JOB SUMMARY
Salary: £45,000 (Negotiable depending on experience)
Willesden Green Surgery is seeking to recruit a full time (37.5 hours a week) or part time proactive Physician Associate to deliver high-quality, evidence-based care across routine and same-day GP appointments. The role is supervised daily by a GP and works closely with the multidisciplinary team to improve access, continuity, and outcomes for our see and treat patients with a wide range of conditions.
Willesden Green Surgery is a GP practice located in Brent, London, renowned for its rapid growth and diversity. It is highly regarded by its patients, with the practice consistently rated as one of the top three GP practices in Brent according to the National GP Patient Survey. Comprising a team of six highly skilled and supportive GP partners and four excellent salaried GP, each with their own unique areas of expertise, the practice ensures comprehensive and specialised care for its patients. With a commitment to expansion and innovation, Willesden Green Surgery is actively pursuing the establishment of a state-of-the-art multipurpose centre that will provide a wide range of amenities for both patients and staff, further enhancing the quality and accessibility of healthcare services for the community. Due to it's rapid exapansion, the surgery has secured a second site in Queen's Park (William Dunbar House), which will provide more space for our patients to be seen.
In this role, the physician's assistant will be given daily support by the duty GP partner who will provide training, mentorship and supervision.
The physician's assistant will need to be committed to improving health and putting patients first. Key qualities will be the ability to build effective relationships with patients, GPs, nurses, pharmacists, hospital & practice staff, and to work effectively as part of a team. Demonstrable general clinical skills and knowledge in core areas, including long term conditions, together with a good understanding of general practice are essential.
PRIMARY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PHARMCIST ROLE
Key requirements of the role
* Must speak Arabic
* Must have a minimum of 1 year experience in the GP setting
* Supporting the quality improvement agenda as directed by the Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF)
* Management of minor ailments & self-limiting conditions
* Must be willing to upskill their clinical skills under supervision to be able to see and treat a wide range of patients and conditions
Key responsibilities
* Hold face-to-face, telephone, and online consultations (acute/minor illness, long-term condition reviews within competence).
* Take histories, examine patients, formulate differential diagnoses, request appropriate investigations, and create management plans with GP support as required.
* Provide same-day/urgent care and clinical triage sessions.
* Review and action pathology and imaging results; communicate outcomes to patients; safety-net appropriately.
* Contribute to long-term condition management (e.g., hypertension, COPD, diabetes) using templates/protocols.
* Make referrals to community, secondary care and social prescribing services under agreed pathways.
* Document contemporaneously to a high standard; use practice protocols, QOF/IIF templates, and coding accurately.
* Participate in significant-event reviews, audits, QI projects, and clinical meetings.
* Support patient education, health promotion, and self-management—including consultations in Arabic when helpful.
The post holder will work within the Anson Road and William Dunbar House sites serving a population of 15,000 patients.
Scope of practice & supervision
* You will work under the supervision of a GP, with daily/regular debriefs and ready access to senior clinical advice.
* Work strictly within competence, escalating when needed and adhering to safeguarding and chaperone policies.
BENEFITS
* Private pension available
* Daily GP supervision and training with protected debriefs
* Oppotunity for career progression
* No weekends unless preferred
* Cycle to work scheme with a free bicycle worth up to £500
* Opportunities to develop special interests aligned to practice/PCN priorities.
ANNUAL LEAVE
* 20 days annual leave plus banks holidays
DETAILED ASPECTS OF THE ROLE
Management of Minor Ailments:
* Support practices in improving patient access for minor ailments and acute presentations.
* Promote the importance of self-care and signpost patients to community pharmacies in line with national guidance on over the counter medicines.
Managment of Major or Chronic Health Conditions
* Work towards being able to take a history, examine, investigate, diagnose and treatment major or chronic health conditions under GP supervision
Patient medication queries:
* Work towards the handling of medication queries from patients including acute prescription requests, early requests, controlled drug requests, whilst differentiating when a query can and cannot be resolved by a principal GP.
* Provide a telephone help line for patients with questions, queries and concerns about their medicines.
* Effectively and clearly explain medication-related information to patients in a manner that is easy to understand.
Delivery of Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF) targets:
* Delivery of QOF targets including atrial fibrillation, asthma, COPD, diabetes, CKD, heart failure, hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, mental health, rheumatoid arthritis and drug dependency targets
Delivery of PCN DES and IIF targets:
* Delivery of PCN IIF targets including hypertension, cardiovascular disease prevention, atrial fibrillation, structured medication reviews for high risk groups, asthma.
* Delivery of PCN DES targets including hypertension, cardiovascular disease prevention, and medicines optimisation targets.
Signposting:
* Ensure that patients are referred to the appropriate healthcare professional for specialist referral, monitoring and/or referred to the social prescriber for further support services where required.
* Booking patients in to speak to a GP when a concern or query is beyond their scope
KEY COLLABORATIVE WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
The post-holder will be required to work with a wide range of colleagues within the practice. It is important that the post holder recognises the roles of other colleagues to person-centred care, and liaises with other colleagues as needed for the collective benefit of patients including:
* Patients
* GPs, nurses and other reception staff
* Other external healthcare professionals including pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, community nurses, optometrists, dentists, health and social care teams and dieticians
* Ability to work as a member of a team within the PCN
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
* Has experience/awareness of the breadth of common acute and long-term conditions that are likely to be seen in a general medical practice.
* Minimum of 1 year post graduate experience in General Practice, as demonstrated within a practice portfolio.
* Able to follow legal, ethical, professional and organisational policies/procedures and codes of conduct.
HEALTH AND SAFETY/RISK MANAGEMENT
An expectation is for all staff to have a commitment to promoting and maintaining a safe and healthy environment and be responsible for their own and others welfare. In addition, staff will be expected to undertake the statutory mandatory health and safety training and other training relevant to their specialist area of work.
EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY
The post-holder must co-operate with all policies and procedures designed to ensure equality of employment and complete the required statutory mandatory training.
PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY
The post-holder should respect patient confidentiality at all times and not divulge patient information unless sanctioned by the requirements of the role.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
The person specification describes the characteristics (skills, knowledge, experience and qualifications) that are needed to carry out the duties in the job description.
Professional Registration
Essential:
* Registered with the GMC
Qualifications
Essential:
* UK PA qualification (PG Dip/MSc) and passed UK PA National Examination (PANE)
Desirable:
* Specialist knowledge acquired through post-graduate diploma level or equivalent training/experience
Skills, Knowledge & Experience
Essential:
* Minimum of 1 year post‐qualification experience in the GP setting
* A good understanding of general practice and primary care
* Excellent interpersonal and negotiating skills
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills
* Demonstrate the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information in an understandable form to a variety of audiences
* Good IT skills, preferably with EMIS skills
* Recognises priorities when problem solving and identifies deviations from the normal pattern and is able to refer to seniors or GPs when appropriate
* Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines
* Work effectively independently and as a team member
* Demonstrates accountability for delivering professional expertise and direct service provision
* Self-Motivated, positive attitude, adaptable, self-aware and able to gain respect, trust and co-operation quickly
Other
Essential:
* Must be an Arabic speaker
* Commitment to equality and diversity
* Current DBS check
* Information Governance toolkit completion
DISCLAIMER
In view of the dynamic nature of the role, this job description is intended to provide an outline of the duties and responsibilities; it will be subject to review and amendment as necessary in consultation with the post holder. The post holder should be prepared to take on additional duties or relinquish existing duties in order to maintain the efficient running of the Practice.
Job Types: Full-time, Part-time, Permanent
Pay: From £45,000.00 per year
Benefits:
* Flexitime
Experience:
* GP surgery: 1 year (required)
Language:
* Arabic (required)
Licence/Certification:
* GMC (required)
Work authorisation:
* United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person