Associate Practitioner / Assistant Practitioner - Alcohol Care Team

Transformation Unit; Torquay; Hybride; GBP 28 000 - 31 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Band 4 Nursing Associate/Assistant Practitioner to join the Alcohol Care Team at Torbay Hospital in Torquay. The role focuses on embedding our Alcohol Harm Reduction Programme and supporting admission avoidance and timely discharge.

You will work with clinical teams to optimize alcohol screening, deliver harm reduction training, and provide psychosocial support, with proximal supervision from a registered nurse/practitioner.

Qualifications

• Foundation Degree in healthcare is required.
• Care Certificate or equivalent.
• Knowledge or experience in Alcohol Services.
• Good written and verbal communication skills.
• Able to work to deadlines, prioritise and multi-task.

Responsabilités

• Embed robust alcohol screening and harm reduction in clinical settings.
• Screen inpatients to identify early alcohol-related harm.
• Use motivational interviewing to support recovery goals.
• Educate patients and families on alcohol use disorders and liver disease.
• Support admission avoidance and post-discharge follow-up.
• Coordinate Alcohol Care Team operations and triage referrals.

Connaissances

Communication skills

Assessment & planning

Teamwork

Decision making under pressure

Motivational interviewing

Managing acute care

Customer care

Prioritisation

Adaptability

Formation

Foundation Degree in healthcare

Care Certificate or equivalent

Personal development courses

Alcohol Services knowledge/experience

Description du poste

Employer Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Torbay Hospital Town Torquay Salary £28,392 - £31,157 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 28/10/2026 23:59

Nursing Associate / Assistant Practitioner - Alcohol Care Team

NHS AfC: Band 4

Job overview

We are seeking a dedicated and proactive Band 4 Nursing Associate / Assistant Practitioner to join our growing Alcohol Care Team. In this post, you will play a key role in building and embedding our Alcohol Harm Reduction Programme across the Trust.

You will work closely with clinical teams on the front line to optimize alcohol screening practices, deliver training on harm reduction advice, and empower staff to identify and manage alcohol-related harm early.

A central focus of your role will be supporting admission avoidance and timely discharge. By initiating pre-discharge contact, following up with patient’s post-discharge, and applying structured motivational interviewing techniques, you will provide critical psychosocial support that aids recovery and reduces hospital re-attendances. As part of this post-discharge care, you will actively contact patients who were unable to be seen during their inpatient stay due to being admitted out of operational hours or missed due to capacity.

The Assistant Practitioner will function at a higher competency level than that of other Healthcare Support Workers with responsibility for actively participating as part of the Multi-Disciplinary Team within the ward/dept, to provide a seamless service to patients with proximal supervision from a registered nurse/practitioner.

Main duties of the job

Trust-Wide Harm Reduction & Screening: Support acute wards and clinical departments to embed robust, standardized alcohol screening; deliver practical guidance and training to multidisciplinary teams on applying screening tools and harm reduction principles.

Inpatient Screening & Identification: Proactively identify and screen patients across hospital wards to recognize those at risk of alcohol-related harm at the earliest opportunity.

Patient Care & Psychosocial Interventions: Utilize motivational interviewing and evidence-based brief interventions (IBA) to support patients in understanding their alcohol use, setting personal recovery goals, and implementing effective harm reduction strategies.

Patient & Carer Education: Deliver clear, specialist information and advice to patients and families living with alcohol use disorders and/or diagnosed liver disease, empowering them to manage their conditions.

Admission Avoidance & Post-Discharge Support: C onduct follow-up contact with patients (in-person or telephone) following discharge to support safe transitions, maintain recovery gains, and reduce hospital re-attendances.

Service Coordination & Operational Support: Assist in managing the day-to-day operations of the Alcohol Care Team (ACT) - handling triage, referrals, emails, phone inquiries, and patient communications efficiently.

Team Collaboration & Support: Work closely with ACT clinical nurse specialists and the multidisciplinary team to support the ongoing care, management, and escalation of complex patient cases.

Data Collection & Quality Improvement: Accurately record patient interactions and track screening compliance and follow-up metrics to contribute to service audits, quality assurance, and ongoing program development.

This is currently a Monday to Friday service subject to change

This is an exciting opportunity to join and continue to develop a service within Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust.

The Alcohol Care Team works within a well-established Gastroenterology Department that provides seamless multi-speciality care, with an ethos in facilitating the right care, at the right time, in the right place.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Full Vacancy details can be found on the attached Job Description/Person Specification. Please refer to your suitability to the post in your supporting information from the role requirements or person specification.

#caretojoinus

Person specification

Qualifications

• Foundation Degree in healthcare
• Care Certificate or equivalent
• Courses/further study attended to demonstrate evidence of personal development
• Knowledge or experience in Alcohol Services

Knowledge and experience

• Good written and verbal communication skills
• Able to learn and assimilate information quickly
• Proven ability to work to deadlines, prioritise and multi-task
• To have awareness of limitations and boundaries

Specific skills

• Ability to assess, plan and evaluate patient care
• Management of an acutely ill patient
• Good interpersonal skills with ability to liaise effectively with multidisciplinary team members
• Evidence of working well within a team
• Ability to demonstrate motivation
• Ability to work accurately and reliably under pressure
• Ability to make decisions, organise and prioritise own workload
• Evidence of commitment to customer care
• Experience with acute care or GI service setting

You will be joining the organisation at an exciting time. As the first fully integrated care organisation in England, we are working to improve the way we deliver safe, high-quality health and social care. We have a positive and vibrant working atmosphere, we are proud of our investment in our staff both in terms of developing potential career skills and valuing people.

If you provide support to a family member or friend with health or care needs, we aim to be a Carer-friendly employer. We have a ‘Staff Carers’ policy which includes flexible working where possible and a Carer’s Passport scheme that links you into support and discounts.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

• We reserve the right to close vacancies early if we receive a high volume of applications. Therefore, we encourage you to apply promptly.
• Please read the job description carefully and tailor your application to reflect the requirements of the role.
• Applicants who identify in their application form they are a part of the Armed Forces community will be guaranteed an interview, provided they meet the minimum essential criteria outlined in the job description and person specification for the role. Step into Health guidance can be found on our NHS Employers website.
• Correspondence will be sent via Trac, text, and email. Please ensure you check your email and Trac account regularly.
• Applicants with no previous NHS experience will ordinarily be appointed to the minimum of the band.
• If you have not received an invitation to interview within 28 days of the closing date, please assume that your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.
• It is your responsibility to ensure the timely receipt of appropriate references.

The Trust is committed to preventing discrimination, valuing diversity and achieving equality of opportunity. No person (staff, patient or public) will receive less favourable treatment on the grounds of the nine protected characteristics as governed by the Equality Act 2010. If you require support you can obtain this from our Equality Business Forum which has representatives from all protected groups.

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.