ANP – WorkWell MDT Chair and Clinical Triage Lead

ANP – WorkWell MDT Chair and Clinical Triage Lead

Unfortunately NPC does not hold a license for Visa Sponsorship and cannot progress any applications for candidates without the right to work in the UK.

Fixed Term Contract: 31 March 2029

Base:NorfolkPrimary Care Head Office, 3rd Floor, Reed House, Peachman Way, Norwich, NR70WF, with regular travel to WorkWell neighbourhood delivery sites acrossNorfolk and some remote working.

Main duties of the job

Employed by NPC and working within the Norfolk WorkWell service, leadby Future Projects the Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP) provides the seniorclinical oversight of the WorkWell Single Point of Access (SPOA) and chairs theWorkWell Multidisciplinary Team (MDT). The postholder leads clinical triage ofall referrals, making sure every participant is safely and appropriatelytriaged within one working day, that clinical risk (including risk of suicideor self harm) is robustly considered, and that anyone for whom WorkWell is notthe right service receives a handover under a no wrong door approach.

As MDT Chair, the ANP leadscase discussion, co-ordination and decision making across clinical andnon-clinical colleagues, agreeing clinical input, onward referral, escalationand discharge so that each participant’s WorkWell plan is safe, holistic andjoined up with their GP and wider care. The postholder also practisesautonomously as an advanced clinician: undertaking joint assessments with Workand Health Coaches, certifying fit notes (Med3) on behalf of primary care, andproviding clinical supervision and education to the team, employers and systempartners. The role requires sound clinical judgement, confident chairing andfacilitation, and a flexible, positive approach to mobilising a new serviceacross a multi-organisational environment.

About us

Norfolk Primary Care (NPC) is a Community Interest Company (CIC)delivering clinical services across the Norfolk & Waveney region. Ourmembership consists of GP practices within the area. NPC’s purpose is to:

• Sustain the delivery of PrimaryCare by supporting workforce development and improving patient access.
• Strengthen and enhance PrimaryCare by working with, and on behalf of, local practices to drive qualityimprovement.
• Support practices in addressingkey challenges such as workload pressures, GP recruitment, best practicesharing, and opportunities for at scale working.
• Respond to the evolving landscapeof Primary Care by helping ensure services meet the needs of the localpopulation.
• Provide benefits to patients,clinicians, administrative teams, and practice organisations across Norfolk.
• Work collaboratively within thewider health system to deliver patient care in innovative, solution focusedways.

Job responsibilities

1.1 Clinical Triage and Single Point of Access

• Lead clinical triage for theNorfolk WorkWell SPOA, ensuring all referrals (self-referral, GP and primarycare, employers, VCFSE, Local Authority and DWP partners, education andPopulation Health Management case finding) are triaged within one working dayof receipt, against the contractual threshold of 85%.
• Provide clinical oversight andmonitoring of triage completed by non-clinical SPOA colleagues, reviewingdecisions so that clinical risk is robustly considered, and personally triagingreferrals that are clinically complex or flagged as higher risk.
• Determine whether WorkWell is themost appropriate service against the acceptance criteria in line with the NHSConstitution.
• Individually assess safety riskwhere participants express thoughts of suicide or self-harm (which is not anexclusion criterion), deciding whether WorkWell is appropriate at that time;where accepted, ensure care is delivered in partnership with the participant’sGP and/or mental health worker, and where not, facilitate timely transfer tothe right service.
• Ensure referrals that are notappropriate for WorkWell receive a warm handover to the most appropriateservice, and escalate gaps in provision to the ICB to inform futurecommissioning.
• Manage cross-border referralswith the Suffolk WorkWell SPOA, offering participants choice of where they areseen and completing warm handovers where appropriate.
• Use access to the participant’sGP clinical record (SystmOne or EMIS) to inform triage decisions and manageclinical risk, recording triage outcomes accurately with appropriate SNOMEDcoding.
• Develop, maintain and review theWorkWell clinical triage protocol, risk stratification tool and escalationpathways, aligned to the service’s clinical governance framework.
• Lead the quarterly ClinicalTriage Audit required under the contract’s local quality requirements,reporting findings, themes and improvement actions.
• Chair the WorkWell MDT on aregular scheduled basis (frequency TBC, e.g. weekly) setting the agenda andensuring appropriate clinical and non-clinical representation (for exampleOccupational Therapists, Mental Health practitioners, Physiotherapists,Occupational Health professionals, GP input and Work and Health Coaches).
• Facilitate structured casepresentation and discussion by Work and Health Coaches, ensuring eachparticipant’s physical, psychological and social needs are considered through abiopsychosocial, personalised care approach.
• Lead MDT decision making onclinical input, joint assessment, onward referral and signposting, escalationand discharge, ensuring decisions, rationale and actions are recordedaccurately in the participant’s record and communicated to those responsible.
• Agree next steps for referralsreturned to the SPOA where contact has not been achieved within five workingdays, including contacting the person and the referrer.
• Ensure onward referrals todelivery partners are supported by due diligence that the partner can meet theparticipant’s needs, and that support received elsewhere is integrated intotheir return-to-work or thrive-in-work plan.
• Review complex, higher-risk orstalled cases and plans extending beyond the expected intervention period,ensuring discharge decisions are clinically safe and that the participant’s GPis informed of discharge and outcomes.
• Foster an inclusive,psychologically safe MDT culture in which non-clinical colleagues’contributions are valued, and use the MDT as a forum for reflective practiceand shared learning.
• Identify themes from MDTdiscussion (unmet need, gaps in local provision, skill mix pressures) and feedthese into service improvement, workforce planning and reporting.

1.3 Advanced Clinical Practice

• Practise autonomously across thefour pillars of advanced practice (clinical practice, leadership andmanagement, education and research) in line with the Multi-professionalFramework for Advanced Clinical Practice in England.
• Undertake joint assessments withthe participant’s Work and Health Coach where clinical assessment orintervention is required, so the participant only needs to tell their storyonce.
• Deliver evidence-based,low-intensity clinical interventions and self-management support (for exampleconservative pain management and stress management advice), embedding MakingEvery Contact Count (MECC).
• Certify Med3 fit notes forparticipants under WorkWell care in line with DHSC and DWP guidance, updatingthe participant’s clinical record and communicating with their GP, andmaintaining the required competence (reviewed at least annually).
• Apply mental health competenciesin assessment and care planning, recognising that depression and anxiety arethe most common conditions among the WorkWell cohort.
• Advise participants, Work andHealth Coaches and (with consent) employers on the clinical aspects ofreasonable adjustments, phased returns and changes of duties.
• Refer participants to their GP orother health professionals where needs go beyond what the core WorkWell MDT canprovide.

1.4 Clinical Governance, Safety and Supervision

• Provide clinical supervision toWork and Health Coaches and other non-clinical MDT members who deliverlow-level health interventions, ensuring they practise within their competence.
• Contribute to the WorkWellclinical governance framework so that triage, assessment, intervention anddischarge are clinically safe, evidence based and delivered in line withprofessional standards.
• Report and support the review ofpatient safety incidents in line with the Patient Safety Incident ResponseFramework (PSIRF), sharing themes and learning across the team.
• Act as the clinical point ofescalation for safeguarding concerns arising through the SPOA and MDT, applyingadult and children safeguarding procedures and the Mental Capacity Act in linewith ICB and NPC policies.
• Ensure clinical records arecontemporaneous, accurate and appropriately coded (accepted participantsallocated a SNOMED code), and handled in line with UK GDPR and NPC informationgovernance policies.
• Provide clinical evidence for thecontract’s quality schedule, including triage performance, audit results,incident themes and participant feedback.

1.5 Education, Partnership and Service Development

• Build trusted relationships withGP practices and PCNs, as the main source of referrals, so that referral,record sharing and fit note arrangements work smoothly.
• Support service evaluation,including baseline and discharge EQ-5D and Attitudes to Work and Healthquestionnaires, the 12-week post-discharge follow-up and participant feedback.
• Contribute to the design ofpathways for cohorts at greater risk of health-related economic inactivity,drawing on population health data and learning from the national WorkWellpilots.

2. Communication and Stakeholder Engagement

• Build and maintain effectiverelationships with stakeholders across the WorkWell pathway, including (but notlimited to) GPs and practice staff, Primary Care Networks, mental health andphysical health services, VCFSE partners, Local Authority and DWP colleagues,and employers.
• Handle complex and sensitiveclinical conversations with participants, carers and professionals, includingdiscussions about risk, capacity to work and onward referral.
• Communicate MDT and triagedecisions clearly and promptly to participants, referrers and GPs, ensuring theGP is kept up to date on the participant’s WorkWell care and outcomes.
• Prepare and present regularreports on triage performance, MDT activity, clinical risk and audit findingsto the WorkWell Service Manager and relevant governance forums.

2.1 Other Responsibilities

• Working with the WorkWell ServiceManager and wider team:
• Represent the WorkWell ServiceLead at meetings relating to triage, the MDT and clinical safety as required.
• Use service data and clinicalaudit to identify variation, risk and opportunities to improve participantoutcomes and experience.
• Facilitate conversations withpartners to bring about changes to pathways based on good practice, participantexperience or variation in performance, in a supportive and non-judgementalway.
• Use knowledge of local andnational work and health strategies, including the ICB Work and Health Strategyand the Get Norfolk plan, to develop the service.
• Provide senior clinical cover andadvice to the SPOA during periods of high demand or absence to maintain the oneworking day triage standard.

Undertake other ad hoc duties as requested by the WorkWell ServiceManager.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse with current NMC registration
• Master’s degree (Level 7) in Advanced Clinical Practice, or equivalent evidenced advanced practice at Level 7 across the four pillars
• Non-medical independent prescriber (V300)
• Post-registration qualification in clinical assessment, history taking and clinical decision making
• Safeguarding adults and children training at Level 3
• Fit Note and Work and Health e-learning (e-LfH), or willingness to complete on appointment
• Post-registration qualification or training in mental health assessment
• Occupational health nursing (SCPHN OH) or vocational rehabilitation qualification
• Health coaching or motivational interviewing training

Experience

• Significant post-registration experience, particularly in mental health settings & including experience at advanced practice level in primary care, community, or urgent care
• Clinical triage and prioritisation of referrals, including telephone and remote triage
• Assessment and management of people with common mental health and musculoskeletal conditions, including assessment of suicide and self-harm risk
• Chairing or leading MDT meetings or case reviews, reaching clear decisions across clinical and non-clinical colleagues
• Providing clinical supervision to registered and non-registered staff
• Applying safeguarding procedures and the Mental Capacity Act in practice
• Use of GP clinical systems (SystmOne and/or EMIS)
• Evidence of ongoing CPD and a valid NMC revalidation
• Occupational health, vocational rehabilitation or work and health service experience
• Clinical audit and quality improvement
• Working with VCFSE, Local Authority or DWP/Jobcentre Plus partners
• Mobilising a new clinical service or pathway
• Understanding of NHS system architecture, Integrated Care Boards, Places and Primary Care Networks
• Knowledge of personalised care, the biopsychosocial model and Making Every Contact Count

Skills and Abilities

• Autonomous clinical decision making and sound judgement in time-critical triage and under uncertainty
• Confident chairing and facilitation skills, able to manage differing views and reach clear, safe decisions
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including sensitive conversations about health, risk and work
• Clear, accurate and timely clinical record keeping
• Ability to teach, supervise and develop others
• Good IT skills, including clinical systems and Microsoft Office
• Ability to manage own emotions and be resilient in a fast paced, demanding environment
• Strong organisational skills to meet daily triage deadlines alongside clinical and MDT commitments
• Motivational interviewing or health coaching techniques
• Data analysis and reporting to support audit and KPI monitoring
• Knowledge of employment rights and reasonable adjustments

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

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