Special Allocations Scheme (SAS) Advanced Clinical Practitioner in Bradford

The SAS Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) works at advanced practitioner level in Bevan Community Benefit Society's Special Allocation Scheme (SAS), a specialist primary care service supporting some of the most complex and high-risk patients across West Yorkshire. These patients face extreme barriers to accessing mainstream general practice, often due to aggressive or challenging behaviours, complex safeguarding issues, significant mental health needs, neurodiversity, substance misuse, homelessness and social exclusion.

As an autonomous practitioner, the SAS ACP provides first-contact clinical assessment, diagnosis and treatment for this cohort, delivering trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming, firm-but-compassionate care to stabilise health conditions, reduce acute crises, and facilitate safe patient engagement with services. The SAS ACP works closely with the SAS GPs and interfaces regularly with services and partner organisations to ensure holistic and coordinated care for this high-risk population.

Main duties of the job:

• Works in partnership with General Practitioners, Consultants, Nursing and Social Care colleagues to diagnose and treat patients with a range of acute, non-acute and chronic medical conditions.
• Orders diagnostic tests (including plain film X-ray and ultrasound), plans, implements and evaluates care and initiates follow-up reviews.
• Refers patients as appropriate to other members of the multidisciplinary team, secondary care and to other statutory and voluntary organisations.
• Undertakes advanced assessments (physical, mental health and social), formulates diagnoses, and implements evidence-based treatment plans across acute and long-term conditions.
• Provides comprehensive, autonomous clinical care to SAS patients, acting as a first point of contact for urgent and routine primary care needs.
• Undertakes and interprets a range of diagnostic tests and clinical procedures including cytology, pathology and radiology.
• Makes critical judgements of the highest order to satisfy the expectations and demands of the job e.g. first contact with patients presenting acutely and manages care in the presence and absence of protocols.
• Makes decisions where precedents do not exist where appropriate without recourse to others e.g. direct referral of patients to hospital consultants without prior reference to other medical colleagues.
• Provides and promotes evidence-based care in line with appropriate clinical guidelines and works within clinical protocols, professional guidelines and codes of conduct.

About us:

Bevan is an award-winning, employee-owned, profit-for-purpose social enterprise delivering inclusive health and wellbeing services to some of the most marginalised individuals and communities across Yorkshire. We believe no one should be denied healthcare due to their means or circumstances. Our services cover Bradford, Leeds, Wakefield, Calderdale, and North Yorkshire, providing trauma-informed care to people experiencing homelessness, refugees, asylum seekers, sex workers, and other excluded groups. Rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), we are national leaders in inclusion health, offering innovative, person-led services addressing clinical and social needs.

Our team includes GPs, Public Health Doctors, ANPs, Practice Nurses, Mental Health Nurses, Healthcare Assistants, Paramedics, Occupational Therapists, Wellbeing Mentors and Support Workers, all dedicated to delivering compassionate, person-centred care. A skilled business administration team ensures smooth service operations. Together, we work collaboratively to address the complex needs of our patients, many with trauma, mental health issues, homelessness or addiction. Our holistic approach is informed by the social determinants of health model, enabling responsive, effective care benefitting individuals and the wider system. Operating as a Community Benefit Society (CBS), we reinvest all profits into services delivering our vision: Health, Hope, and Humanity for All.

Key Responsibilities:

• Contribute to service development, audit and quality improvement activity within SAS, drawing on operational data and incident learning to improve safety, continuity and patient outcomes.
• Lead reflective practice discussions and support clinical supervision within the SAS team to enhance workforce stability and well-being in this challenging area.
• Investigate and facilitate change in practice designed to improve clinical outcomes and meet the needs of patients and caregivers that are consistent with local/national standards and current evidence.
• Act as a mentor for learners.
• Support innovation in inclusion health, ensuring the service remains responsive and evidence-based.
• Act with honesty and integrity at all times and act as a positive ambassador for Bevan.
• Understand the social enterprise model and ethos.

Person Specification:

• NMC/HCPC Registered Nurse, Paramedic or Pharmacist
• MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice (or equivalent HEE-approved advanced practice training)
• Independent prescriber
• Evidence of ongoing CPD
• Formal training in trauma-informed care, substance misuse or mental health
• Chronic Disease Management certificates (e.g. COPD/asthma/diabetes/CVD)
• Cervical cytology qualification
• Immunisation and vaccination experience

Experience:

• Proved ability to assess, diagnose and manage complex clinical conditions autonomously in primary or urgent care settings
• Experience of working with vulnerable or excluded patient groups
• Evidence of trauma-informed and neurodiversity-affirming practice
• Experience of managing complex safeguarding cases
• Experience handling challenging or high-risk patient behaviour with appropriate professional boundaries, de-escalation techniques and resilience
• Experience of providing primary care in challenging settings
• Experience within a Special Allocation Scheme, forensic/offender health or inclusion health service
• Evidence of contribution to service development, clinical governance or quality improvement initiatives

Knowledge and Skills:

• Excellent clinical skills across the range of general practice, including ability to manage co-morbid physical and mental health conditions, and to make safe, autonomous clinical decisions under pressure.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage and build therapeutic relationships with patients who may present with mistrust, complex trauma or aggressive behaviour.

Values:

• Emotionally resilient, reflective and able to work safely under pressure
• Professional, compassionate and values driven, with a commitment to reducing health inequalities
• Confident decision-maker with appropriate insight into scope of practice
• Commitment to Bevan's values of Health, Hope and Humanity

Other:

• Flexible and adaptable, with willingness to travel across West Yorkshire

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.