PRIMARY CARE
Advanced Clinical Practice (ACP)
Advanced clinical practitioners (ACP) come from a range of professional backgrounds such as nursing, pharmacy, paramedics’ physiotherapy, 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.
For all ACP queries please contact [email protected]
If you have not already, sign up to HEE’s ACP database, to get updates on different pieces of work that the Faculty is delivering.
What's happening
ACP News & Events
Advanced Practice Funding
NHSE Faculty for Advancing Practice across the North West are pleased to announce the expression of interest process for educational training funding for MSc Advanced Clinical Practice Autumn 2024 and Spring 25 cohorts is now open.
Please find the link to our webpage containing the guide to implementing and funding and the online form to submit the expression of interest – Funding for MSc Advanced Clinical Practice Programme – 2024 / 2025.
The Primary Care Readiness Checklist can be accessed via this link. This is a list to help support and guide your practice / organisation with the implementation of an AP role and supporting a trainee. We recommend you to fill this in prior to submitting an application.
- Applications should reflect the workforce need that you are able to support – withdrawing places before enrolment may result in other organisations being denied much needed places, especially when there is only one intake a year
- Support and supervision are key to the success of learners – please consider how your learning environment will actively allow learners to flourish
- NHSE funding is dependent on the demand-led process being followed – securing a place on a programme with the education institution directly does not guarantee NHSE funding.
- Funding is for the organisation not the learner – movement across organisations whilst in education is dependent on the new employer agreeing to continue support.
- Modular top up requests: NHSE will fund up to 3 modules to complete the Advancing Practice Masters qualification. If more than 3 modules are required please submit for a full Master’s programme and then further discussions can be held around existing credits.
If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact: Faculty for Advancing Practice [email protected]
CPD Training
Upcoming CPD training sessions, such as; Core People Management/Managing Culture, Collecting data, Prescribing safety, Project Management, Legal issues and more.
ACP Forum
Join the ACP Forum, hosted monthly on MS Teams.
Each month has a new topic and speaker.
Update - Credential
The RCN credential is not transferable / or currently recognised by HEE and Nurses have a choice to re-credential via the RCN or the Portfolio (supported) route. Therefore, anyone with an interest in moving to the HEE Portfolio route is encouraged to apply.
The Centre for Advancing Practice is delighted to announce that funding has been secured for a second and third cohort to go through the ePortfolio (supported) Route.
The Route has been specifically designed to enable recognition with the Centre for Advancing Practice of existing, experienced advanced practitioners, regularly working clinically in advanced practitioner roles, who have normally completed their advanced practice experiential and educational learning before 2017 when HEE’s Multi-professional framework for advanced clinical practice in England was published.
At this stage the Centre is gathering expressions of interest from individuals who are interested in being part of these second and third cohorts. The data collected will help to determine demand for the Route going forward.
Supported ePortfolio Route
The Faculty for Advancing Practice in the region will support the provision of multi-professional advanced practice education and workforce development which is consistent with the national definition of advanced clinical practice (ACP) contained in the Multi-professional framework for Advancing Clinical Practice in England.
Funding will be allocated to employers to address their population/service need and is not available for individual/s’ continual professional development.
What should you do if you are interested in applying for funding?
If your service is part of an NHS Trust please contact your AP lead who can support the development of an Advanced Practice role and the expression of interest process. All other employers delivering NHS-commissioned services please click the link above for our webpage to review the guidance and complete an application form.
Please note all expressions of interest must be submitted by Wed, 14th February.
If you have any queries, please contact our ACP Champion, [email protected]
Each HEI has slightly differing entry criteria regarding post qualification experience, for example:
- University Salford states a minimum of 4 years post qualification experience plus last two 2 years in the specific area of practice.
- University of Bolton states a minimum of 4 years post qualification experience.
- University UCLAN state a minimum of 5 years post qualification experience.
- University Cumbria states a minimum of 3 years post qualification experience.
So, when choosing the HEI course, each Organisation (and Applicant) should closely study the entry requirements and make sure that the Applicant they are sponsoring is able to meet them.
With the portfolio route to recognition, it’s not so much about how long, or how much experience but about recognition of capability.
To apply for the supported e-Portfolio route, practitioners need to be working within a role where they are recognised as an advanced practitioner, ie their job description describes their role as an ‘advanced practitioner’ role.
Completing the e-Portfolio allows them to provide evidence to demonstrate to others outside of their Organisation that they meet all of the capabilities outlined in the Multiprofessional framework of Advanced Practice and can therefore be Digitally recognised as an Advanced Practitioner by the Centre for Advanced Practice.
For example, an individual who has a Masters/ level 7 experiential learning (mostly) acquired before 2017 and currently works within a AP role in a GP practice where their role requires them to utilise KSA from all 4 pillars of Advanced practice.
Launch of Governance Matrix
The link to the matrix (as well as a recording of the webinar) is available here.
If you have any questions regarding the implementation of the matrix into your organisation, please contact the Faculty via [email protected]
On 13th July, the Centre held a webinar to share the ACP Governance matrix which has been developed by a team led by James Pratt. This is a self-review document to assess where organisations have sufficient support and structures in place and where improvements are identified.
This is an important development across all areas of Advancing Practice and will be utilised by the Faculty to work with employers to create a safe and supportive environment for patients and ACP practitioners.
It provides opportunity for patients to receive timely care and negate unnecessarily delay in receiving treatment, especially with the growing shortage of GPs in primary care.
Lead new practice and service redesign solutions in response to feedback, evaluation and need, working across boundaries and broadening sphere of influence.
Continually develop practice in response to changing population health need, engaging in horizon scanning for future developments (e.g., impacts of genomics, new treatments and changing social challenges).
ACP within primary care enhances the effectiveness service delivery by enabling the practice to offer the right care, to the right patient at the right time.
ACPs in the primary care can develop close, long-term relationships with their patients and work in partnership with them to achieve optimum health.
Consider in your practice how training your own ACP could:
- Improve access to care delivery.
- Offer a sustainable solution to some of your succession planning.
- Consider what outcomes you would like to achieve for your practice. For more information or support, email [email protected].
Benefits to your practice could include:
- Embed a culture of learning and development
- Improve retention and resilience
- Enhance the skill mix within the practice
- Enhance the multi-professional team and help to provide safe, accessible and high-quality care for patients
- Form part of a sustainable business model
USEFUL MATERIALS
Resources & Videos
New resource alert!
Welcome to the new home of Teaching and Learning Consultation Skills (TALC Skills) and Healthy English: www.consultationskills.com.
TALC Skills covers all aspects of consulting with a patient, whether you are a GP or another healthcare professional, and aims to make consultations more enjoyable and more efficient.
These valuable free resources can be used independently by anyone who wants to learn or improve their consultation skills – or by educators. TALC Skills is an RCGP award-winner and its popular podcast has already received more than 28,000 downloads.
Healthy English has been developed to help everyone who works with patients become a better user of English. It addresses the language and communication needs of international health and care staff, their trainers and colleagues working in the UK.
Access to both of these resources is free of charge to NHS people and organisations.
Sign up and join hundreds of other colleagues across the country who are using this trending new resource.
Please find all recorded YouTube links below which are available to watch.
The Asthma and Pneumonia toolkits reflect the priorities in respiratory care including identification of risk factors, prevention, detection and diagnosis, medicines optimisation and reducing inappropriate secondary care admissions. They will support Respiratory Clinical Networks and clinical services to understand their priorities to improve patient care and outcomes.
The tool was developed by a group including representation from diabetes professionals and GPs around England and Wales. Feedback was obtained from diabetes professionals, GPs/APNPs, and the Primary Care Diabetes Society before producing the final version.
Links:
THE DETAILS
ACP Explained
Advanced clinical practitioners (ACP) come from a range of professional backgrounds such as nursing, pharmacy, paramedics’ physiotherapy, 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 ACP role within general practice will vary according to patient needs and the discipline of the registered practitioner. Advanced clinical practice embodies the ability to manage complex clinical care autonomously, managing both acute and chronic undifferentiated diagnosis. This may mean that those working in advanced clinical practice might operate outside traditional service delivery boundaries and potentially, traditional professional boundaries.
The educational requirement to become an ACP is typically completion of a 2-year master’s level programme, that encompasses the four pillars of clinical practice, leadership and management, education, and research. On completion you will have demonstrated core capabilities, area specific clinical competence and non-medical prescribing (if not already completed).
The programme will require the practice to support you by releasing you from practice to attend the designated sessions, allocating you a clinical supervisor, allocating protected time for learning in practice. You will need to evidence that you have completed studies at level 6 / 7 within the last 5 years.
Familiarise yourself with the Multi-professional framework for advanced clinical practice in the ACP Framework document here here.
What investment will I need to make?
- Release your trainee to attend the university face to face taught sessions
- Allocate protected learning time in practice
- Provide clinical mentorship and support to the trainee
Training ACP within your practice should be considered as a viable option for sustainable workforce planning to deliver care that meets your population needs.
Growing your own workforce allows the development of specifically trained and skilled primary care clinicians. It provides opportunity for patients to receive timely care and negate unnecessarily delay in receiving treatment, especially with the growing shortage of GPs in primary care. ACP within primary care enhance the effectiveness service delivery by enabling the practice to offer the right care, to the right patient at the right time.
ACP
Meet Our Team
Corrie Llewellyn
Lead
Sara Baldwin
ACP Champion