Home Emergency Assist jobs

THIS ROLE IS FOR BANK STAFF

Role purpose

The UEC Practitioner is a hybrid clinical role combining shifts within Urgent Wrap Around Care (UWAC) and the UEC Hub as a Trusted Assessor. The post holder will assess, triage and manage patients aged 18 years and over who are experiencing an acute physical health crisis and who, without timely intervention, are at risk of hospital conveyance or admission within the next 2 to 24 hours.

Working within professional competence and local pathways, the practitioner will identify clinical risk, agree safe response times, develop person-centred plans and coordinate the most appropriate community response. The role supports admission avoidance while ensuring that patients requiring emergency, acute or alternative care are escalated without delay.

Role at a glance

UWAC shifts

Undertake timely face-to-face assessment, treatment and care in patients' usual place of residence.

UEC Hub shifts

Act as a Trusted Assessor, completing structured telephone triage, clinical risk assessment and referral decision-making. Progress to UCR Coordinator. Coordinating and allocating UCR response countywide

Population

Adults aged 18 years and over who are experiencing an acute physical health crisis.

Response window

Determine and communicate a clinically safe response within 2 to 24 hours, according to acuity, risk, service criteria and capacity.

Primary outcome

Provide safe alternatives to hospital attendance or admission where clinically appropriate.

Key working relationships

· UEC Hub Clinical Coordinator, UCR/Ambulance Stack Coordinators, Trusted Assessors and call-handling staff.

· UWAC practitioners, operational leads and wider Granta UEC teams.

· General practices, care homes, community nursing, frailty, CB4UC, VSA, and therapy services.

· NHS 111, ambulance services, urgent treatment centres, emergency departments and acute hospital teams.

· Patients, relatives, carers, advocates and health and social care partners.

Main duties and responsibilities

Clinical assessment and decision-making

· Receive, review and prioritise referrals for adults with urgent physical healthcare needs, applying service criteria and exercising professional clinical judgement.

· Undertake systematic assessment using available information, including presenting complaint, history, observations, medicines, function, frailty, cognition, social circumstances, safeguarding concerns and the patient's own goals.

· Recognise red flags, clinical deterioration and time-critical illness; arrange immediate escalation to emergency services or an acute pathway when required.

· Formulate and document working clinical impressions and differential diagnoses appropriate to professional scope, identifying uncertainty and safety-netting clearly.

· Agree a clinically safe response time within the service's 2 to 24-hour window and revise the priority if the patient's condition, risk or circumstances change.

· Develop evidence-informed, person-centred management plans that balance admission avoidance with patient safety and the limitations of community care.

· Seek senior clinical advice, multidisciplinary input or onward referral whenever the presentation exceeds competence, available information is insufficient or risk cannot be safely managed and when onward UCR capacity is reached

Urgent Wrap Around Care responsibilities

· Undertake face-to-face assessment of patients in their own home, care home or other community setting, including relevant physical examination and physiological observations.

· Make reasonable adjustments for communication, sensory, cognitive, cultural or accessibility needs and involve interpreters or advocates where appropriate.

· Provide treatment and interventions within competence, professional registration, local policy and authorised clinical pathways; this may include point-of-care testing, medicines-related activity and other extended skills where trained and signed off.

· Assess mobility, falls risk, function, frailty, cognition, hydration, nutrition, continence, skin integrity and the patient's ability to remain safely at home when relevant to the presentation.

· Explain assessment findings, options, risks and agreed plans in language the patient and carer can understand, supporting shared decision-making and valid consent.

· Work with patients, carers and partner services to implement a practical plan, confirm monitoring arrangements and ensure clear safety-netting and escalation advice.

· Communicate outcomes promptly to the UEC Hub GP, referrer, registered GP and other services involved in ongoing care.

· Work safely as a lone practitioner, completing dynamic risk assessments and following lone-working procedures.

UEC Hub Trusted Assessor responsibilities

· Complete structured telephone or remote clinical triage, using local protocol, professional curiosity and focused questioning to establish urgency, clinical need and the most appropriate response.

· Make reasonable adjustments for communication, sensory, cognitive, cultural or accessibility needs and involve interpreters or advocates where appropriate.

· Promote personalised care, respect advance care planning and treatment escalation plans, and involve palliative or end-of-life services when appropriate.

· Review relevant clinical records and referral information, reconcile conflicting information, identify access and risks and contact the patient, carer, referrer or other professionals when clarification is required.

· Determine whether the referral is suitable for GP Hear and Treat, UEC Hub or UCR management and document a clear rationale for acceptance, redirection or decline.

· For accepted referrals, set and communicate a safe response time, provide interim advice and safety-netting, and hand over sufficient information for allocation to the service able to respond appropriately.

· For referrals not accepted, communicate directly with the referrer or responsible clinician and advise on an appropriate alternative pathway; do not leave unresolved clinical risk with the patient or call handler.

· Where escalation to 999 is required do not leave this with the patient, proxy, referrer or Carer

· Maintain situational awareness of service capacity and work with coordinators to prioritise demand without allowing operational pressure to override clinical safety.

· Explain assessment findings, options, risks and agreed plans in language the patient and carer can understand, supporting shared decision-making and valid consent.

Care coordination and communication

· Coordinate UWAC Practitioners, their patient allocations and safety

· Coordinate UCR allocation across organisational boundaries, using clear clinical handover such as SBAR and confirming transfer of responsibility.

· Work closely with EEAST, UEC Hub GP, UCR Coordinators to keep close monitoring and understanding of capacity across UCRs and response times they can provide

· Update Trusted Assessors and Call Handlers on changes to capacity across UCRS

· Manage challenging conversations sensitively, including where expectations cannot be met, risk is high or the recommended pathway differs from the patient's/referrer’s preference.

· Receive direct calls from priority services requiring clinical triage in a timely manner

· Promote Hear and Treat with UEC Hub GP helping identify appropriate patients

Clinical documentation and digital working

· Create accurate, contemporaneous and defensible clinical records on approved systems, including assessment findings, risk, clinical reasoning, advice, decisions, response time, escalation and safety-netting. Following local Protocol of documentation and assessment standards

· Use SystmOne and other approved digital systems confidently, maintaining confidentiality, information governance and role-based access requirements.

· Record and report incidents, near misses, capacity risks and clinical concerns through the appropriate governance route.

· Use telephone, video and digital information appropriately, recognising the limitations of remote assessment and converting to face-to-face or emergency assessment when necessary.

Professional practice and clinical governance

· Maintain current registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council or Health and Care Professions Council and practise in accordance with the relevant professional code and standards.

· Remain accountable for decisions, actions and omissions and work only within demonstrated competence, local policy and agreed scope of practice.

· Maintain mandatory training, clinical competencies, continuing professional development and evidence required for appraisal and professional revalidation.

· Participate in supervision, reflective practice, clinical audit, case review, incident learning, quality improvement and service evaluation.

· Use current evidence, national guidance and local pathways to support safe practice and contribute to the review of clinical procedures and pathways.

· Support students, new starters and colleagues through role modelling, coaching and shared learning, according to competence and service need.

Safeguarding, equality and patient experience

· Recognise, respond to and escalate safeguarding concerns involving adults or children encountered in the course of care, in line with legislation and local procedures.

· Apply the Mental Capacity Act, consent principles, best-interest decision-making and least-restrictive practice appropriately.

· Deliver care that protects privacy, dignity, human rights and confidentiality and actively challenges discriminatory practice.

· Listen to patient and carer feedback, respond to concerns professionally and contribute to improvements in patient experience.

Operational responsibilities

· Work flexibly across UWAC and UEC Hub rotas, including the service's required shift patterns, to meet fluctuating urgent care demand.

· Prioritise a variable workload, respond to changing acuity and contribute to safe flow across the urgent and emergency care system.

· Escalate concerns about staffing, capacity, equipment, digital systems or environmental safety promptly to the responsible lead.

· Use equipment and organisational resources responsibly and follow infection prevention, health and safety, business continuity and emergency procedures.

· Contribute to service development and undertake other duties consistent with the purpose and level of the role.

Clinical boundaries and escalation

The post holder must not use admission avoidance as the sole reason to keep a patient in the community. Where the patient's needs cannot be safely met within the available response time, workforce, environment or clinical pathway, the practitioner must escalate and arrange the most appropriate alternative assessment or care.

· Call 999 or use the agreed emergency escalation route for suspected life-threatening or time-critical illness.

· Escalate to UEC Hub GP/a senior clinician when risk is unclear, information is incomplete, the patient is deteriorating or there is disagreement about the safest plan.

· Follow local procedures where a patient declines recommended care, cannot be contacted, lacks capacity or remains at significant risk.

· Ensure every episode ends with a named plan, clear ownership, timescale, safety-netting and documented handover where responsibility transfers.

Working conditions

· Combination of hub-based and remote clinical triage and community visits across the service area.

· Regular use of display-screen equipment, telephone and digital clinical systems during hub shifts.

· Frequent travel, lone working and entry into varied domestic or care environments during community shifts.

· Potential exposure to distress, deterioration, death, conflict, infection, bodily fluids and unpredictable situations.

· Requirement to move and handle patients who have fallen, equipment and to undertake clinical activity in environments that may have limited space or facilities, following risk assessment and safe systems of work.

· The post holder must be able to meet the travel requirements of the role; reasonable adjustments will be considered in accordance with organisational policy and equality legislation.

General responsibilities

· Comply with organisational policies on confidentiality, data protection, records management, infection prevention, health and safety, safeguarding and incident reporting.

· Promote an open, learning culture and the Duty of Candour, raising concerns through appropriate routes.

· Take reasonable care of personal safety and the safety of colleagues, patients and the public.

· Act in a way that supports collaborative working across Granta UEC Services and the wider Cambridgeshire and Peterborough urgent care system.

Job description review

· This job description describes the principal duties of the role.

· It may be reviewed with the post holder to reflect service development, changes in clinical pathways and organisational requirements, provided that the overall purpose and level of responsibility remain appropriate.

· The duties are not exhaustive and additional responsibilities and tasks may be delegated according to your skills and experience.

Granta Medical Practices is committed to safer recruitment and safeguarding the welfare of children and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff to share this commitment. All appointments are subject to rigorous pre-employment checks, including verification of identity, right to work in the UK, employment history, references, and a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check where appropriate.

Benefits:

• On-site parking

Licence/Certification:

• NMC or HCPC certificate (required)

Work Location: In person