paramedic Bristol, England
Job description
Paramedics work autonomously within the community using their enhanced clinical assessment and treatment skills, to provide first point of contact for patients presenting with undifferentiated, undiagnosed problems relating to minor illness or injury, abdominal pains, chest pains and headaches. They are health professionals who have the capability to make sound judgements in the absence of full information and to manage varying degrees of risk when there are complex, competing or ambiguous information or uncertainty. Connexus Primary Care Network is a group of five GP Practices serving patients in the Brislington, Knowle and Stockwood areas of South-East Bristol. We are looking to recruit a paramedic, or senior (prescribing) paramedic to offer support to our local care homes, with a particular focus on three nursing homes, and home visiting support to our housebound population.
Key duties and responsibilities 1.assess and triage patients, including same day triage, and as appropriate provide definitive treatment or make necessary referrals to other members of the PCN team 2.advise patients on general healthcare and promote self-management where appropriate, including signposting patients to other community or voluntary services. 3.be able to: a. perform specialist health checks and reviews b. perform and interpret ECGs; alongside other results as appropriate c.
perform investigatory procedures as required d. undertake the collection of pathological specimens including intravenous blood samples, swabs, etc. e. perform investigatory procedures needed by patients and those requested by GPs and the wider PCN 4.Assess and review patients as required by our care homes via planned booked appointment lists, liaising with nursing teams in the homes, formulating management plans and delivering high standard care and support to the homes.
5.support the delivery of anticipatory care plans and lead certain community services (e.g. monitoring blood pressure and diabetes risk of elderly patients living in sheltered housing) 6. provide an alternative model to urgent and same day home visits for the PCN and undertake clinical audits 7. communicate at all levels across PCNs and other organisations, ensuring effective, patient-centred service 8.
communicate proactively and effectively with all colleagues across the multi-disciplinary team, attending and contributing to meetings as required. Attend and action outcomes as needed of MDT meetings with care home staff, PCN practice staff and Sirona. 9. collaborate with other members of the PCN including doctors, nurses and other AHPs, accepting referrals and referring to them for specialist care 10.
maintain accurate and contemporaneous health records appropriate to the consultation, ensuring accurate completion of all necessary documentation associated with patient health care and registration with the practice 11. prescribe, issue and review medications as appropriate following policy, patient group directives, NICE (national) and local clinical guidelines and local care pathways. This will be done in accordance with evidence-based practice and national and practice protocols, and within scope of practice 12. work with patients in order to support compliance with and adherence to prescribed treatments.
Also work with nursing home staff and families to ensure this is optimised too. 13. provide information and advice on prescribed or over-the-counter medication on medication regimens, side-effects and interactions 14. assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate treatment/interventions and care for patients presenting with an undifferentiated diagnosis, and patients with complex needs 15.
clinically examine and assess patient needs from a physiological and psychological perspective, and plan clinical care accordingly 16. prioritise health problems and intervene appropriately to assist the patient in complex, urgent or emergency situations, including initiation of effective emergency care 17. diagnose and manage both acute and chronic conditions, integrating both drug- and non-drug-based treatment methods into a management plan 18. support patients to adopt health promotion strategies that promote healthy lifestyles, and apply principles of self-care Quality Requirements 19.
enhance own performance through continuous professional development, keep up to date with current evidence-based practice, and impart own knowledge and skills to PCN colleagues to meet the needs of the service 20. be verified against the paramedic primary care roadmap 21. recognise and work within own competence and professional code of conduct as regulated by the HCPC and College of Paramedics 22. assess effectiveness of care delivery through self and peer review, benchmarking and formal evaluation 23.
participate in research and utilise the audit cycle as a means of evaluating the quality of the work of self and the team, implementing improvements where required 24. in partnership with other clinical teams, collaborate on improving the quality of health care responding to local and national policies and initiatives as appropriate Administrative requirements 25. produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient consultation, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures 26. be aware of data protection (GDPR) and confidentiality issues particularly within a PCN 27.
use technology and appropriate software as an aid to management in planning, implementation and monitoring of care, presenting and communicating information 28. review and process data using accurate read codes in order to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes. This list of responsibilities is not exhaustive and is subject to changed based on the needs of the service Supervision The post-holder will have access to clinical supervision monthly, and an appropriate named individual in each practice to provide general advice and support on a day to day basis, particularly for patient specific and urgent same day queries. Example working week: 10am-6pm Monday-Friday with an unpaid 30min lunch break.
Please note this is subject to change and may in future include weekend working.
