Advanced Clinical Practitioner Podiatrist

Band 8a
Job summary
We have an exciting opportunity for an Advanced Clinical Practitioner Podiatrist to join the Community Podiatry Service at Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust. This is a newly created role and we are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Podiatrist to provide over-arching clinical leadership and manage a caseload of complex high-risk patients.
The post-holder will be required to deliver an advanced level of clinical practice and this will include a specialist and complex caseload of high risk patients. The successful candidate will have Master's level or equivalent training in this specialist area and will have a proven track record of Advanced Clinical reasoning, highly specialist Podiatric foot-care skills and the ability to drive change in a dynamic and challenging clinical environment.
The post holder will be expected to work autonomously and align with the four pillars of Advanced Clinical practice - clinical practice, leadership and management, education, and research. They will work alongside the operational leadership, professional leadership and the clinical teams. Clinical education and training of staff will form a large part of the role, as will standardisation of clinical pathways across the service. Travel across the four localities will be expected, as will input into the high-risk foot care clinics within the local acute hospital Trusts.
Main duties of the job

• To work autonomously as an advanced practitioner, utilising Advanced Clinical reasoning skills to assess, investigate, diagnose, treat, and manage patients with foot health conditions and holding clinical accountability for their decisions.
• To hold responsibility for the over-arching clinical leadership of the Podiatry Service, providing clinical supervision to specialist Podiatrists and leading on the standardisation of clinical pathways.
• To work alongside the operational senior leadership team and professional lead in enhancing service delivery and driving service improvement.
  

About us
We are the main provider of NHS community services across East and West Sussex. Our 6,000 staff serve a population of 1.3 million providing essential medical, nursing, and therapeutic care to adults and children.
Our Trust vision is to provide excellent care at the heart of the community, helping people plan, manage, adapt to changes in their health, supporting avoidable hospital admissions and reducing hospital stay times.
We have opportunities for everyone across our wide variety of services including medical, clinical, support and corporate services.
Why work for us?

• Positive 2022 NHS Staff Survey results, scoring highly in compassionate culture & leadership, and staff wellbeing support
• Variety of working environments across the community, in patients' homes, within our community hospitals and bases across the county
• Supportive flexible working patterns such as: part time, flexi time, annualised hours, and flexi retirement options
• Excellent training and development opportunities
• Research opportunities
• Cost-effective workplace nurseries in Crawley, Hove and Brighton
• Thriving BAME, Disability and Wellbeing, LGBT+ and Religion and Belief staff networks
• Level 3 accredited Disability Confident Leader, committed to creating inclusive workplaces
• Veteran Aware Trust, achieving accreditation from Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA)
• Located in stunning Sussex, with easy access to the South Downs and the coast
• Access to a wide range of benefits and discounts for NHS staff

Job description
Job responsibilities

• To develop excellent communication and productive working partnerships, working collaboratively with the General Manager, Clinical Services Manager, Professional Lead, Team Leads, Clinical Specialist Podiatrists, Consultants, GPs, and other members of the multidisciplinary team.
  
• Collaborate and communicate effectively, supporting and facilitating links and good working partnerships with colleagues within Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, and with other system pathway links in our locality, including our Acute NHS Trust partners.
  
• To be a recognised expert in the field of Podiatry practice within the multidisciplinary team, working within your own professional framework and national Podiatric guidelines.
  
• To use Advanced Clinical skills, taking responsibility for the assessment and on-going care of a specialist caseload of patients who may have complex and/or chronic presentation, where appropriate, in discussion with the multidisciplinary team.
  
• To utilise highly specialist assessment skills and diagnostic medical investigations to determine clinical diagnosis and formulate treatment plans. This requires Advanced Practice skills that are beyond the usual scope of practice, utilising postgraduate qualifications and highly Advanced Clinical skills.
  
• Provide highly specific guidance to clinical colleagues around therapeutic and antibiotic management and stewardship where required.
  
• To develop & implement protocols, clinical pathways, procedures and standards of care within the Podiatry service, consulting with colleagues in the design and following national and local policies and procedures.
  
• To demonstrate measurable clinical effectiveness, using nationally and locally agreed methodology, in the care and support of Podiatric patients receiving treatments in the community and acute setting.
  
• In collaboration with the Clinical Services Manager, Professional Lead, and clinical leads, to assist in the clinical development of staff in specialist area, and other staff working in associated services as required.
  

There is a support structure for Advanced Clinical Practitioners within SCFT and the post holder will have the chance to interact with others from different services and teams.The role of Advanced Clinical Practitioner within the Community Podiatry Service requires analysis and synthesis of complex problems across a range of settings, enabling innovative solutions to enhance people's experience and improve outcomes.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Diploma or degree in Podiatry
• HCPC registration
• Master's Level or equivalent training

Desirable

• Independent prescriber

Experience
Essential

• Clinical experience in managing high-risk Podiatry patients within the acute and community setting, including wound management
• Proven clinical experience of working in and leading a team at Band 7 or 8a level
• Evidence of continued professional development and post-registration education and training

Skills and Knowledge
Essential

• Advanced specialist Podiatrist skills in assessment, diagnosis and management in complex patients, including wound management
• Ability to work autonomously, acting decisively on behalf of self and others and setting priorities for self and team
• Experience of working within multidisciplinary services
• Proven experience in teaching, training, supervising and mentoring Podiatrists
• Ability to to demonstrate excellent communication skills and manage conflict

Desirable

• Computer skills, including use of PowerPoint, MS Teams and Word
• Knowledge and use of SystmOne or other electronic notes system

Other requirements
Essential

• Ability to travel across the localities
• Ability to adapt to different environments and locations of work

Desirable

• Membership of Royal College of Podiatry

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details
Employer name
Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Brighton General Hospital
Brighton
BN2 3EW
Employer's website
https://www.sussexcommunity.nhs.uk/work-with-us/ (Opens in a new tab)