Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP)

Job summary

Join our friendly and forward-thinking clinical team at Sunbury Health Centre – Full or Part-time

Sunbury Health Centre Group Practice is a well-established, friendly and patient-focused GP practice serving our local community. We are committed to providing high-quality, accessible and compassionate primary care, supported by a strong and experienced multi-disciplinary clinical team.

We are looking for an experienced Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP) to join our team and play an important role in delivering high-quality, patient-centred care. This is an exciting opportunity for an ANP who enjoys working autonomously while being part of a supportive, collaborative practice where different clinical professionals work closely together.

We value our staff and are committed to supporting professional development, service improvement and new ways of working. You will be joining a practice where your skills, experience and ideas will be valued and where you can make a real contribution to the care we provide to our patients. Working within your scope of practice, you will assess, diagnose, treat, and manage patients presenting with a wide range of acute conditions.
You will work closely with GPs, Practice Nurses, Pharmacists, Healthcare Assistants, and administrative colleagues to provide safe, effective, and patient-centred care.

The ANP will be an experienced nurse who holds an appropriate, specific, advanced professional qualification, who will work with the practice team to provide high quality care which meets the needs of the practices patient population.

Working within defined professional boundaries, they will be able to make safe clinical decisions relating to assessment, diagnosis, treatment and review. The ANP will demonstrate critical thinking ability.

Clinical practice

• Assess/examine patients, diagnose, plan, treat and review/evaluate
• Identify health priorities and make timely and appropriate interventions to support patients presenting in an emergency and/or with complex/urgent needs
• Assess and manage patients physiological and psychological needs, including patients with complex needs, multiple diagnoses and polypharmacy
• Identify patients at risk of developing a chronic illness and develop a plan for minimising risk of worsening
• Advise and educate patients, promoting understanding, self-management, healthy lifestyle choices and sources of support and compliance with treatment plan and medication
• In line with competence and agreed protocols, prescribe medication, review its effectiveness and make appropriate adjustments to treatment, ensuring patient understanding of medication side-effects and interactions, including over-the-counter medication
• Ensure that all patients who may be vulnerable or who have mental health needs are appropriately managed and protected
• Proficiently manage and prioritise a diverse workload under time pressures and conflicting priorities
• Work with patients and carers to develop comprehensive care plans.
• Utilise and demonstrate sensitive communication styles and empathy to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment

Communication

• Advise patients appropriately and refer on if they require the services of a GP or other clinical team member
• Communicate effectively, promptly and appropriately with patients and team members
• Modify method of communication with patients to suit the situation, recognise problems/barriers take action and seek help at an early stage when they arise
• Communicate risk to patients and ensure proper consent gained where appropriate
• Establish and maintain effective communication with internal and external stakeholders/organisations/individuals
• Contribute to relevant practice meetings

Quality and learning

• Undertake training needed to ensure competencies for delivering all responsibilities
• Contribute to clinical governance activities/clinical audit to ensure continual improvement of service delivery and assessment of impact of changes on patient care
• Provide training, support, supervision and mentoring for more junior members of staff
• Contribute to complaints responses/reviews, significant event, peer review and other shared learning activities
• Identify opportunities for shared learning
• Ensure learning from outside educational events is effectively cascaded to the team and resultant changes to practice implemented
• Take responsibility for own development including maintenance of a Personal Development Plan
• Undertake regular mandatory training

Records and information

• Make accurate and contemporaneous records of all patient encounters in accordance with practice records protocols and coding protocols
• Ensure data is recorded so that patient care is enhanced (e.g. coding, reminders) and so that it can be retrieved in a meaningful way to help manage patient care and help with data analysis
• Accurately label and document patient samples and submit for collection and analysis

Confidentiality

In the course of their duties, the ANP will have access to confidential information relating to patients, their carers and relatives and colleagues within and outside the practice. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business. All such information from any source whatsoever will be treated as strictly confidential.

Information relating to patients, their carers and relatives and colleagues within and outside the practice and in relation to the practice as a business will only be shared in accordance with the practices Confidentiality Policy, the Data Protection Act and the Freedom of Information Act and in such a way that personal and sensitive patient-identifiable data is protected.

Equality and diversity

The ANP will comply with the practices Equality and Diversity Policy, including:

• Recognising the rights of patients, carers, relatives and colleagues and respecting their needs, beliefs, privacy and dignity
• Not discriminating against patients, carers, relatives or colleagues on the grounds of any of the protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010 (or its amendments or later legislation)
• Supporting the nursing team in application of the practices Equality and Diversity Policy, including taking action if discriminatory practice of any kind is identified
• Ensuring equity of access to services and equity of delivery of services to minority, marginalised or disadvantaged groups
• Supporting those who need advocacy to exercise their rights
• Respecting the rights of patients to accept or refuse treatment or a care provider

Health & Safety

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 area clean, assisting in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness consistent with the scope of the job holder’s role
• Undertaking periodic infection control training (minimum annually)
• Reporting potential risks identified
• Demonstrate due regard for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children

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

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

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

Responsibilities

Main duties of the job

• Independently assess, diagnose, and manage patients presenting with undifferentiated and complex conditions
• Provide same-day appointments for acute health concerns
• Provide appointments that are bookable in advance for longer lasting conditions (e.g. MSK problems) within scope of practice
• Prescribe medication as an Independent Prescriber and review ongoing treatments
• Request diagnostic investigations
• Manage minor illness and subacute injury presentations
• Develop and implement management plans in partnership with patients
• Undertake home visits where required
• Provide health promotion, screening, and preventative healthcare advice
• Support the management of long-term conditions
• Maintain accurate and timely clinical records using the practice clinical system
• Contribute to clinical audits, quality improvement initiatives, and service development
• Support and mentor junior clinical staff and students where appropriate

Requirements

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Registered Nurse with current NMC registration
• MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice (or equivalent qualification)
• Independent Prescriber qualification
• Experience working as an Advanced Nurse Practitioner within Primary Care, Urgent Care, or a GP practice setting

Desirable criteria

• Experience with chronic disease management
• Experience using EMIS Web or SystmOne
• Qualification in minor illness and/or minor injury management
• Experience supervising or mentoring clinical staff

Experience

Essential criteria

• Excellent consultation, assessment, and diagnostic skills
• Ability to work autonomously and manage clinical risk effectively
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• Proficient in using clinical systems and electronic patient records

About us

Sunbury Health Centre Group Practice is an established training practice serving a patient population of approximately 19,300 patients in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey. We are a CQC-rated Good practice and are proud to provide high-quality primary care within a supportive and forward-thinking environment.

Our clinical team includes six GP Partners, six salaried GPs, GP trainees, Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Prescribing Paramedics, Clinical Pharmacists, Practice Nurses and Healthcare Assistants, supported by an experienced and friendly management and administration team.

We work collaboratively as a multidisciplinary team, making full use of the skills and expertise of our wider clinical workforce. Our approach is centred on providing safe, effective and patient-focused care, while developing services that meet the changing needs of our local population.

As a training practice, we have a strong commitment to education, professional development and supporting clinicians at all stages of their careers. We also work closely with our local Integrated Care Board and GP Federation, helping us to develop and deliver services as part of the wider local health system

We are a busy and progressive practice, but we place great importance on maintaining a supportive working environment where colleagues communicate well, share ideas and work together. We are committed to continuous improvement and to developing new ways of working that benefit both our patients and our staff.