Job summary
- Main area
- Vascular Access
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8c
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 216-PL-S7369648
- Employer
- University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust (Derriford Hospital)
- Town
- PLYMOUTH
- Salary
- £76,965 - £88,682 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 09/09/2025 23:59
Employer heading

Vascular Access Consultant Practitioner
NHS AfC: Band 8c
Job overview
The Vascular Access team at UHPNT delivers a service to both in-patients and outpatients for all types of venous access procedures. Ranging from difficult cannulation to totally implantable venous access devices (TIVAD). The team treats patients from both medical and surgical specialities. There is a need to expand the current service due to increasing demand and complexities of the procedures required.
***Preference will be given to internal Trust staff, as well as ‘Priority’ and 'At Risk' status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon who are able to display recent relevant experience as dictated by the Person Specification.***
Main duties of the job
- To be the names clinical lead for vascular access services.
- To provide the daily provision of advanced vascular access procedures
- To ensure patients requiring all levels of vascular access device are seen and treated in an efficient and timely manner.
- To lead the vascular access team, providing support and development of all members.
- To provide education and training for those clinicians in advanced roles who may undertake vascular access procedures.
- Mentor and develop subordinates to undertake more advanced clinical procedures and administrative processes within the boundaries of their roles and responsibilities - thus ensuring succession planning and resilience within the team.
- To ensure the trust complies with both local and national policy and guidance relating to vascular access devices.
- To provide advanced level clinical support to all areas of the trust, offering advice and guidance in complex cases.
- To undertake innovation and service development projects both at team and corporate level.
- To offer advanced troubleshooting and decision making to all areas of the trust relating to vascular access.
- To undertake research and clinical audit to ensure Standard operating procedures and policies are within best practice and develop new working methods/procedures which can be advertised both locally and nationally.
Working for our organisation
We are a people business – where every member of staff matters and can make a difference. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care. The Trust has great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment. We offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION WILL BE ELECTRONIC, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY. If you have any issues with applying online and need additional support including reasonable adjustments with the application process please contact the recruitment team on 01752 432100. We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants around less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. Please contact the recruiting manager to discuss this prior to your application submission. We commit to giving this full consideration in each case. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams. It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Leadership and management:
· Provide strategic expert leadership in their specialist area and across the care pathway
· Provide consultancy in different situations, sharing expertise and developing and sustaining the capacity and capability of the workforce
· Work with internal and external stakeholders, contribute to the strategic direction and business plan of the Corporate/Care Group/service aligned with the Trust’s strategy, commissioners’ priorities and responding to national policy agendas
· Lead the development, implementation and evaluation of specialist service policies, guidelines, standards, service pathways and service developments
· Maintain an overview of staff, patient and public involvement work within the service and ensure the continued development of this
· Work collaboratively with professional bodies, clinical networks, commissioners, regional and national level, third sectors, charities and other partners
· Lead a clinical service and be responsible for staffing and allocated budget management, maximising resources and purchasing some equipment.
· Be responsible for line management day-to-day supervision and co-ordination of a group of staff
· Interpret clinical, professional, and national policies in the speciality field and give expert advice to the organisation
· Represent the Trust/Care Group/service at a senior level as required providing professional advice, feedback, reports and contributing to both professional and service development
· Be responsible for the evolving role of the consultant practitioner and advanced/enhanced practice within specialist area.
· Support others to take on leadership responsibilities, by being an effective role model and by mentorship and coaching
· Where required, hold the speciality budget ensuring compliance with financial obligations
· Demonstrate compassionate leadership in daily working
Clinical, Quality and Safety:
· Be an expert in relevant specialist area of practice with extensive experience and highest level of specialist knowledge at master’s level and beyond to doctorate and post doctorate study
· Provide decision-making in highly complex, conflicting, and unpredictable situations incorporating both expertise and evidence-based practice across pathways and services, working with service users, communities and partners
· Autonomously work in partnership with individuals, families and carers, managing a caseload of patients using a range of advanced assessment methods or diagnostics as appropriate (e.g. history taking, physical examination, identifying risk factors, mental health assessments, radiology)
· Use expertise and decision-making skills to inform clinical reasoning approaches when dealing with differentiated and undifferentiated individual presentations and highly complex situations, synthesising information to make appropriate, evidence-based judgements and/or diagnoses
· Develop specialised programmes of patient care/care packages
· Share decision-making with service users and partners so that people can represent themselves and carers and communities can act together and that the effectiveness of interventions and services can be assessed
· Provide highly specialised advice as an expert in the speciality area which contributes to the diagnosis, care or education of patients
· Negotiate an individual scope of practice within legal, ethical, professional and organisational policies, governance and procedures, with a focus on managing risk and upholding safety
· Work within locally agreed advanced clinical practice scope of practice, competence and capability being responsible and accountable for their decisions, actions and omissions at this level of practice including:
· Be a supplementary or independent non-medical prescriber with Trust agreed scope of prescribing
· Prescribe medication for therapeutic effectiveness, appropriate to patient needs and in accordance with evidence-based practice and national and practice protocols
· Request, undertake or interpret diagnostic tests and medical imaging in accordance with Trust policies and nationally agreed protocols and policies
· Undertake complex invasive or non-invasive procedures as appropriate to scope of practice and competence
· Maintain competence and capability in advanced skills including Arterial Blood Gas Sampling, Venepuncture, Peripheral Vascular Canulation, Central Line Insertion.
· Maintain a portfolio of evidence and continuing professional practice which reflects their level of practice, both with their specialist area of clinical practice and with reference to the HEE (2023) Capability and Impact Framework
· Demonstrate expert communication skills in managing highly complex, sensitive and contentious information. To support patients in making complex decisions where highly developed communication skills are required. May be required to impart bad news or deal with people with severely challenging behaviour
· Act on professional judgement about when to seek help, demonstrating critical reflection on own practice, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and openness to change
· Exercise professional judgement to manage risk appropriately, especially where there may be complex and unpredictable events and supporting teams to do likewise to ensure safety of individuals, families and carers
· Act as a leader and role model/advocate for developing and delivering care that is responsive to changing requirements, informed by an understanding of local population health needs, agencies and networks
· Complete accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient consultation, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures
· Support and maintain safety, quality, clinical effectiveness and patient experience, to ensure culture and delivery of safe and effective harm free care. Upholding the culture of listening, whereby patients, relatives and carers are central to service delivery and development
· Work closely with the Care Group/Division/service leadership team and Governance Manager, to develop an integrated strategy for governance, with a specific focus on all aspects of clinical and non-clinical risk management
· When required, to work with the corporate and/or care group team and Governance Manager, leading in the investigation and resolution of complaints and serious incidents (SIs). To participate in identifying lessons learnt, ensuring that appropriate actions are taken and the sharing of learning locally and across the organisation
Research, Development and Innovation:
· Leads on audit and quality improvement projects in area of specialism
· Leads research projects in area of specialism with published outcomes, securing research funding and working collaboratively with external partners
· Leads and supervises others in undertaking audit/innovation/service improvement projects in area of specialism
· Actively seeks opportunities for staff, patients and carers to be involved in research studies within specialty area
· Critically appraises and synthesises the outcome of relevant research, evaluation and audit, using the results to underpin own practice and to inform local guidance and policy
Education and Training:
· To develop staff potential, add to and transform the workforce, and help people to learn, develop and improve to promote excellence
· Work as an effective facilitator, using different learning and development strategies across different situations to develop person-centred, safe, effective workplace learning, from practice to system levels and continued and effective ways of learning and working, including educational innovations and technology
· Motivate and coach or mentor individuals and teams to perform better and more effectively meet future workforce demands through cross-sector working develop individual and group independence improve career progression within and beyond traditional boundaries and develop capacity and capability across the health economy and sectors at regional and national levels.
· Critically assess and address own learning needs, negotiating a personal development plan that reflects the breadth of on-going professional development across consultant level practice
· Contribute to the widening of shared understanding through publishing research and presenting at local, national, and international conferences.
· Support colleagues in developing their research acumen, mentoring, and supporting other staff to present data either at conferences or publication level.
· Contributes to national and international guideline development groups and steering groups, making sure that the wider organisation continues to lead the way in its professional practice across the system, acting as a peer reviewer of research, inquiry and innovation and evaluation projects, locally, regionally and nationally
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Current NMC/HCPC registration
- Independent non-medical prescribing, if from a core profession in which NMP is supported (if required within service)
- Proven significant contribution to a Portfolio of Evidence
- Master’s degree in advanced Practice or equivalent (as defined by Trust AP policy).
- Advanced Life Support/ (or Paediatric/Neonatal Life Support) if applicable
Desirable criteria
- Doctoral level education
- Teaching qualification
Knowledge and Experience
Essential criteria
- Significant Experience at 8b level in NHS or equivalent.
- Extensive demonstrable clinical experience in relation to all types of Vascular Access devices and intravenous drug therapy.
- Expertise in relevant specialist area of practice with significant demonstrable experience in advanced practice across the 4 pillars clinical, leadership, education, and research
- Proven knowledge of risk management processes and clinical governance
- Significant demonstrable experience in planning activities and quality improvement projects resulting in improved outcomes
- Proven comprehensive, high-quality evidence across all areas of The Centre for Advancing Practice’s (2023) Multi-professional consultant-level practice capability and impact framework.
Desirable criteria
- Demonstrable general business management experience
- Demonstrable experience of patient involvement and improving patient experience
Aptitude and abilities
Essential criteria
- Expert communication skills in managing highly complex, sensitive or contentious information, and supporting people in making complex decisions
- Proven evidence of Leadership skils
- Proven evidence of translation of research evidence into practice through guidance or policy authorship
- Demonstrable experience of gathering and analysing complex information/report writing
- Excellent IT/digital skills
Applicant requirements
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Nicky Metcalfe
- Job title
- Director of Nursing
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01752 439970
- Additional information
Nicky Metcalfe, telephone 01752 439970, email [email protected]
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