Emergency Care Practitioner

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 30 April 2025

Job summary

Job Summary

The role of the ECP is a senior practitioner trained to a level to work autonomously within the Urgent Care Centre in the Emergency Department to deliver care to patients without reference to a doctor. The role consists of clinical, managerial and educational components.

Main duties of the job

Main Duties of the job

To assess, diagnose, treat and discharge or refer patients without reference to a doctor

To provide a service that is complementary to GP's.
To encourage and participate in the development of protocols and pathways to improve patient care.
To be an independent prescriber .
Manage a discrete nursing team to include annual performance development reviews, mandatory training, staffing rotas, recruitment and selection and the supervision of students.
To support Matron /lead nurse as needed in delivering local and national audits.
To actively participate in the departmental teaching programme.
To act as a Link practitioner for a specialty and to disseminate new guidance and information from that speciality keeping colleagues updated.
To monitor standards of nursing care, taking action when appropriate to maintain and improve standards which includes Trusts Infection and Prevention Control policy.
To assist in achieving Emergency Department quality indicators by ensuring timely review/transfer/discharge of patients.
To have expert skills in cannulation, phlebotomy, plastering, suturing, streaming and to teach these skills to juniors.
To work with the Lead ECP and Matron in responding to complaints.
To be willing to undertake any professional development and training necessary to progress the service.

About us

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of England's top-performing and safest trusts. We operate two main acute hospital sites--Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and West Middlesex University Hospital--along with award-winning clinics across North West London.

Our nearly 7,500 staff care for a diverse population of 1.5 million, providing full clinical services, including maternity, A&E, and children's services, plus specialist HIV and sexual health clinics. The Care Quality Commission rates us 'Good' in safety, effectiveness, care, and responsiveness, and 'Outstanding' in leadership and resource use.

We continually invest in our facilities, including a £30m expansion of critical care at Chelsea and Westminster and an £80m Ambulatory Diagnostic Centre at West Middlesex.

We are committed to equal opportunities and believe that diversity drives innovation and excellence. As part of our dedication to equity, we actively welcome applications from individuals from the global majority, veterans and underrepresented communities. We value the unique perspectives and experiences that diverse teams bring and are committed to creating an environment where all voices are heard, respected, and empowered to succeed."

If you haven't heard from us within three weeks of the closing date, your application was likely unsuccessful. Employment is subject to a six-month probationary period.

Some roles may require weekend shifts at multiple sites.

Date posted

16 April 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£54,320 to £60,981 a year per annum inc HCAS

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

289-EI-02

Job locations

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital

369 Fulham Road

London

SW10 9NH

Job description

Job responsibilities

Roles and responsibilities

Clinical Responsibilities

o Act as a clinical expert within your sphere of work

o To asses, diagnose, treat and discharge or refer patients without reference to a doctor

o Ensure the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of evidence based, individualised patient care.

o Assist and advise staff, both registered and unregistered in the delivery of patient care.

o Maintain and update own clinical expertise and contribute as role model to ensure the delivery of care is at highest possible level to meet patient care.

o Ensure all staff maintain accurate clinical observations of the patient and act accordingly

o Have responsibility for the correct administration and custody of medicines according to Trust policy

o Ensure registered nurses monitor patients progress, work towards safe and timely discharge and ensure barriers to discharge are identified, escalated and acted on appropriately.

o Deal with concerns raised by patients and visitors in a proactive manner, investigate any complaints and take remedial action as necessary.

o Act as the patients advocate for patients attending the Emergency Department and the UTC.

o To maintain a very high quality of care for all patients attending the Emergency Department and UTC

o To act as a role model for all nurses within the Trust.

o To ensure patient records and clinical documentation are maintained in line with the NMC standards

o To take lead in management of the UTC during a major incident

o To run nurse led review clinics

Managerial

o Contribute to and endorse a philosophy of care for the ENP/ECP working in the Emergency Department and the UTC

o Help develop and expand the service provided by ENP/ECP to be in-line with evidenced based practice (e.g. NICE guidelines).

o To act as a Team Leader for a group of Emergency Department Nurses, and ensuring that each nurse has had a performance development review and is fully supported at work.

o Work collaboratively with the shift leader, medical team and nursing team to ensure the smooth running of the Emergency Department.

o To be aware of the Emergency Departments quality indicators and be resourceful in supporting the team to meet these targets

o Undertake and fully participate in the audit process.

o To support and deputise for the Lead ECP / Matron in managing stock levels within the confines of the departmental budget

Educational

o To maintain and progress own knowledge and skills to practice effectively and safely

o To teach pre and post registration junior nursing staff working with you

o To be aware of current nursing trends and developments in nursing/paramedical science.

o To participate in formal and informal teaching within the department

o To act as a resource and guidance for junior nurses and junior doctors and GPs in the ED/UTC

o The ECP will also be required to teach and mentor nurses undertaking the Autonomous Practice course and those undertaking non- medical prescribing.

Autonomous Practice

o The ECP practices autonomously with respect to patients presenting with a wide range of injuries, illness and ailments.

o The ECP will assess and examine the patient, order relevant investigations, interpret signs and symptoms, review results of investigations, diagnose and treat the patient.

o The ECP will be an independent prescriber

o The ECP will work to national and hospital guidelines in relation to evidence-based best practice he/she will exercise his/her judgement in seeking specialist medical/surgical or orthopaedic opinion or will autonomously proceed to definitive treatment within his/her scope of professional practice. The ECP is authorised to discharge patients within his /her remit without reference to any medical clinician.

o The Trust accepts vicarious liability for the actions of the nurse who acts autonomously as an ECP and follows set guidelines within the Emergency Department and UTC at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust.

Service Development

o The ECP is individually and collectively responsible for the professional development of nursing and the ECP service within the Emergency Department and the UTC.

o They will:

Ensure that he/she remains up to date with the developments and proactively uses his/her knowledge as required to develop the service.

Be collectively responsible for expanding the scope of practice and developing guidelines to deliver care.

Undertake clinical audit using the results to improve care delivery.

Identify areas of research in nursing practice that can be improved through evidence-based practice, taking the initiative to search for evidence and, after critical appraisal of the literature implement the findings.