Job overview

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer you a fantastic opportunity to join our team.

Job Title: UTC Lead Emergency Care Practitioner
Contract Type: Permanent

Please be advised that this vacancy may close earlier than stated if we receive a large number of applications.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic, dynamic, and innovative Band 8a Lead Emergency Care Practitioner to join our new Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. The role will be enhanced through a model supporting 60% direct clinical care balanced with 40% leadership and management responsibilities.

The new UTC will be co-located on site with our Emergency Department (ED), which has a reputation for innovation and is increasingly recognised for its clinical academic work in emergency care. The Emergency Department was rated outstanding in the Effective and Caring domains and good in all others during our last CQC inspection. We are proud of the care we deliver and constantly seek to improve it.

Working for our organisation

As one of the largest acute teaching Trusts in England, we offer learning and development opportunities to help you achieve the career you aspire to. UHS is rated ‘Good’ by the CQC and in the latest national NHS Staff Survey, we were in the top 10 acute trusts for staff engagement and for staff recommending the hospital as a place to work or receive care. 

 We support flexible working and will consider requests taking into account the needs of the service. UHS employees are able to access a range of NHS discounts, are entitled to a minimum of 35 days paid holiday (pro rata), and we offer a generous pension scheme.

 Southampton is an attractive place to live and work situated on the south coast, with an international airport and direct trains to London. The New Forest National Park and beaches of the Jurassic coast are also right on our doorstep. The city offers living costs 30% lower than London and 17 schools rated outstanding by Ofsted.

 We believe that using technology wisely shows strong time management and commitment to innovation. However, personalising your recruitment application to highlight your unique skills and experiences is crucial. Relying too heavily on generic, AI-generated content instead of drawing from your own strengths and accomplishments may lead to your application being rejected if multiple candidates present identical or similar information.

As the Lead Emergency Care Practitioner in the UTC, you will work closely with the Emergency Care/Nurse Practitioners (EP's) who see and treat patients presenting with a variety of minor injuries and illnesses.

You will also work closely with the Health Care Assistants (HCA's), Lead Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ED), General Practitioners (GP's), UTC

Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACP's) and the contracted GP provider. 

As well as the ED ACP's, tACP's, Matron, Senior Nurses, ED Consultant Team, Care Group Manager and Divisional Director of Nursing/Professions.

The UTC Lead Emergency Care Practitioner will provide managerial and professional support on a day-to-day basis to the EP's and HCA's in the department. You will need to possess the ability to be a key decision maker alongside the multi-professional team (MDT), as well as strong communication skills.

 Your role will include developing the UTC service as well as the EP and HCA teams.

Your direct clinical care duties will include seeing and treating patients in the UTC with a variety of minor injuries and illnesses, including requesting and interpreting specialist investigations, including X-ray and some blood tests. Therefore, it is essential that you are an experienced practitioner with skills in managing and treating patients with minor injuries and illnesses.

The UTC shift time will fall between the hours of 07:30 - 22:30, incorporating a combination of Early, Late and Long day/late shifts. You will need to be able to work the full range of shifts, as well as some bank holidays and weekends.

We are looking for a confident, well-organised, strong, visible leader with high standards, excellent clinical skills and knowledge, and extensive experience of working within emergency/urgent care, who thrives in a busy and diverse clinical environment.

The successful candidate will have proven experience as an urgent/emergency care practitioner. A track record in leadership is essential, as are excellent interpersonal communication and organisational skills.

For a full overview of the position, please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification document. This includes a detailed breakdown of the key responsibilities, role expectations, and the qualifications we are looking for.