Advanced Clinical Practitioner Multiple SclerosisinTauntoninTauntonPUBLISHED TUE 11 MAR 2025

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a highly motivated and dynamic nurse or allied health professional to join the multidisciplinary Somerset Neurology service to take a lead role in the Somerset Multiple Sclerosis service.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and forward thinking nurse or AHP with an ACP MSc and non medical prescribing qualification or a band 7 trainee ACP post for those candidates that have a passion for the management of MS and relevant clinical experience but do not have the full ACP qualification.

The successful candidate will have excellent communication skills and relevant experience to deliver high quality. specialist care to people with MS in Somerset as well as taking a lead with the neurology symptom management service and probationer.

Full support and training will be given for the role. Car driver essential or the ability to travel to meet the needs of the role as not all locations are accessible by public transport.

Based at Musgrove Park Hospital with cross site and county working.

Establish and maintain excellent communication with individuals or groups. providing and receiving highly complex sensitive and or contentious information and exploring complex issues across a wide range of care options and decisions.

Demonstrate effective communication skills and supporting people in making decisions. planning care or seeking to make positive changes using Health Education England Framework to promote person centred approaches in health and care.

Use highly developed communication skills to provide guidance, advice, and support to the individual regarding management of their health condition and its impact on individuals and carers life. Communicate complex, very sensitive, sometimes distressing information to patient and carer using empathy and reassurance, identifies and overcome barriers to understanding as appropriate.

Establish supportive partnerships with individuals or carers and communicates with them, sometimes in highly distressing or emotional circumstances, which may involve imparting bad news. Establish and maintain local and regional network of contacts sharing of good practice, innovative ideas and promotes best practice.

Ensure that accurate, essential, and appropriate written and verbal information is relayed to staff, ensuring adequate facilities are in place to maintain safety in the environment, ensuring effective management of patient caseload.

About us

The successful candidate will need to be responsible for the assessment, diagnostics, and treatment of individuals within the Neurology service using an advanced level of professional accountability, autonomy, and judgement, underpinned by Masters level theory and experience. This includes highly complex decision making across a broad range of differentiated and undifferentiated individual presentations and complex situations, synthesising information from multiple sources to make appropriate, evidence based judgements and diagnoses. To be the Non Medical lead for the Somerset Multiple Sclerosis and symptom management service for delivery, evaluation and improvement, including line and supervision management of other neurological practitioners. To hold an autonomous caseload, run designated clinics, this will include ACP led MS disease modifying drug and MS urgent assessment clinics, review and DMD clinics, the MS Service helpline, and MDT MS acute symptom clinics. To plan and manage complete episodes of care. This will be working in collaboration with senior medical colleagues and others when required. Delegating and referring as appropriate, to ensure timely, effective management to optimise health outcomes, in line with the evidence base and nationally recognised best practice. Prescribe medication for individual patients within the agreed scope of practice; this will include repeat prescribing of MS DMDs and symptomatic treatments. To lead on clinical governance, repeat prescribing, DMD safety monitoring, and protocol development in MS as part of the MS MDT. Ensure NHSE blueteq forms are completed annually for high cost DMDs where the ACP is the prescriber. Manage new MS drug therapy introduction, linking with pharmacy to ensure these are added to the formulary, and leading on relevant NICE TAs and as part of the MDT. To play a key operational role and maintain a proactive approach to managing, updating and leading clinical pathways in MS and other neurological conditions. To promote and implement service and policy development and redesign, impacting beyond own area and other disciplines, informed by current best practice and evidence base, in accordance with values based care. To participate and lead research initiatives related to MS and other neurological conditions and promote critical engagement with research by staff. To ensure high quality learning environments for all disciplines within a context of multi professional education and training that is responsive to future changes and challenges. Reflecting and embedding current trends and feedback, National Education and Training Survey. Leading to and supporting the maintenance of a learning environment producing learners that are fit for Our Future and workforce plans, including meeting The Long Term Plan patient pathways.