Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a skilled and passionate Lead Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) to join the Urgent and Emergency Care Directorate at St Richard’s Hospital Chichester. This senior clinical role is integral to the ongoing transformation of urgent and emergency services, providing expert clinical leadership and supporting high standards of care delivery across our Emergency Department (ED), Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC), and Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC). As a Lead ACP, you will work autonomously at an advanced clinical level, managing patients across the full spectrum of undifferentiated emergency presentations. You will also provide visible clinical leadership, mentoring and developing a growing team of ACPs, Trainee ACPs and Emergency Practitioners (EP), ensuring excellence in clinical practice, education, and service innovation. This is an excellent opportunity for a highly motivated ACP to influence strategic service development, enhance patient experience, and support safe, effective urgent care pathways. We welcome applications from those who currently hold a UK NMC registration. If you currently hold an overseas nursing qualification and require sponsorship we are not currently direct hiring Internationally Qualified Nurses.
Main duties of the job
Lead the clinical delivery of care within the Urgent and Emergency Care Directorate, including ED, UTC, and SDEC.
Provide high-level assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and discharge planning for a broad range of emergency presentations.
Lead the supervision, development, and appraisal of ACPs and Trainee ACPs, supporting workforce growth and clinical excellence.
Collaborate with senior clinical, operational, and education leaders to drive quality improvement and service innovation.
Contribute to governance activities, including audit, incident review, and clinical effectiveness initiatives.
Champion a culture of compassionate, patient-centered care in line with Trust values.
Working for our organisation
At UHSussex, diversity is our strength, and we want you to feel included to help us always put the Patient First. Your uniqueness and experiences will be part of our creative and innovative community where everyone is encouraged to succeed. We have a range of Staff Networks to help break down barriers, and can offer a buddy to help new members settle in. We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2) and a Veteran Aware Trust.
We treat our patients and staff with the same compassion and empathy we expect for ourselves. We’re here for them when they need us, and we go above and beyond to meet their needs. This can be seen in our Wellbeing Programme for staff which is extensive and designed to support you when you need it, including where possible, flexible working to support work life balance - because we know that to look after others we must first look after ourselves.
As a university trust and a leader in healthcare research, we value learning, teaching and training so that we can be the best that we can be. From the moment you start with us and throughout your career we will help you to grow and develop. We hope that in choosing UHSussex you are choosing a long and happy career where you will be able to see the difference you make and feel valued for all that you do.
We look forward to receiving your application and the start of your journey with UHSussex.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
1. To communicate in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, highly technical, clinically sensitive /or condition-related information to clients, their families and other healthcare professionals both verbally and in written format
2. Communicate effectively with individuals, their families, carers and health/social care practitioners using a range of styles and ensuring information always remains confidential
3. Proactive in seeking out different styles and methods of communication to assist longer term needs and aims
4. Engage fully and contribute in communication and negotiation regarding service provision for emergency care considering how advanced practice can support progress and evolution of the service Collaborate and communicate effectively with other specialties, clinical areas, disciplines and services to deliver high standards of efficient care to your patients
5. Utilise effective communication techniques to integrate into the multidisciplinary team.
6. To communicate effectively with a wide range of people in a manner consistent with their level of understanding, culture and background and preferred ways of understanding. Communicate with multidisciplinary health professionals and colleagues at all levels
7. Provides and receives highly complex information and anticipates barriers to communication, whilst recognising factors that may influence the situation and pro-actively seeking out solutions to improve communication
8. To recognise the complexity of the communication and any associated political issues and risks
9. To explore complex issues and to make complex decisions encouraging the effective participation of all involved with excellent ‘listening skills’
10. To be empathetic and reassuring when communicating highly sensitive condition related information and advice to patients, carers, relatives and staff
11. To competently receive sensitive information concerning patients' diagnosis/medical condition and to deal with this information appropriately
12. To use a range of skills to adapt the delivery of information through changing the environment, methods of communication or delivery of content using effective, reassuring skills as required. E.g. Breaking bad news/special needs/ dealing with anxious relatives/language barriers
13. To identify and manage challenging behaviours using a range of communication strategies
14. To ensure that essential information on the patients’ condition and progress is recorded by self and team members appropriately according to NMC guidelines
15. Provides complex comprehensive information to the Trust and appropriate regional and national forums
16. To provide highly visible leadership within the multidisciplinary team, inspiring others and encouraging and supporting clinical practice and service development, nurturing talent in the clinical areas
Service Delivery and Improvement
17. To use advanced analytical and judgement skills to support the assessment of patients in highly complex situations; integrate information from multiple levels in diagnoses
18. To undertake advanced and comprehensive assessment, investigations and diagnoses based on a body of specialist knowledge
19. Continue provision of care in a determined care plan on the already differentiated and diagnosed patients or adapt care relevant to further assessment, investigations or differentiation/diagnosis in accordance with governance protocols relevant to area of working
20. Responsible for ensuring that information systems adopted by the Trust are implemented and maintained in their service area, that their service uses such systems effectively and that the information available is analysed and evaluated, to manage performance and to meet Trust objectives
21. Contribute to the national evidence base on advanced practice in emergency care; drawing on local findings of complex audit
People Management and Development
22. Act as a role model working with a high level of personal standards and self-discipline whilst delivering a high standard of care to your patients
23. Be an approachable senior clinical leader and support junior staff in their own development and learning
24. Be responsible for maintaining their own professional development above and beyond that expected of their MSc.
25. Ensure you maintain qualifications in relevant national courses for your role and if an instructor, continue to engage in these activities of education.
26. If not already completed, be willing to complete speciality credential or demonstrate a clinical portfolio to an equivalent from the relevant Royal College if such a curriculum is not yet in existence.
27. Supervise, mentor, coach and act as a resource to Advanced Clinical Practitioners, Trainee ACP’s and Emergency Practitioners of all levels and speciality across the directorate. With direct responsibility for appraisals of these staff groups.
28. Responsible for recruitment across the service by working with the Clinical teams to agree appropriate workforce levels and skill mix in accordance with budget; participating in recruitment panels where required and supporting the selection process for staff
29. Take a lead role in the development of strategic plans for the emergency service and advanced practice provision across the directorate. Linking with primary and secondary care providers to develop collaborative and innovative strategies and processes
30. Lead on the development of educational strategies to ensure the workforce is equipped to meet current and future service developments.
31. Identify and assess the operational planning of the service to achieve the aims and objectives of the service and wider organisation
32. Lead on a portfolio of quality improvement, clinical audit and support research initiatives
33. Monitor the delivery of the service whilst promptly identifying and addressing any issues, changing priorities and implementing corrective actions where necessary
34. Gain feedback on how to improve service delivery to inform future practice
35. Presents complex information to people at corporate level in relation to service requirements where there are identified issues with efficiency and effectiveness highlighting advanced practice throughout the Trust
36. Works in partnership with others to define and clarify the strategic direction of the service
37. Engages all interested parties/users of the service in the planning of service development in partnership with the organisation(s)
Patient Care Delivery
38. Deliver and participate in high standards of clinical care, functioning as an expert practitioner with your speciality.
39. Work for up to 60% of the time in clinical practice
40. To be highly visible to all staff, patients and carers to be able to respond to requests for specialist assistance, advice and support, particularly concerning provision of care
41. Scrutinise patient care and address any issues, which may result in substandard care
42. To manage a case load of patients autonomously and independently in accordance with governance protocols relevant to area of working
43. Ensure all aspects of practice are undertaken with obtained informed consent where applicable, in accordance with local policy, professional body guidance and law
44. Contribute and assist in safe and efficient patient flow and become involved in potential areas of improvement within this area. Focus and strive to achieve national targets
45. Be directly involved in patient experience quality assessment and implementation of improvement strategies
46. Maintain infection control standards
47. Be an independent non-medical prescriber (V300)
48. Undertake health promotion at all appropriate opportunities
49. Make clinical decisions at the highest level working within the relevant ‘Scope of Professional Practice’ and ‘Code of Professional Conduct’
50. To maintain accurate and legible patient notes (written and electronic) in accordance with Trust and national professional policies and guidelines
51. Scrutinise patient care and address any issues, which may result in substandard care
52. Contribute and assist in safe and efficient patient flow and become involved in potential areas of improvement within this area. Focus and strive to achieve national targets
Please see attached Job Description & Person Specification for full details.
Person specification
Essential
Essential criteria
53. NMC / HPCP registration
54. Level 7 – MSc level study
55. Independent non-medical prescriber (where applicable to role /professional group)
56. IRMER (imaging referral by Non-medical Healthcare Professionals) training complete
57. Non-medical authorisation of blood products training completed (as applicable to role
58. Significant post registration specialty experience
59. Subspecialist interests/expertise, as would contribute to the development of the service at UHS
60. Enhanced clinical skills relevant to area of clinical practice
61. Interpretation of diagnostics
62. Experience of leadership/ managing teams .
63. Experience of communication with and management of multi-professional team across a large and complex organisation or network of care
64. Teaching and presentation skills
65. Project management experience
66. Experience contributing to student supervision and assessment
67. Experience of managing financial resources (eg. Budget )
68. Experience of conducting audit/research
69. Computer skills including use of databases, spread sheets, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other clinical support systems
70. Able to access databases to do literature searches
71. Experience of leading a change project within the clinical area
Desirable criteria
72. Experience of generating and presenting data reports
73. Experience of presenting at Conference and writing publications.
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
Essential criteria
74. Evidence of having undertaken own development to improve understanding of equalities issues
75. Evidence of having championed diversity in previous roles (as appropriate to role).
Important information for applicants:
A Note on AI Use in Applications
We value the individuality and authenticity that each candidate brings to the application process. While AI tools are increasingly accessible, we strongly discourage their use in completing your application. Your responses should reflect your own voice, experiences, and motivations—elements that are essential to a fair and accurate evaluation.
Applications that rely heavily on AI-generated content may misrepresent your abilities and could result in your application being rejected. We encourage you to take the time to present your genuine self, as this helps us better understand your potential and ensures a transparent selection process.
Closing Adverts Early: In the event of exceptional interest, we may close adverts earlier than specified.
Some of our adverts are capped for a limited number of applications; therefore, the advert will close once the cap has been reached. We therefore encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible if you are interested in the position to prevent you from missing out on applying for the opportunity.
Flexible Working: If you would like to explore potential options regarding flexible working please speak with the appropriate recruiting/line manager.
DBS Checks: As part of our commitment to a safe working environment, we undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service check on all new employees where the role is eligible for a criminal record check. We make offers in line with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1975.
Skilled Worker Visa: Applications for Skilled Worker sponsorship are welcome for the roles that meet the Visa and Immigrations eligibility criteria. For further information please visit the gov.uk website searching for Skilled Worker. It is your responsibility as the applicant to ensure that you meet this criteria.
UHSussex reserves the right to close the role early if we receive a high volume of applications