying by others. Everyone has a personal responsibility to promote and develop a culture that promotes equality and values diversity.
Health and Safety and Risk management
As an employee you must be aware of the responsibilities placed on you under the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), and to ensure that agreed safety procedures are carried out to maintain a safe environment for employees, patients and visitors. You are accountable, through the terms and conditions of your employment, professional regulations, clinical governance and statutory health and safety regulations, and are responsible for reporting incidents, being aware of the risk management strategy and emergency procedures and attendance at training as required. All staff members have a responsibility to manage risk within their sphere of responsibility. It is a statutory duty to take reasonable care of their own safety and the safety of others who may be affected by acts or omissions.
Staff Support
Brompton Health is committed to ensuring that you achieve a good work/life balance, have access to a wide range of support including flexible working options, childcare support and many training and development opportunities.
General Note
The duties and responsibilities outlined above are to be regarded as broad areas of responsibility and do not necessarily detail all the tasks which you may be required to perform. You may be expected to undertake other duties as may be required which are commensurate with your grade and experience. This job description may be subject to change from time to time in order to meet the changing needs of the PCN and any changes should be discussed with you.
Job Types: Full-time, Fixed term contract
Contract length: 12 months
Salary: £45,000.00-£50,000.00 per year
Schedule:
Ability to commute/relocate:
- London, SW10 9BT: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Work Location: In person
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