Primary Care Network Physicians Associate

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

Clinical Responsibilities

The post-holder will undertake clinical sessions within the Primary Care Network, dependent on patient demand and the needs of a practice. The post holder will be aligned to a maximum of three practices to enable sufficient relationships to be built with their clinical supervisor. Under supervision of a GP, the postholder will be required to:

1. Work clinical sessions on a flexible basis in practices within the PCN, consisting of telephone triage appointments and/or face-to-face appointments, in accordance with the access needs of the practice population and the contractual obligation of the practice.
2. See a range of patients whose cases vary in complexity, undertaking focused history taking, clinical assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and evaluation of care.
3. Provide specialist advice and treatment to patients as delegated and agreed by the supervising GP in line with practice policy and using established clinical guidelines.
4. Formulate and adjust as necessary, diagnoses and treatment plans, in consultation with supervising GP where necessary.
5. Consult with and refer patients to GPs, medical specialists, and other health professionals as considered necessary.
6. Provide medical support as required to patients referred by other healthcare colleagues.
7. Organise investigation, treatment, and referral where appropriate, in line with agreed parameters, local policy, and guidelines.
8. Undertake home visits for patients with acute problems and chronic health conditions that require planned holistic assessment.
9. Recommend and explain to patients appropriate diagnostic tests and treatment.
10. Discuss and suggest appropriate choices of medications in line with competencies, local and national guidelines.
11. Fully document all aspects of patient care and complete all required paperwork for legal and administrative purposes.
12. Triage incoming pathology results.
13. Act upon alerts (e.g. QOF, local enhanced services etc.) and reminders during a consultation.
14. Record clear and contemporaneous IT-based consultation notes to agreed standards.
15. Collect data for audit purposes.
16. Maintain up-to-date knowledge of clinical guidance i.e. NICE in relevant field of practice, local guidelines, policies, and procedures.
17. Attend meetings as required, such as those around prescribing, palliative care, virtual ward round, and Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) meetings.

Other Responsibilities

1. Support the practice staff and respond to requests for advice and assistance from administrative, reception, and healthcare colleagues.
2. Provide additional enhanced services as required by the practices that meet the needs of the practices’ patient population and maximise the income streams to the practice.
3. Awareness of and compliance with all relevant practice policies/guidelines, e.g. prescribing, confidentiality, data protection, health and safety, annual QOF assessment of the practice.
4. Meet timescales/deadlines for audits and written returns to ensure that the practice meets quality standards and receives the designated funding (e.g. Quarterly Enhanced Services returns, annual QOF audit etc.).

Health & Safety

The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others’ health, safety, and security as defined in the practice Health & Safety Policy, to include:

1. Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines.
2. Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks.
3. Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills.
4. Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards.
5. Reporting potential risks identified.

Equality and Diversity

The post-holder will support the equality, diversity, and rights of patients, carers, and colleagues, to include:

1. Acting in a way that recognises the importance of people’s rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with Practice procedures and policies, and current legislation.
2. Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs, and beliefs of patients, carers, and colleagues.
3. Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings, priorities, and rights.

Personal/Professional Development

The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the PCN as part of this employment, such training to include:

1. Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development.
2. Taking responsibility for own development, learning, and performance and demonstrating skill and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.
3. Training may need to be undertaken outside of normal practice hours and off-site.

Quality and Governance

The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the PCN, and will:

1. Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk.
2. Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision.
3. Work effectively with individuals in other agencies.
4. Effectively manage own time, workload, and resources.

Confidentiality

In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately. In the performance of the duties outlined in this Job Description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff, and other healthcare workers.

They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organization. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential. Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers, or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorized persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.

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