Advanced Clinical Practitioner (Urgent Care)

Job summary
The Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at St Richard's Hospital is looking for an experienced and dynamic Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) to join our Urgent & Emergency Care team. As a senior autonomous clinician, you will provide expert assessment, diagnosis and management for patients presenting with undifferentiated urgent care needs.

Working primarily within the UTC, you will play a key role in supporting timely clinical decision-making, safe discharge, and effective escalation where required. You will work closely with colleagues in the Emergency Department (ED) and Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) to deliver safe streaming, improve patient flow and ensure seamless care across the urgent and emergency care pathway.

This is an exciting opportunity to shape and strengthen the UTC service while practising across all four pillars of Advanced Clinical Practice: clinical care, leadership, education and research. We welcome applications from qualified ACPs from nursing, paramedic or physiotherapy backgrounds with proven experience in urgent or emergency care.

Main duties of the job

• Provide autonomous advanced clinical assessment, diagnosis, treatment and discharge for patients presenting with urgent illness or injury in the UTC.
• Manage a defined caseload and ensure timely, patient-centred care aligned with national and local pathways.
• Request, interpret and act on investigations including blood tests, ECGs, urinalysis and plain-film imaging.
• Identify and escalate patients requiring review or transfer to ED, SDEC or specialty teams.
• Contribute to integrated patient flow across UTC, ED and SDEC through senior decision-making in streaming, escalation and pathway navigation.
• Prescribe independently (where qualified) and provide clear safety-netting and discharge advice.
• Maintain accurate electronic clinical records.
• Act as a senior clinical leader within the UTC, supporting junior staff, UCPs and trainee ACPs.
• Participate in clinical governance, audit, incident review and quality-improvement work.
• Contribute to teaching, supervision and staff development.
• Maintain a professional portfolio demonstrating capability across all four pillars of advanced practice.
• Support development of urgent care pathways and help deliver safe, effective and evidence-based care.

About us
At UHSussex, diversity is our strength, and we want you to feel included to help us always deliver Excellent Care Everywhere, as shown in our Outstanding for Caring CQC rating.

Your uniqueness and experiences will be part of our creative and innovative community where everyone is encouraged to succeed. We have a range of staff networks to help break down barriers, and can offer a buddy to help new members settle in.

We're proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 3) and a Veteran Aware Trust.

Details
Date posted: 29 July 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 8a
Salary: £57,528 to £64,750 a year, Per annum pro rata
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time
Reference number: 279-7858739-JUL26
Job locations: St Richard's Hospital, Spitalfield Lane, Chichester, PO19 6SE, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities
The Advanced Clinical Practitioner (Urgent Care) is a senior autonomous clinician working primarily within the Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at St Richards Hospital. The post holder will provide expert clinical assessment, diagnosis, treatment and discharge for patients presenting with undifferentiated urgent care needs, including urgent illness and minor injury presentations. The role supports safe decisionmaking, timely escalation and effective patient flow across the UTC, Emergency Department (ED) and Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC).

Working as part of the wider Urgent & Emergency Care multidisciplinary team, the post holder will:

Clinical Responsibilities

• Undertake advanced clinical assessment, differential diagnosis, treatment and safe discharge of patients streamed to the UTC.
• Request, interpret and act upon investigations including blood tests, ECGs, urinalysis and plainfilm imaging, in line with IR(ME)R and Trust policies.
• Provide senior clinical decisionmaking support for complex or borderline UTC presentations, escalating to ED or SDEC where appropriate.
• Recognise and respond to clinical deterioration, ensuring timely escalation to medical or specialty teams.
• Provide clear safetynetting, selfmanagement advice and appropriate followup arrangements.
• Maintain accurate contemporaneous electronic records and ensure compliance with clinical governance, medicines management, safeguarding and infectionprevention standards.

Leadership and Service Development

• Act as a senior clinical role model within the UTC, supporting highquality care and effective team working.
• Contribute to service improvement, pathway redesign and qualityassurance activity across urgent care.
• Participate in incident review, audit, governance meetings and service evaluation.
• Identify and escalate service risks and support safe operational delivery within the UTC.

Education and Professional Development

• Support the development of junior clinicians, Urgent Care Practitioners (UCPs), students and trainee ACPs.
• Contribute to teaching, supervision, coaching and clinical skills development within the team.
• Maintain a professional portfolio demonstrating continued development across the four pillars of advanced practice (clinical, leadership, education and research).
• Participate in appraisal, CPD and clinical supervision in line with Trust and national ACP standards.

Research, Audit and Quality Improvement

• Engage in audit, evaluation and qualityimprovement projects relevant to urgent care pathways.
• Support the implementation of local and national UEC standards and evidencebased practice.
• Contribute to the development and evaluation of new roles, pathways or models of care within the UTC and wider UEC division.

Interface Across Urgent & Emergency Care

• Work collaboratively with ED and SDEC colleagues to support safe streaming, escalation, deescalation and patient flow across the urgent and emergency care pathway.
• Participate in integrated pathway development and ensure consistent standards of care across UTC, ED and SDEC services.
• Provide senior clinical advice to support sameday decisionmaking, including ambulatory care and admission avoidance pathways.

Visa Sponsorship
This role is eligible for visa sponsorship under the UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker route. Sponsorship can only be provided where applicants meet the specific requirements set by UKVI, including the relevant skill and salary thresholds, and any role-specific criteria.

Person Specification

Essential

• Registered with NMC/HCPC (nurse/paramedic/physio)
• MSc Advanced Clinical Practice or equivalent
• Independent prescriber
• Experience in urgent/primary/emergency care
• Evidence of autonomous practice
• Ability to assess/diagnose/treat undifferentiated patients

Desirable

• Paediatric urgent care experience
• Leadership/QI training
• Experience teaching/supervising
• Centre for Advancing Practice accreditation
• Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh - Diploma in Urgent Medical Care (DipUMC RCSEd)

Additional Information
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.

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).