Advanced Clinical Practitioner

LSCft; Preston; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust invites applications for an experienced Advanced Clinical Practitioner to join the Physical Healthcare Team at Guild Lodge. The role leads advanced clinical assessment and autonomous decision‑making for adults with complex mental and physical health needs.

You will work within a multidisciplinary team to deliver evidence‑based care plans, prescribe as a Non‑Medical prescriber, supervise clinical practice, and contribute to clinical governance,

Qualifications

• Registered healthcare professional with an MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice.
• First degree in a registered health profession.
• Non-medical prescribing qualification.
• Minimum of five years’ post‑qualification experience.
• Experience in risk assessment, clinical decision‑making, teaching and service improvement.

Responsibilities

• Providing specialist assessment and management of physical health conditions.
• Responding to acute physical health concerns within an agreed scope of practice.
• Supporting management of long‑term conditions and preventative healthcare.
• Undertaking advanced clinical assessment, examination, formulation and diagnostic decision‑making.
• Requesting and interpreting appropriate clinical investigations.
• Prescribing and reviewing medication as a qualified Non‑Medical prescriber.
• Providing expert clinical advice to ward teams and other members of the multidisciplinary team.
• Supporting development of referral, escalation and clinical governance arrangements.
• Delivering clinical supervision, education and training.
• Leading audit, service evaluation, research and evidence‑based improvement.
• Contributing to development of clinical pathways, guidelines and protocols

Skills

Advanced clinical assessment

Clinical leadership

Risk assessment

Education

MSc Advanced Clinical Practice

First degree in Registered Health profession

Registered Practitioner

Non‑medical prescribing

Job description

Our Vision is to provide the best mental health, learning disability, autism, community, and physical health services for the populations we serve.

As an integrated Trust, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) delivers a comprehensive range of services, including:

• Primary and secondary mental health care for children and adults, including specialist inpatient child and adolescent mental health provision, perinatal mental health, and forensic services with low and medium secure care.
• Specialist mental health inpatient care for individuals with learning disabilities, alongside specialist community support for children and adults with learning disabilities and autism, including intensive support.
• Extensive community physical health and well‑being services for children and adults, covering prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and long‑term condition management.

The Trust was first established in 2002 and employs approximately 7,500 staff who provide care from more than 400 sites. The organisation offers opportunities for medics, mental health, general nurses, children’s nurses, allied health professionals, psychology, administration and clerical staff, apprentices and volunteers, as well as those specialising in learning disabilities and community physical health services.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and motivated Advanced Clinical Practitioner to join the Physical Healthcare Team at Guild Lodge.

Guild Lodge provides medium secure, low secure and step‑down inpatient care for people with complex mental health needs. The service supports individuals who may have significant physical health inequalities alongside severe mental illness, making timely, coordinated and high‑quality physical healthcare an essential part of their treatment and recovery.

This is a key clinical leadership role within the continuing development of an integrated physical healthcare service. The successful candidate will help strengthen the service’s response to acute physical health concerns while also supporting preventative care, long‑term condition management and the reduction of health inequalities.

Working as part of a multidisciplinary team, you will exercise advanced clinical judgement and autonomous decision‑making to assess, diagnose, investigate and manage people presenting with complex physical and mental health needs. You will develop evidence‑based care plans, undertake physical examinations, request and interpret appropriate investigations, prescribe within your professional scope and respond promptly to changes in a patient’s condition.

Main duties of the job

The role will include:

• Providing specialist assessment and management of physical health conditions.
• Responding to acute physical health concerns within an agreed scope of practice.
• Supporting the management of long‑term conditions and preventative healthcare.
• Undertaking advanced clinical assessment, examination, formulation and diagnostic decision‑making.
• Requesting and interpreting appropriate clinical investigations.
• Prescribing and reviewing medication as a qualified Non‑Medical prescriber.
• Providing expert clinical advice to ward teams and other members of the multidisciplinary team.
• Supporting the development of clear referral, escalation and clinical governance arrangements.
• Delivering clinical supervision, education and training.
• Leading audit, service evaluation, research and evidence‑based improvement.
• Contributing to the development of clinical pathways, guidelines and protocols

Applicants must be registered healthcare professionals with an MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice, a first degree in a registered health profession and a non‑medical prescribing qualification. You will require a minimum of five years’ post‑qualification experience, strong clinical assessment and leadership skills, and significant experience of risk assessment, clinical decision‑making, teaching and evidence‑based service improvement. Experience of physical healthcare, primary care, acute assessment or working with people who have complex mental health needs would be particularly valuable.

Working for our organisation

LSCFT values diversity and inclusion, recognising that talent from varied backgrounds creates a flexible, creative, and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from all, regardless of age, disability (including those with experience of accessing or caring for someone who has accessed mental health or learning disability services), ethnicity, gender, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.

Our aim is to reflect the communities we serve, so we particularly encourage applications from under‑represented groups. If you’d like to discuss your application, please ask.

We also welcome individuals with lived experience relevant to the role or service area, as your insight brings authenticity to our services.

LSCFT support flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours and flexi‑time.

The wellbeing of our people is at the heart of everything we do. We offer a wide range of resources, tools and support to help you thrive both in and out of work.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For more details on this vacancy please review the attached job description and person specification.

Qualifications

• MSc Advanced Clinical Practice
• First degree in Registered Health profession
• Registered Practitioner
• Non‑medical prescribing

Knowledge

• In‑depth knowledge of a range of approaches to mental health assessment and of psychosocial interventions
• Confident in the delivery of care to service user group
• Skilled in delivering evidence based practice for patients who self‑harm or attempt suicide

Experience

• Significant experience of risk assessment and management and its application practice.
• Detailed understanding of relevant legislation e.g. Mental Capacity Act and Mental Health Act and its application to an Acute Hospital setting.

You are advised to consider applying for LSCFT vacancies as soon as possible as in some instances vacancies are closed as soon as a sufficient number of applications have been received. If you are not invited to interview within four weeks of the closing date then please assume that on this occasion you have been unsuccessful, as it is not possible to contact all unsuccessful candidates.

Please note that further communication from LSCFT will normally be to the email address given on the application form. You should also ensure that email addresses and telephone numbers are provided for your referees, to enable LSCFT to contact them.

Please ensure that you read the person specification as your application will be measured against this document.

If you use AI to assist with your application, you must declare this. Undeclared use may result in withdrawal. Please ensure your application reflects your own skills and experiences. While AI tools can assist, they may produce generic or inaccurate content. We encourage you to provide personal examples that demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria.

For all posts which require a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check please be aware of the Disclosure and Barring Service Code of Practice, a copy of which is available by logging on to the DBS website. If the post is subject to DBS disclosure, a charge will be made to the successful candidate(s).

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. You are therefore advised to consider applying for this vacancy as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.