JOB DESCRIPTION Position/Title: Clinical Advisor NHS 111 Band: Directorate/Department: Location: Band 5 (Indicative) Standards and Compliance Call Centres - Wakefield, York and South Yorkshire Accountable To: Clinical Team Leader NHS 111 Responsible For: General Summary: No management responsibility As a clinical advisor for the NHS 111 service you will be responsible for ensuring that the NHS 111 service is delivered safely, consistent and to an appropriate standard. Page 1 of 7 You will assess the health and clinical needs of patients, utilising your professional clinical judgement, supported by decision support software. This requires generalist and specialist skills to assess and deliver care to patients across all age groups in a call centre environment. You will contribute to the overall delivery of an end to end service for patients calling 111 in West Yorkshire and Craven. You will provide assessment, medication advice, and health information to patients calling 111, supporting them to access the appropriate level of care including advice to manage their symptoms at home. Structure: Duty Managers NHS 111 Clinical Team Leaders NHS 111 Clinical Advisor NHS 111 Core Responsibilities: To deliver high quality, safe and clinically effective health care over the telephone. To support patients manage their own condition at home, where clinically appropriate. To be responsible for performing duties with the NMC/HPC Code of Professional Conduct. To recognise and work within scope of competence seeking support where appropriate. To effectively and appropriately liaise with external agencies such as social care. To ensure Nursing and Midwifery Council or Health Professions Council (NMC and HPC) registration and professional knowledge is up to date. To use professional judgement at all times, and with the support of clinical assessment software, provide skilled and effective assessment of patients presenting clinical need, through telephone consultation. To bring together, analyse and critically evaluate a range of information during the care process to provide accurate advice and health information to patients in order to empower and enable
Core Responsibilities (Cont) them to act upon advice given. To maintain an up to date awareness of current policies and utilise acquired skills in mental health, child protection, medication enquiries and all other aspects of general healthcare. To liaise effectively between caller and third party in critical situations/areas of concern eg safeguarding concerns, where information is not consistent or may be disputed. To keep immediate and accurate records of service user enquiries to NHS 111 during the consultation. To identify and use information sources to support and underpin clinical-decision making. To recognise opportunities for providing health education during the consultation process and to supply such information either in person or by referring to appropriate healthcare professionals as required. To use knowledge and competence in computer skills, in order to access drives, databases, email and approved internet resources and to critically appraise sources of information and their evidence base. To refer to other clinical colleagues as necessary for advice, but to maintain accountability and responsibility for decisions made in relation to clinical calls. To demonstrate the ability to remain focussed on service delivery whilst dealing with an unpredictable, diverse and challenging workload. To adhere to and implement national and local policies and procedures and work within the NMC/HPC Code of Professional Conduct. To act independently within the constraints of professional and organisational policies and structures. To work independently, taking responsibility and accountability for managing own workload, risk assessment and risk management. To actively participate in clinical supervision to facilitate personal and professional development. To share and utilise areas of specialist practice with peers and colleagues to inform and enhance patient care. To maintain a healthy and safe working environment for self and colleagues. To maintain a working knowledge if emergency procedures and escalate issues affecting service delivery as necessary. To inform a Team Leader of any factors affecting delivery of service as soon as they arise. To participate in the continuous quality improvement audit process to develop individual performance and achieve against et delivery targets. To participate in internal audits and support quality improvements to inform practice and improve service delivery. To actively communicate with fellow NHS 111 staff to assist service delivery. To actively communicate with other service providers about patient care programmes. To reflect the diversity of needs in the local healthcare community Page 2 of 7
Core Responsibilities (Cont) Page 3 of 7 by utilising all available resources to facilitate access to the NHS 111 service where there are barriers to communication and understanding. To use advanced listening, probing and facilitative skills across a wide range of calls, some of which can be highly challenging due to emotive circumstances or caller aggression. To use complex communication skills to negotiate (using language support services as necessary). To provide support to callers who may be non-compliant with recommended outcomes, emotive, hostile and or antagonistic. To take responsibility for own personal development requirements and to meet individual educational and development needs in line with service requirements. To support a learning environment in which quality, performance and development can flourish and to contribute on nursing development issues. To participate in an annual personal development review (PDR) and with line manager identify areas of professional development in order to meet service and personal objectives. To comply with the terms and conditions of the NHS Care Records Service (NCRS) Smartcard which gives access to the NCRS applications and systems. All staff are required to keep their card safe, use it appropriately and never permit anyone else to use it. To respond to and assist call handlers in the management of critical situations where normal contingencies have failed. To support the NHS111 Practice Developers by undertaking call audits within an agreed framework and in the provision of appropriately structure and objective feedback on the clinical performance of team members. To ensure that every patient contact is conducted appropriately with an emphasis on the provision of clear, evidence based advice and signposting to an appropriate service. To provide proactive and visible clinical and as required, operational support to staff within the call centre during hours of operation. To provide as required operational support to the Call Handlers including the real time management of any clinical or non-clinical issues which could impact on the continuity or quality of the service provided. To ensure that the service provided complies with the terms of NHS Pathways Licence held by the NHS 111 service. To support the wider team in the achievement of contractual Key Performance Indicators, governance reports and performance metrics. To effectively manage clinical issues, complaints and professional feedback in line with local policy. To ensure that any clinical or staff performance issues are subject to an appropriate level of investigation, action planning, implementation and review to rectify skills gaps and to actively participate in promotion of learning to prevent recurrence. To participate in the collection of clinical data and evidence to support any external assessment of standards by an authorised body. To undertake alternative roles (with appropriate training and
Governance Key Relationships Additional Confidentiality / Data Protection / Freedom of Information Page 4 of 7 support) within the wider Trust in a business continuity situation. To contribute to the development and monitoring of Quality Indicators. To participate in the process of investigation and review of risks, complaints and incidents, in line with policy and to collaborate with the wider team in the production of associated risk assessments, action plans and reports. To maintain call handling competence by completing 40% of time on line per calendar month. To be proactive in developing care pathways for patients to reduce inappropriate 999 referrals and ED attendances. To manage complex health information calls, To manage medicine management calls. To manage calls requiring complex urgent care assessments. To support the organisation to act safely and responsibly in relation to staff, patients, and the communities in which they work. To ensure that the law in key areas such as health and safety, employment, finance and Information Governance is complied with in your work area. To work within specific regulations such as governance arrangements and ethical frameworks for the NHS and, ensure that staff comply with all relevant regulations. To ensure incidents are reported through the Trusts reporting system for corrective action and continuous development. To foster a fair and just culture where staff learn from incidents and are willing to report both incidents and near misses. Patients and service users Local Care Direct Other urgent care providers Social Services Voluntary Services NHS 111 Managers and staff Other NHS 111 providers All departments with YAS This job description is not intended to be exhaustive and it is likely that duties may be altered from time to time in the light of changing circumstances, in discussion with the post-holder. Because of the nature of the work, this post is exempt from the provision (42) of the rehabilitation of offenders act 1974 (Exemptions) order 1975. The post holder will therefore be required to apply for CRB Disclosure. Individuals (including volunteers, contractors and temporary workers) must maintain the confidentiality of information about patients, staff and other health service business in accordance with the Data Protection Act1998. Individuals must not, without prior permission, disclose any information regarding patients or staff. If any individual has communicated any such information to an unauthorised person that individual(s) could be liable for disciplinary action which could result in dismissal. Moreover, the Data Protection Act 1998 also renders an individual liable for prosecution in the event of
Equal Opportunities Health and Safety Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults Infection Prevention and Control Risk Management Personal Development unauthorised disclosure of information. Following the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) 2005, individuals must apply the Trust s FOI procedure. If an individual receives a written request for information please send to FOI@yas.nhs.uk In addition managers have specific responsibilities to ensure that their staff maintain the confidentiality and security of all information that is dealt with in the course of performing their duties is in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the principles of Caldicott. Managers should also ensure that their staff are aware of their obligations under legislation such as the Freedom of Information Act 2000; Computer Misuse Act 1990, and that staff are updated with any changes or additions relevant to legislation. The Trust recognises the need for a diverse workforce and is committed to Equal Opportunities in employment and seeks to eliminate unlawful racial, sexual or disability discrimination, to promote equality of opportunity and good relations between staff and clients of differing groups. Individuals (including volunteers, contractors and temporary workers) must at all times fulfil their responsibilities with regard to the Trust s Equal Opportunities Policy and equality laws. Similarly all individuals have a responsibility to highlight any potentially discriminatory practice to their line manager, human resources department or trade union/professional associations. All individuals have a responsibility, under the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) and subsequently published regulations, to ensure that the Trust s health and safety policies and procedures are complied with to maintain a safe working environment for patients, visitors and employees. All staff have a duty to protect their own health and safety and that of others persons who may be affected by their acts or omissions. In addition managers have specific responsibilities relating to health and safety activities including consenting to breaches; conniving to breach legislation or neglecting their duties under the legislation. Post holders have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults in the course of their daily duties and for ensuring that they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role. All individuals have a personal obligation to adhere to current guidance on methods to reduce healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs). Post holders must be familiar with the Trust s Infection Prevention and Control Policies, including those that apply to their duties, such as Hand Decontamination Policy, Personal Protective Equipment Policy, safe procedures for using aseptic techniques and safe disposal of sharps. They must undertake mandatory training in Infection Prevention and Control and be compliant with all measures required by the Trust to reduce HCAIs. All post holders have a responsibility to report risks such as clinical and non-clinical accidents or incidents promptly. They are expected to be familiar with the Trust s use of risk assessments to predict and control risk, as well as the incident reporting system for learning from mistakes and near misses in order to improve services. Post holders must also attend training identified by their manager, or stated by the Trust to be mandatory. All staff are responsible for undertaking scene specific or activity specific risk assessments for non YAS premises and reporting identified problems to their line manager for consideration and resolution. The Trust is committed to supporting the development of all staff. All employees have a responsibility to participate in regular appraisal with their manager and to identify performance standards for the post. As Page 5 of 7
part of the appraisal process employees have joint responsibility with their line manager to identify any learning and development needs in order to meet the agreed performance standards. Code of Conduct Smoke Free Policy Policies and Procedures All individuals all expected to act in accordance with the Trust s code of conduct and if applicable, the code of conduct for their appropriate professional body. In addition managers should act in accordance with the principles of the NHS Code of Conduct for Managers in undertaking all aspects of their role. The Trust operates a Smoke Free Policy which prohibits smoking in the workplace. Employees are required to observe the rules laid down in the policy and failure to do so may result in disciplinary being taken. Individuals are also required to comply with the policies, procedures and protocols in place within the Trust. These are available from the Human Resources department or from the staff library on the Trust intranet. For Administrative purposes only Prepared/ reviewed by: Karen Cooper May 2012 Approved date: Review date ID No Page 6 of 7
COMPETENCY PROFILE Clinical Advisor NHS 111 Experience and work achievements Registered Midwife or Nurse (Adult RN1 RNA, Mental Health RN3 RNMH, Learning Disabilities RN5 RNLD, Children RN8 RNC) or Registered Paramedic (HPC) Evidence of consolidating post qualification practice, preferably across a range of clinical settings. Experience of clinical triage over a telephone using clinical assessment software Ability to confidently use a computer and move quickly between applications eg web and email Experience of liaising with multi-disciplinary agencies Customer service skills An understanding of the call handling and telephone triage roles Understanding of audit Experience in a call centre, primary care or A&E setting Skills and abilities Effective communicator (both verbal and written) Effective engagement and influencing skills Effective listening skills Results orientated with good communication and interpersonal skills Personal attributes Active team player Demonstrates sensitivity to the needs of individuals and groups Demonstrates commitment to, and enthusiasm for facilitating personal development and life long learning Able to prioritise tasks, and to manage conflicting demands on time and resources, to deliver objectives Ability to develop effective working relationships and demonstrate professional credibility with colleagues at all levels Self motivated able to work on own initiative and work effectively as part of a team Ability to travel between work sites in a timely fashion Able to pass pre-employment medical Ability to motivate and develop team members Mature and professional approach to work Able to demonstrate flexibility in terms of location and working hours Knowledge and educational achievements Recent post registration experience in a range of settings Knowledge of Health Information, Medicines Management and the management of complex urgent care assessments Computer knowledge including the use of databases, e-mail, clinical assessment software Evidence of Continuing Professional Development A valid UK driving licence Knowledge and understanding of equality and diversity issues Knowledge of the NHS Information Governance and legal requirements Page 7 of 7