Additional Roles
Additional healthcare professionals providing a variety of expert support to patients.
Advanced Practitioners
Advanced Practitioners are an integral part of the 21st century NHS workforce as new models of care are transforming the way patients are treated. Advanced Practitioners work at level 7 across the four pillars of advanced practice – clinical, management & leadership, research & education, and offer multiple benefits to the health service and the population. They bring more holistic care to patients, support continuity of care and extend the scope of practice across traditional boundaries. This leads in turn to a greater focus on prevention, more personalised care, a more efficient team, a faster response to patient needs and better outcomes.
They are instrumental in supervising the multi-professional team in primary care, they attract and lead research and audits, and manage highly complex high-risk patients. They have a leadership role in the ICS around pathways and population health.
Care Coordinators
Care coordinators are personalised care professionals who help to provide capacity, and expertise to support patients in preparing for or following up clinical conversations with clinical teams. They work closely with the GPs and other primary care professionals within the PCN to identify and manage a caseload of identified patients. Together they make sure that appropriate support is made available to the patient and their carers and ensure that their changing needs are addressed. Care coordinators focus on delivery of personalised care to reflect local PCN priorities, health inequalities or groups of patients identified through risk stratification. Care coordinators can also support PCNs in the delivery of enhanced health in care homes.
Care Home Team
Our Care Home Team includes a range of healthcare professionals, in order to provide the best care for local care home residents. Care Homes we work with:
Brindley Manor Nursing Home, Corbett House Nursing Home, Dorset House Nursing Home, Droitwich Mews Care Home, The Haven Residential Home, The Priory Residential Home, Rashwood Care & Nursing Home Home, Westmead Residential Home, Woodland View Care Home
CARE COORDINATORS
Care coordinators are personalised care professionals who help to provide capacity, and expertise to support patients in preparing for or following up clinical conversations with clinical teams. They work closely with the GPs and other primary care professionals within the PCN to identify and manage a caseload of identified patients. Together they make sure that appropriate support is made available to the patient and their carers and ensure that their changing needs are addressed. Care coordinators focus on delivery of personalised care to reflect local PCN priorities, health inequalities or groups of patients identified through risk stratification. Care coordinators can also support PCNs in the delivery of enhanced health in care homes.
CLINICAL PHARMACISTS
Clinical Pharmacists work in primary care in a patient facing role to clinically assess and treat patients using their expert knowledge of medicines. They will be prescribers, or if not, are working to complete an independent prescribing qualification following completion of an approved 18-training pathway or equivalent. They work with and alongside the general practice team, taking responsibility for patients with chronic diseases and undertaking structured medication reviews to proactively manage people with complex polypharmacy, especially for the elderly, people in care homes and those with multiple comorbidities.
PHARMACY TECHNICIANS
Pharmacy Technicians complement the work of clinical pharmacists, through utilisation of their technical skillset. Their deployment within primary care settings allows the application of their acquired pharmaceutical knowledge in tasks such as medicines reconciliation, audits, prescription management support, and where appropriate, advising patients and other members of the PCN workforce.
Clinical Pharmacists
Clinical Pharmacists work in primary care in a patient facing role to clinically assess and treat patients using their expert knowledge of medicines. They will be prescribers, or if not, are working to complete an independent prescribing qualification following completion of an approved 18-training pathway or equivalent. They work with and alongside the general practice team, taking responsibility for patients with chronic diseases and undertaking structured medication reviews to proactively manage people with complex polypharmacy, especially for the elderly, people in care homes and those with multiple comorbidities.
Pharmacy Technicians
Pharmacy Technicians complement the work of clinical pharmacists, through utilisation of their technical skillset. Their deployment within primary care settings allows the application of their acquired pharmaceutical knowledge in tasks such as medicines reconciliation, audits, prescription management support, and where appropriate, advising patients and other members of the PCN workforce.
First Contact Physiotherapy
First Contact Physiotherapists (FCPs) are qualified autonomous clinical practitioners who can assess, diagnose, treat, and manage musculoskeletal (MSK) problems and undifferentiated conditions. Where appropriate, they are also able to discharge a person without a medical referral. First contact practitioner physiotherapists working in this role can be accessed directly by patients, or via referral from other members of staff. They can establish a rapid and accurate diagnosis and management plan to streamline pathways of care.
Mental Health Practitioners
Mental health practitioners support adults whose needs cannot be met by local talking therapies, but who may not need ongoing care from secondary mental health services. The practitioner can be taken on by a wide range of clinical and non-clinical roles with mental health expertise (ranging from Band 4-8a), such as a community psychiatric nurse, clinical psychologist, mental health occupational therapist or a peer support worker.
Mental health practitioners for children and young people can be developed to meet a wide range of needs, from early identification and intervention in primary care, to more targeted or intensive support and interventions as part of a joined-up approach with children and young people’s community mental health services. The exact scope of the role and job description should be agreed between the PCN and the NHS trust but could include children wellbeing practitioners, community mental health nurse, and cognitive behavioural and family therapists.
As this is part of the wider transformation and expansion of community mental health services, the practitioner will be employed by the secondary mental health provider and will operate as a fully embedded member of the PCN multidisciplinary team. They will act as bridge between primary care and secondary mental health services and can facilitate onward referral to a range of services to meet patients’ needs.
Nurse Associates
Nursing Associates deliver hands-on, person-centred care as part of the nursing team and support registered nurses to focus on the more complex clinical care. Nursing associate roles include performing and recording clinical observations (for example, blood pressure, temperature, respirations, and pulse), and performing clinical health checks.
Trainee nursing associates will develop the skills and knowledge, over the course of a two-year programme (for example, apprenticeship, foundation degree) to deliver high quality and compassionate care. They deliver specific clinical tasks and direct care to patients and families, under the direction of a registered nursing associate (or other registered care professional). Through their training they will develop an understanding of caring and supporting people with complex conditions such as dementia, mental health conditions, and learning disabilities. Trainee nursing associates upon completion of training can register as a nursing associate with The Nursing and Midwifery Council.
Social Prescribing Link Workers
Social prescribing link workers help people focus on what matters to them as identified in their care and support plan. They connect people to community groups and agencies for practical and emotional support. Link workers typically work with people over six to 12 contacts (including phone calls and meetings) over a three-month period with a typical caseload of up to 250 people, depending on the complexity of people’s needs.