Four Advanced Clinical Practitioners at Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have been recognised for their commitments to patient care after they all had articles published in notable publications.
Advanced clinical practitioners (ACPs) come from a range of professional backgrounds such as nursing, pharmacy, paramedics and occupational therapy. They are healthcare professionals educated to Master’s level and have developed the skills and knowledge to allow them to take on expanded roles and scope of practice caring for patients.
The role of an ACP is often considered a bridge between clinical and patient centric care and creates multi-disciplinary teams that can enrich the patient experience.
The ACPs each conducted a study within different departments across the organisation, and focused on the progress and improvement in patient experience across both acute and community settings.
Lucy Moxham, Advanced Clinical Practitioner in Acute Medicine said: “I qualified in February this year and I have been working on Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC), formerly known as Ambulatory Care, at Great Western Hospital. This unit provides patients with immediate, same day investigations and treatment for many medical conditions, reducing the requirement for an inpatient stay.
“My published study was an evaluation of the impact of advanced nurse practitioner triage for these patients that have been referred to the hospital.
“The study concluded that the ACP triage can provide a positive impact on the patient experience within acute care and support a more streamlined approach to acute patient care.”
Following the study Ella Martin, Lead ACP in Acute Medicine has worked on creating a clear and concise process for the referrals to Same Day Emergency Care for GP practices.
Ella said: “While working on our winter plans, we wanted to make sure that GPs had a simple and direct route to refer their patients that needed same day care.
“We worked on creating a procedure that would facilitate our primary care colleagues in contacting the right team or health professional first time to ensure patients receive treatment or advice via the correct route.
“We wanted to support GPs and at the same time reduce the time it takes for patients to receive the most appropriate care for their needs.”
Tania Currie, Deputy Chief Nurse at the Trust said: “Research across the UK has shown that ACP roles contribute significantly to patient care and the work our teams have done this year is testament to that. Two of the four studies carried out and published were by newly qualified team members, which shows how quickly they have driven improvements in their specialties.
“We have around 24 ACPs in roles across the Trust and many of them have been instrumental in the introduction of new patient care processes. As senior clinicians, they support consultants and are fundamental to providing a multi-professional approach to healthcare.
“We are extremely proud of their contribution to quality, safety and patient focussed care here at the Trust.”
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