Advanced Clinical Practitioner

Are you an enthusiastic and committed Advanced Clinical Practitioner who puts patient care at the heart of everything you do? If so, we would be delighted to hear from you. Derwent Valley Medical Practice is seeking an Advanced Clinical Practitioner with an interest in Mental Health to join our friendly, supportive and well‑established team based in Chaddesden. The post holder will work closely alongside 10 General Practitioners and 2 Advanced Clinical Practitioners, providing high‑quality care to our patient population of approximately 11,800 patients, with additional services delivered at our branch surgery in Spondon Village, located just three miles away.

The successful candidate will demonstrate excellent interpersonal and communication skills, the ability to work flexibly, and confidence managing their own workload in a busy primary care environment. You will be calm, courteous and resilient when working under pressure and committed to delivering safe, compassionate, patient-centred care. You must be an experienced Advanced Clinical Practitioner and hold a qualified Independent Prescriber qualification. Experience or a strong interest in mental health is essential for this role. Our practice uses TPP SystmOne, and we are proud to be rated Good by CQC.

Main duties of the job

• Undertake autonomous assessment, diagnosis and management of patients with undifferentiated and complex conditions.
• Make independent clinical decisions within an agreed scope of practice, initiating and evaluating treatment plans.
• Prescribe medicines where qualified and request, interpret and act on investigations.
• Deliver high‑quality, patient‑centred care in partnership with patients, carers and the multidisciplinary team.
• Provide clinical leadership and expert advice, supporting and developing other staff.
• Contribute to service development, audit, research and quality improvement activities.
• Support education, supervision and training of healthcare professionals.
• Maintain professional registration, CPD, appraisal and an ACP portfolio in line with national frameworks.

About us

We are a high‑performing and well‑established clinical team serving a patient population of approximately 11,800 patients. Our multidisciplinary workforce includes 5 Partners (4 GP Partners and 1 Managing Partner), 6 Salaried GPs, 2 GP Registrars, 2 Advanced Clinical Practitioners, 3 Practice Nurses, 2 Healthcare Assistants, 3 Pharmacists and 2 Physiotherapists. We have a strong and longstanding ethos of teaching and training, supporting both undergraduate and postgraduate education. The practice is an accredited training environment for GP Registrars and regularly hosts medical students. We are proud of our track record in developing staff and have successfully trained multiple Nurse Practitioners, Advanced Clinical Practitioners and an Independent Prescribing Pharmacist. Our team is collaborative, forward‑thinking and committed to delivering high‑quality, patient‑centred care while supporting professional development at all levels.

Job responsibilities

Clinical Practice

• Work autonomously as an ACP within agreed scope of practice, providing safe, effective and evidence‑based care.
• Undertake comprehensive clinical assessments, diagnoses and management plans for patients with acute, long‑term and complex conditions.
• Assess, review and manage patients presenting with mental health conditions, including follow‑up, medication review and onward referral where appropriate.
• Prescribe medicines independently (where qualified) and review treatment in line with national guidance and practice protocols.
• Request, interpret and act upon appropriate diagnostic investigations.
• Triage and prioritise patient presentations, making timely referrals to internal and external services as required.
• Work collaboratively with GPs, ACPs, nursing staff, pharmacists and the wider MDT to ensure continuity and quality of care.
• Provide support and clinical advice to colleagues when needed, contributing to a positive and collaborative team environment.
• Assess, diagnose and treat patients in practice premises or their own home who require medical attention and/or refer to appropriate agency.

Care Management

• Communicate clearly, sensitively and professionally with patients, carers and relatives, including situations involving mental health concerns.
• Promote shared decision‑making and ensure patients are actively involved in their care planning.
• Contribute to the achievement of practice and national quality outcomes (e.g. QOF, prescribing indicators) relevant to the role.
• Maintain accurate, contemporaneous clinical records using TPP SystmOne.

Health Improvement

• Manage health screening programmes and ensure other team members are aware of health priorities and screening objectives and programmes.
• Innovate in practice to meet ongoing demands on the practice's delivery of care.
• Improve health outcomes for patients by introducing new developments and demonstrating them through reports and presentations where appropriate.
• Support practitioners in reporting the practice population to promote health improvement and disease prevention.
• Make referrals to appropriate agencies (statutory and voluntary) where necessary.

Administration and Professional Responsibilities

• Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient consultation, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures.
• Accurate and legible notes of all consultations and treatments are recorded in the patient’s notes.
• Ensure clinical systems are kept up to date, recording and/or amending accurate details.
• Ensure appropriate items of service claims are made accurately, reporting any problems to the practice administrator.
• Ensure accurate completion of all necessary documentation associated with patient health care and registration with the practice.
• Attend and participate in practice meetings as required.
• Restock and maintain clinical areas and consulting rooms.

Training and Personal Development

• Maintain up to date skills and knowledge, maintaining awareness of professional issues at an advanced level.
• Training needs are monitored by yearly appraisal and will be in accordance with practice requirements.
• Personal development is encouraged and supported by the practice.
• Assess effectiveness of care delivery through self‑reflection and peer review, as well as benchmarking and formal evaluation.
• Contribute to the identification and assessment of learning needs of staff and other professionals and assist in planning effective programmes of education.
• Participate in the education and training of students of all disciplines and the introduction of all members of the practice staff where appropriate.
• Act as a mentor for junior staff, assessing competence against set standards.
• Take responsibility for own development, learning and performance, regularly participating in clinical supervision.
• Develop and maintain a Personal Learning Plan.

Confidentiality

The post holder must regard all information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers as strictly confidential. Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with practice policies and procedures, data protection legislation and the protection of personal and sensitive data.

Health & Safety

• Identify and report health and safety hazards immediately when recognised.
• Ensure compliance with practice policies, procedures and clinical guidelines for self and others.
• Maintain cleanliness and infection control across the practice.
• Support the safeguarding and welfare of children.
• Develop waste management and decontamination procedures as required.

Equality and Diversity

• Act in a way that recognises the importance of people’s rights, interpreting them consistently with practice procedures and current legislation.
• Respect the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues.
• Identify patterns of discrimination and take action to overcome them, promoting diversity and equality of opportunity.
• Behave in a welcoming, non‑judgemental manner towards individuals.
• Support people who need assistance in exercising their rights.

Quality

• Alert other team members to quality and risk issues.
• Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions.
• Contribute to team effectiveness through reflection and improvement suggestions.

Person Specification

Experience

• Post‑registration clinical experience.
• Experience working autonomously in a clinical setting.
• Experience assessing, diagnosing and managing a wide range of patient presentations.
• Experience working within a multidisciplinary team.
• Primary care / General Practice experience.
• Experience supervising or mentoring junior staff or students.

Qualifications

• Masters level qualification in Advanced Clinical Practice (or working towards with a clear timeframe).
• Additional clinical qualifications relevant to primary care (e.g. minor illness/injury, chronic disease management).

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.