Clinical Prescribing Paramedic/Nurse for Homeless Healthcare

Southend Medical Practice are seeking an experienced prescribing paramedic or nurse to join our team. Reporting to a GP clinical lead, they will be a motivated individual who has a passion for tackling health inequalities, and particularly an interest in healthcare for the homeless population. This role is offered on a contract basis, covering maternity for 12 months. It is a part-time position for 22.5 hours per week, working over 3 days with the working pattern and hours negotiable.

Southend Integrated Healthcare for the Homeless (SIHH) provides a service specific to homeless individuals within Southend on Sea. The role will include a range of activities addressing the individual health and wellbeing, the development of pathways into specialist services, caring for the homeless and improving overall health inequalities by:

• Health promotion
• General health screening
• Engagement in primary care services and facilitate access to organised health care
• Integration of the service with secondary care services, mental health services and local drug and alcohol services
• Working closely with local voluntary providers involved in looking after the local homeless population.

The purpose of this role will be imperative in improving integrated pathways to prevent fragmented services from becoming inefficient and ineffective. The role is specifically to support those to improve health outcomes. The collective aim of the service is to help those with a range of health needs including drug and alcohol to access the appropriate treatment, to provide clinical assessment and treatment in the community along with signposting clients to GP services, secondary care, drug and alcohol services.

Main responsibilities will include:

• Provide a specialist primary care service and outreach clinics for local soup kitchens, homeless individuals and local homeless charities in Southend.
• Work as a member of the multidisciplinary team in the management and treatment provision.
• General health assessment, wound assessment and management, lifestyle assessment and physical health assessment.
• Promote health and wellbeing and improve health inequalities by completing a range of health checks including a review of systems to include neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, hepatic, renal, lymphatic, reproductive health and musculoskeletal.
• Assess general health and provide early intervention treatment, signposting and referral to organised health services.
• Develop and maintain pathways into specialist services to ensure the health and well-being of residents is met, including back into primary care services, secondary care, mental health, drugs and alcohol and the voluntary sector.
• Signpost service users to the appropriate health care settings to meet their needs.
• Single point of contact for Primary care services, local Hospitals and other organised health care services.
• Provide regular drop-in clinical sessions at various locations of homeless support organisations.
• Actively promote female health screening.

If you are an experienced paramedic or nurse wanting a new challenge, we would love to hear from you. You will have the following skills and experience:

• Be a registered paramedic, with current HCPC registration.
• NMC registration with active pin.
• Prescribing qualification.
• Primary care and SystmOne experience preferable.
• Previous experience of working with this population group is desired but not essential.

Southend Medical Centre is a 7300 patient practice with a friendly and supportive team that strives to provide an outstanding service to its patients. We are proud to be a multi-cultural surgery, we have been accredited with several awards including our Pride in practice LGBTQIA+ Gold award, our Veterans Friendly Practice award, our Dementia Awareness Practice award, our Trauma Informed surgery accreditation and were finalists in the Impact Awards Practice of the Year 2023. We hold patient care at the forefront of our minds and we fly the flag for the future of healthcare by being a training and research studies practice.

Please note 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 to check for any previous criminal convictions.