Candidates for this position should possess strong relationship-building skills to effectively engage with patients and health professionals while managing their own workload in alignment with service goals. The role includes conducting essential physical health checks, such as monitoring BMI, blood pressure, and lifestyle habits, and requires adaptability as team assignments may vary based on demand. Flexibility in work locations and an ability to work with minimal supervision are also crucial for this position.
Assistant Practitioner/Nursing Associate - Health Check Liaison Team
This is an exciting opportunity for a motivated, skilled and compassionate Nursing Associate or Assistant Practitioner to join South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and be part of our commitment to improving the physical health of the communities we serve.
South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust are committed to improving the physical health of patients with severe mental illness, and the Health Check Liaison Team plays a key role in meeting this commitment. The team is comprised of Band 4 Assistant Practitioners (APs) who provide assertive outreach support to community mental health services to improve the physical health of our service users. This is achieved by supporting teams to improve the physical health of their caseload by running clinics, outreaching into the community, liaising with primary care services and signposting to evidence-based interventions.
The Assistant Practitioner/Nursing Associate will independently run physical health clinics, share outcomes and support service users to access appropriate interventions (according to local assets and service available). Data is recorded on the electronic patient record and shared with primary care.
Applicants must have the ability to build positive and effective professional relationships across our health system, to work independently with remote supervision, to engage with people who have severe mental illness and to manage their workload in line with service targets.
About us
This post is part of the Health Check Liaison Team, which works across the Trust's community services. The purpose of the team is to provide health checks and support to patients with serious mental illness who are under the care of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.
The post holder will be required to record comprehensive information in the electronic patient record, to produce high quality letters to share information with primary care, to produce regular reports on their progress and to set up processes to manage their workload.
The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) physical health checks are the key physical health checks required and include:
- BMI
- Blood pressure and pulse
- Lifestyle, including diet and exercise
- Smoking status
- Substance misuse (drugs and alcohol use)
- Cardio-metabolic risk using tools such as Q-Risk
- Blood lipids including cholesterol
- Blood sugar (HbA1c).
Please note this role will involve working across all four boroughs that we serve (Croydon, Lewisham, Southwark and Lambeth). The team works in an agile way, and is deployed on a temporary basis to teams with high need, and also involves home visiting with equipment. The need to be flexible and responsive with regards to working location is vital. The role is primarily patient-facing within community team bases.
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