Clinical and Strategic Lead for Nursing and Advanced Clinical Practice

Job description

Job responsibilities

The Clinical and Strategic lead for nursing and Advanced Clinical Practice will operate at an advanced clinical practice level and provide professional, clinical, strategic and operational leadership across nursing services within the Practice. The post-holder will be responsible for ensuring the delivery of safe, effective and patient-centred care across both urgent and planned care services, leading the integration of nursing services to improve patient outcomes, continuity of care and workforce flexibility.

The Clinical and Strategic lead for nursing and Advanced Clinical Practice will provide clear leadership and accountability for nursing services across the practice, creating a collaborative culture in which staff are supported to develop their skills, work to the top of their scope of practice and contribute to continual service improvement. They will develop a unified nursing workforce, promoting shared learning, cross-team support and consistent standards of clinical practice.

Working closely with GP Partners, the Practice Manager and multidisciplinary colleagues, the post-holder will lead the development of nursing services, identify opportunities for innovation, service redesign and workforce development, and ensure that clinical governance, infection prevention and control, quality improvement and patient safety are embedded across the organisation.

The Clinical and Strategic lead for nursing and Advanced Clinical Practice will work in partnership with the GP Clinical Lead to ensure safe, effective and integrated clinical services across the practice, with shared responsibility for service development, quality improvement and clinical governance.

The role extends beyond day-to-day management and requires a strategic and forward-thinking leader who can identify and implement new ways of working, actively seek best practice from across primary care and the wider NHS, and use learning and evidence to improve patient care, staff development and organisational performance.

• Provide professional leadership across nursing services.
• Integrate urgent and planned care nursing and advanced clinical practitioner services to improve quality, continuity and patient outcomes.
• Develop a skilled, flexible and resilient nursing and advanced clinical practitioner services workforce.
• Ensure high standards of clinical governance, patient safety and professional practice.
• Promote innovation, quality improvement and service development.

Leadership and Workforce Development

• Provide visible and effective leadership across nursing and advanced clinical practitioner services within the practice.
• Develop and maintain a cohesive nursing workforce, promoting collaborative working, mutual support and shared learning.
• Lead appraisals, development reviews and workforce planning for nursing staff.
• Identify training and development needs and support staff to achieve their full professional potential.
• Ensure robust systems are in place for clinical supervision, competency assessment, clinical sign-off and professional revalidation.
• Develop and maintain competency frameworks to support safe and effective clinical practice.
• Promote career progression, succession planning and workforce resilience.
• Support recruitment, induction and retention of nursing, healthcare associates and advanced clinical practitioner staff .
• Foster a culture of accountability, continuous learning and professional excellence.

Clinical Service Leadership

Provide leadership, oversight and ongoing development of nursing services including:

• Long-term condition management services including Diabetes, respiratory, cardiovascular and other chronic disease programmes.
• Cervical screening and women's health services.
• Childhood and adult immunisation programmes.
• Seasonal vaccination programmes.
• Health promotion and prevention initiatives.
• Enhanced services delivered by the nursing team.
• Clinical recall and follow-up systems.
• Urgent and acute care services delivered by the nursing, health care associates and advanced clinical practitioner workforce.
• Contribution to QOF delivery and quality indicators.

The post-holder will:

• Identify opportunities to improve continuity of care for patients with long-term conditions who present acutely.
• Ensure effective communication and handover processes across clinical services.
• Support proactive management of patients with complex and long-term conditions.
• Facilitate improved coordination of preventative, reactive and follow-up care.
• Ensure patients experience coordinated and seamless care across urgent and planned care pathways.
• Identify opportunities to improve patient pathways, continuity of care and service efficiency.
• Reduce duplication of work and maximise the effective use of clinical skills and capacity across the practice.
• Monitor service demand, workforce capacity and patient outcomes.
• Promote consistent standards of assessment, clinical decision-making and prescribing practice.

Clinical Governance, Quality and Patient Safety

• Provide leadership for clinical governance activities across nursing services.
• Ensure compliance with national guidance, professional standards and local policies.
• Lead clinical teams in participation in audit, quality improvement and service evaluation activities.
• Support investigation and review of significant events, incidents, complaints and near misses.
• Utilise practice data, QOF performance, population health information and patient feedback to identify priorities for service improvement.
• Support initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes and reducing health inequalities.
• Provide oversight of Infection Prevention and Control through line management and support of the designated IPC Lead.
• Monitor and respond to vaccination uptake, screening performance and quality indicators.
• Support population health approaches to prevention, early intervention and chronic disease management.

Advanced Clinical Practice

The post-holder will maintain advanced clinical practice skills through autonomous assessment, diagnosis and management of patients presenting with acute, urgent and complex conditions, exercising advanced clinical reasoning and independent prescribing within their scope of practice.

The Lead Nurse will:

• Deliver advanced clinical assessment, diagnosis and treatment within their area of competence.
• Prescribe safely and effectively in accordance with professional standards and local policies.
• Provide clinical leadership and support to colleagues managing complex patients.
• Support the development of advanced clinical skills across the nursing workforce.
• Promote high standards of evidence-based clinical care.
• Act as a clinical role model across nursing and advanced clinical practitioner services.

Service Development and External Collaboration

• Lead the development and implementation of nursing and advanced clinical practitioner service improvements.
• Identify, evaluate and implement best practice from primary care organisations, PCNs and the wider NHS.
• Work collaboratively with community providers, PCN partners and external healthcare organisations.
• Contribute to strategic planning and service development discussions.
• Support innovation and service redesign to improve patient outcomes and workforce effectiveness.
• Identify opportunities for technology, digital systems and process optimisation.
• Promote efficient use of clinical resources across the practice.
• Encourage staff to contribute ideas for service improvement and innovation.

Job responsibilities

The Clinical and Strategic lead for nursing and Advanced Clinical Practice will operate at an advanced clinical practice level and provide professional, clinical, strategic and operational leadership across nursing services within the Practice. The post-holder will be responsible for ensuring the delivery of safe, effective and patient-centred care across both urgent and planned care services, leading the integration of nursing services to improve patient outcomes, continuity of care and workforce flexibility.

The Clinical and Strategic lead for nursing and Advanced Clinical Practice will provide clear leadership and accountability for nursing services across the practice, creating a collaborative culture in which staff are supported to develop their skills, work to the top of their scope of practice and contribute to continual service improvement. They will develop a unified nursing workforce, promoting shared learning, cross-team support and consistent standards of clinical practice.

Working closely with GP Partners, the Practice Manager and multidisciplinary colleagues, the post-holder will lead the development of nursing services, identify opportunities for innovation, service redesign and workforce development, and ensure that clinical governance, infection prevention and control, quality improvement and patient safety are embedded across the organisation.

The Clinical and Strategic lead for nursing and Advanced Clinical Practice will work in partnership with the GP Clinical Lead to ensure safe, effective and integrated clinical services across the practice, with shared responsibility for service development, quality improvement and clinical governance.

The role extends beyond day-to-day management and requires a strategic and forward-thinking leader who can identify and implement new ways of working, actively seek best practice from across primary care and the wider NHS, and use learning and evidence to improve patient care, staff development and organisational performance.

• Provide professional leadership across nursing services.
• Integrate urgent and planned care nursing and advanced clinical practitioner services to improve quality, continuity and patient outcomes.
• Develop a skilled, flexible and resilient nursing and advanced clinical practitioner services workforce.
• Ensure high standards of clinical governance, patient safety and professional practice.
• Promote innovation, quality improvement and service development.

Leadership and Workforce Development

• Provide visible and effective leadership across nursing and advanced clinical practitioner services within the practice.
• Develop and maintain a cohesive nursing workforce, promoting collaborative working, mutual support and shared learning.
• Lead appraisals, development reviews and workforce planning for nursing staff.
• Identify training and development needs and support staff to achieve their full professional potential.
• Ensure robust systems are in place for clinical supervision, competency assessment, clinical sign-off and professional revalidation.
• Develop and maintain competency frameworks to support safe and effective clinical practice.
• Promote career progression, succession planning and workforce resilience.
• Support recruitment, induction and retention of nursing, healthcare associates and advanced clinical practitioner staff .
• Foster a culture of accountability, continuous learning and professional excellence.

Clinical Service Leadership

Provide leadership, oversight and ongoing development of nursing services including:

• Long-term condition management services including Diabetes, respiratory, cardiovascular and other chronic disease programmes.
• Cervical screening and women's health services.
• Childhood and adult immunisation programmes.
• Seasonal vaccination programmes.
• Health promotion and prevention initiatives.
• Enhanced services delivered by the nursing team.
• Clinical recall and follow-up systems.
• Urgent and acute care services delivered by the nursing, health care associates and advanced clinical practitioner workforce.
• Contribution to QOF delivery and quality indicators.

The post-holder will:

• Identify opportunities to improve continuity of care for patients with long-term conditions who present acutely.
• Ensure effective communication and handover processes across clinical services.
• Support proactive management of patients with complex and long-term conditions.
• Facilitate improved coordination of preventative, reactive and follow-up care.
• Ensure patients experience coordinated and seamless care across urgent and planned care pathways.
• Identify opportunities to improve patient pathways, continuity of care and service efficiency.
• Reduce duplication of work and maximise the effective use of clinical skills and capacity across the practice.
• Monitor service demand, workforce capacity and patient outcomes.
• Promote consistent standards of assessment, clinical decision-making and prescribing practice.

Clinical Governance, Quality and Patient Safety

• Provide leadership for clinical governance activities across nursing services.
• Ensure compliance with national guidance, professional standards and local policies.
• Lead clinical teams in participation in audit, quality improvement and service evaluation activities.
• Support investigation and review of significant events, incidents, complaints and near misses.
• Utilise practice data, QOF performance, population health information and patient feedback to identify priorities for service improvement.
• Support initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes and reducing health inequalities.
• Provide oversight of Infection Prevention and Control through line management and support of the designated IPC Lead.
• Monitor and respond to vaccination uptake, screening performance and quality indicators.
• Support population health approaches to prevention, early intervention and chronic disease management.

Advanced Clinical Practice

The post-holder will maintain advanced clinical practice skills through autonomous assessment, diagnosis and management of patients presenting with acute, urgent and complex conditions, exercising advanced clinical reasoning and independent prescribing within their scope of practice.

The Lead Nurse will:

• Deliver advanced clinical assessment, diagnosis and treatment within their area of competence.
• Prescribe safely and effectively in accordance with professional standards and local policies.
• Provide clinical leadership and support to colleagues managing complex patients.
• Support the development of advanced clinical skills across the nursing workforce.
• Promote high standards of evidence-based clinical care.
• Act as a clinical role model across nursing and advanced clinical practitioner services.

Service Development and External Collaboration

• Lead the development and implementation of nursing and advanced clinical practitioner service improvements.
• Identify, evaluate and implement best practice from primary care organisations, PCNs and the wider NHS.
• Work collaboratively with community providers, PCN partners and external healthcare organisations.
• Contribute to strategic planning and service development discussions.
• Support innovation and service redesign to improve patient outcomes and workforce effectiveness.
• Identify opportunities for technology, digital systems and process optimisation.
• Promote efficient use of clinical resources across the practice.
• Encourage staff to contribute ideas for service improvement and innovation.