ARRS Paramedic

Job responsibilities

Job Purpose/Main responsibilities of role:

The Paramedic will be employed under the ARRS scheme and will provide professional and clinical care to ensure the safe, effective, and compliant delivery of services to all patients. The postholder will work autonomously within the practice and community using enhanced clinical assessment and treatment skills, providing first point of contact for patients presenting with undifferentiated, undiagnosed problems. This includes minor illness or injury, abdominal pain, chest pain, 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.

The Paramedic will work within the MDT in the practice, delivering high-quality, evidence-based care.

Key Working Relationships Summary

Clinical Lead: The Paramedic will work alongside the Clinical Lead, upholding clinical compliance, performing audits, and providing guidance.

Service Coordinator / Practice Manager: For operational matters such as rota planning, absence, and appraisals.

Multidisciplinary Team: Including GPs, nurses, and AHPs, working collaboratively to support patient care.

Clinical Responsibilities & Key Skills

Assess and triage patients, including same-day triage, and as appropriate provide definitive treatment or make necessary referrals to other members of the team.

Advise patients on general healthcare and promote self-management where appropriate, including signposting patients to other community or voluntary services.

Be able to:

o Perform specialist health checks and reviews

o Perform and interpret ECGs alongside other results as appropriate

o Perform investigatory procedures as required

o Undertake the collection of pathological specimens including intravenous blood samples, swabs, etc.

o Perform investigatory procedures needed by patients and those requested by GPs

Support the delivery of anticipatory care plans.

Provide an alternative model to urgent and same-day home visits for the practice and undertake clinical audits.

Communicate at all levels and other organisations, ensuring effective, patient-centred service.

Communicate proactively and effectively with all colleagues across the multi-disciplinary team, attending and contributing to meetings as required.

Collaborate with other members of the team, including doctors, nurses, and other AHPs, accepting referrals and referring to them for specialist care.

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.

Prescribe, issue, and review medications as appropriate, following policy, patient group directives, NICE (national) and local clinical guidelines and local care pathways, in accordance with evidence-based practice and within scope of practice.

Work with patients to support compliance with and adherence to prescribed treatments.

Provide information and advice on prescribed or over-the-counter medication, medication regimens, side-effects, and interactions.

Assess, diagnose, plan, implement, and evaluate treatment/interventions and care for patients presenting with an undifferentiated diagnosis and patients with complex needs.

Clinically examine and assess patient needs from a physiological and psychological perspective and plan clinical care accordingly.

Prioritise health problems and intervene appropriately to assist the patient in complex, urgent, or emergency situations, including initiation of effective emergency care.

Diagnose and manage both acute and chronic conditions, integrating both drug- and non-drug-based treatment methods into a management plan.

Support patients to adopt health promotion strategies that promote healthy lifestyles and apply principles of self-care.

Quality Requirements

Enhance own performance through continuous professional development, keep up to date with current evidence-based practice, and impart knowledge and skills to colleagues to meet the needs of the service.

Be verified against the paramedic primary care roadmap.

Recognise and work within own competence and professional code of conduct as regulated by the HCPC and College of Paramedics.

Assess effectiveness of care delivery through self and peer review, benchmarking, and formal evaluation.

Participate in research and utilise the audit cycle to evaluate the quality of work, implementing improvements where required.

Collaborate with other clinical teams on improving the quality of health care, responding to local and national policies and initiatives as appropriate.

Administrative Requirements

Produce accurate, contemporaneous, and complete records of patient consultations, consistent with legislation, policies, and procedures.

Be aware of data protection (GDPR) and confidentiality issues

Use technology and appropriate software as an aid to management in planning, implementation, and monitoring of care, presenting and communicating information.

Review and process data using accurate read codes to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes

Supervision

The postholder will have access to appropriate clinical supervision and an appropriate named individual in the practice to provide general advice and support on a day-to-day basis.

Experience

Essential

• Ability to evidence a sound understanding of the NHS principles and values.
• Ability to analyse and interpret complex/ often incomplete information, pre-empt and evaluate issues, and recommend an appropriate course of action to address the issues.
• Excellent interpersonal and organisational skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, able to influence and persuade others articulating a balanced view and able to constructively question information.
• Ability to negotiate effectively.
• Build effective relationships with a range of stakeholders which are based on openness, honesty trust and confidence strong and inspirational leadership.
• Ability to co-ordinate and prioritise workloads able to multi-task as well as be self-disciplined and highly motivated.

Desirable

• Experience of working within a primary care setting.
• Evidence of working across organisational boundaries within health and social care.
• Independent thinker with good judgement, problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Clear communicator with excellent writing, report writing and presentation skills; capable of constructing and delivering clear ideas and concepts concisely and accurately for diverse audiences.
• Evidence of inspiring and motivating teams with the ability to communicate passionately, effectively and persuasively across a diverse set of stakeholders.
• High degree of personal credibility, emotional intelligence, patience and flexibility.
• Ability to cope with unpredictable situations.
• Confident in facilitating and challenging others.
• Demonstrates a flexible approach in order to ensure patient care is delivered excellently.

Qualifications

Essential

• BSc in a program approved by the College of Paramedics.
• Registered with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC).
• Completed their two-year Consolidation of Learning period as a newly qualified paramedic and has a further three years experience as a band 6 (or equivalent)
• Non-medical prescribing qualification.
• Able to operate at an advanced level of clinical practice.
• Framework for Higher Education Qualification (FHEQ) Level 7 or SCQF Level 11.
• Experience managing a caseload, planning, implementing interventions, and evaluating outcomes.
• Sound understanding of NHS principles and values.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Strong clinical documentation and IT skills.
• Ability to analyse complex information and recommend appropriate actions.
• Awareness of GDPR and confidentiality requirements

Desirable

• MSc (pre-reg) in a program approved by the College of Paramedics.
• Full UK driving license.
• Evidence of verification against the paramedic primary care roadmap.
• Experience within a primary care setting.
• Mentorship or supervisory training.
• Working knowledge of GP systems and prescribing data monitoring.

Personal Attributes & Abilities

Essential

• Strong and inspirational leadership
• Ability to co-ordinate and prioritise workloads able to multi-task as
• well as be self-disciplined and highly motivated

Desirable

• High degree of personal credibility, emotional intelligence, patience and
• flexibility
• Ability to cope with unpredictable situations
• Confident in facilitating and challenging others
• Demonstrates a flexible approach in order to ensure patient care is delivered

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).