Advanced Practitioner (ACP/ANP) Persistent PainNHS

Job summary

The Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) / Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP) is a senior autonomous clinician within the East Sussex Community Persistent Pain Service, providing expert assessment, clinical decision-making and personalised care for adults living with persistent musculoskeletal pain.

Working across community settings, the post holder will deliver advanced clinical practice through holistic What Matters to You (WMTY) conversations, recognising each person as an expert in their own life and supporting them to develop the knowledge, confidence and skills to live well with persistent pain. The role combines advanced clinical reasoning with health coaching, behaviour change and psychologically informed practice to ensure care is tailored to the individual's goals, strengths and circumstances.

Main duties of the job

The ACP / ANP will provide clinical leadership within the multidisciplinary team, managing complex presentations, leading advanced triage, contributing to multidisciplinary decision-making and supporting colleagues across primary care, community services and the voluntary sector.

They will work collaboratively with Pain Practitioners, Clinical Psychologists, Pharmacists, Pain Navigators, Health Builders, GPs and other partners to deliver coordinated, evidence-based care aligned with NICE guidance and the East Sussex Integrated Care Strategy. Alongside expert clinical practice, the ACP will contribute to service development, quality improvement, education, research and workforce development.

As a senior clinician, the post holder will act as a role model for compassionate, trauma-informed and strengths-based practice, helping to shape an innovative community pain service that delivers excellent clinical outcomes while improving people's confidence, independence and quality of life.

Job description

Advance Clinical Practice

• Work as an autonomous advanced practitioner, accountable for their own professional decisions and actions within their professional scope of practice.
• Work in accordance with relevant legislation, professional standards, organisational policies, clinical governance arrangements and evidence-based guidance.
• Provide expert assessment, clinical reasoning and decision-making for adults with persistent musculoskeletal pain.
• Manage a complex caseload, including individuals with co-morbid physical, psychological and social needs.
• Undertake advanced triage and determine the most appropriate care pathway.
• Identify and respond appropriately to red flags, safeguarding concerns and clinical risks, taking appropriate action where required. Examples include but are not limited to: serious pathology; new or progressive neurological symptoms, inflammatory or systemic presentations, significant deterioration or unexplained change, medication-related harm; severe psychological distress, risk of self-harm or suicide; safeguarding concerns, substance dependence or harmful medication use, and social circumstances that may prevent safe or equitable access to care.
• Identify potential serious, progressive or treatable pathology and arrange appropriate escalation, investigation or onward referral.
• Request, interpret and act upon investigations where professionally authorised, clinically indicated and consistent with the service pathway.
• Create emotionally and psychologically safe consultations.
• Use trauma-informed principles of safety, trust, choice, collaboration, empowerment and cultural sensitivity.
• Recognise the boundaries between psychologically informed practice and specialist psychological therapy.
• Discuss the benefits, limitations and risks of medicines used for persistent pain.
• Prescribe independently where the post holder holds an appropriate prescribing qualification, has organisational authorisation and is competent to prescribe within the relevant area of practice. Where not an independent prescriber, work within agreed medicines-management arrangements and refer to an appropriate prescriber.
• Together with the patient, develop and review personalised care plans using a person-centred, biopsychosocial approach.
• Maintain accurate, timely and legally compliant clinical records.

Supporting Self-Management & Behaviour Change

• Undertake comprehensive, proportionate and person-centred clinical consultations based on the persons needs and the purpose of the contact.
• Use a What Matters to You approach to understand their story, experience of pain, concerns and expectations and understanding.
• Enable people to better understand persistent pain and its impact on everyday life.
• Use health coaching, shared decision-making and behaviour change approaches to support meaningful, sustainable change.
• Support people to develop persistent pain management strategies, e.g, pacing and flexible activity management, flareup management, reducing fear and avoidance, improving confidence in movement, sleep and fatigue management etc.
• Help people identify realistic goals relating to movement, activity, sleep, emotional wellbeing, relationships, work, education, participation and quality of life
• Plan, deliver and evaluate group education, group consultation and supported self-management programmes with the MDT.
• Facilitate groups in ways that promotes participation, psychological safety and mutual support.
• Manage difficult, distressed or challenging group dynamics sensitively and confidently.
• Support the involvement and development of peer facilitators and people with lived experience within clear governance and role boundaries.
• Work collaboratively with families and carers where appropriate.

Multidisciplinary and Partnership Working

• Work collaboratively within the multidisciplinary team to deliver coordinated care.
• Present and discuss complex cases within multidisciplinary meetings.
• Provide specialist advice and support to colleagues, referrers and partner organisations.
• Develop effective relationships with primary care, community services, secondary care providers and the voluntary sector.
• Participate in multidisciplinary meetings and contribute to complex case discussions.
• Support effective transitions between services and reduce unnecessary duplication of care.
• Present and discuss complex cases within multidisciplinary meetings.

Clinical Governance & Quality

• Practise in accordance with professional, legal and organisational requirements.
• Maintain high standards of patient safety, safeguarding and risk management.
• Participate in clinical audit, service evaluation, quality improvement and research activities.
• Contribute to incident reviews, learning events and continuous service improvement.
• Promote equality, inclusion and equitable access to services.

Leadership & Professional Development

• Provide visible clinical leadership and act as a role model for person-centred practice.
• Support the development, supervision and learning of colleagues and students where appropriate.
• Contribute to the development of clinical pathways, policies and service innovation.
• Maintain professional registration, revalidation and continuing professional development requirements.
• Participate in appraisal, supervision and mandatory training

Professional Responsibilities

• Maintain current registration with the NMC, HCPC, GOsC or other approved statutory professional regulator relevant to the appointment.
• Work within their professional scope of practice and level of competence.
• Maintain an advanced level of clinical knowledge and competence in persistent pain and relevant MSK practice.
• Participate in annual appraisal and review of advanced-practice capability.
• Disclose any limitations, investigation or condition affecting safe professional practice.
• Adhere to organisational policies relating to confidentiality, safeguarding, health and safety, information governance and equality and diversity.

About us

Here is a not-for-profit social enterprise, providing innovative healthcare to people within Sussex and beyond. We provide NHS commissioned healthcare including memory assessment and MSK services, alongside bespoke data analytics products and services. We work in partnership with a wide range of organisations to create and deliver outstanding personalised healthcare.

Positive about disability

Were committed to developing the careers of individuals with a disability. We will give full and fair consideration to all applicants. Applicants who confirm a disability that meet the essential criteria and evidence this within their application, will be interviewed.

Positive about diversity

Here value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone can be themselves and reach their full potential. We actively welcome applicants who identify as LGBTQ+, disabled, and people of the *Global Majority.

*People who identify as Black Caribbean, Black African, South Asian, East Asian, Middle Eastern or Latin.