Advanced Clinical Practice
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Definition
“Advanced clinical practice is delivered by experienced, registered health and care practitioners. It is a level of practice characterised by a high degree of autonomy and complex decision making. This is underpinned by a master’s level award or equivalent that encompasses the four pillars of clinical practice, leadership and management, education and research, with demonstration of core capabilities and area specific clinical competence.
Advanced clinical practice embodies the ability to manage clinical care in partnership with individuals, families and carers. It includes the analysis and synthesis of complex problems across a range of settings, enabling innovative solutions to enhance people’s experience and improve outcomes.” Definition taken from HEE - Multi-professional framework for advanced clinical practice in England
Introduction
"Health Education England, in partnership with NHS Improvement and NHS England, has developed a multi-professional framework for advanced clinical practice in England, which includes a national definition and standards to underpin the multi-professional advanced level of practice. This will ensure that there is national consistency across the role and that advanced clinical practitioners, colleagues, employers and patients clearly understand the role.
This provides current and future ACPs with guidance and principles that they should follow throughout their professional lives and clearly outlining a career pathway into and through the profession". The key elements of the framework are available on the following HEE website. https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/advanced-clinical-practice.
Some universities are now looking at providing opportunities for professionals to progress through to advanced clinical practice through the apprenticeship route.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-funding-bands
Advice
The LMC supports the development of this framework and would encourage employers to look at the HEE and National Framework around Advanced Clinical Practice and to consider the benefits to the individual, the practice and importantly the patient of supporting the practitioner through this process. Please contact Office@wessexlmcs.org.uk for further information and speak to your local university for guidance.
Funding may be available to support the professional in undertaking further education, please contact us so that we can direct you to the most appropriate person and or organisation.
Credentials
Multi-professional advanced practice credentials are an important component of developing a responsive, flexible workforce to meet changing population, patient and service delivery needs. Credentials’ development, delivery and take-up should increase advanced practice capability and capacity. In turn, this should support sustainable, high-quality approaches to meeting population needs and deliver patient benefit. Please click here to find out more
Supervision
Health Education England have a webpage - Workplace Supervision for Advanced Clinical Practice : An integrated multi-professional approach for practitioner development.
The publication sets out seven fundamental considerations which underpin supervision in advanced clinical practice: Practice Context, Competence and Capability, Multiple professional Registrations, Individual Learning Plan, Professional Development and Transition, Integrated Approach, Supervisor Development.
Funding
At the current moment in time, the HEE SE Faculty for Advancing Practice will be opening their funding window once a year. Therefore, if you wish to apply for funding for an MSc ACP Programme commencing from September 2022, you will need to apply in the funding window that opens on 1st March 2022 and closes on 31st March 2022.
Please see the “Guide to implementing and funding advanced practice 2022-2023” that has been produced by the SE Faculty of the HEE Centre for Advancing Practice.
Within this guide you will find information about the process for applying for funding from the Faculty including a “Readiness for Advanced Practice Checklist”, found in Appendix 4, an “Advanced Clinical Practice Supervisor Readiness Checklist” in Appendix 5 and an “Advanced Clinical Practice Trainee Readiness Checklist” found in Appendix 6.
The SE Faculty for Advancing Practice have the expectation that these checklists will be discussed at a practice/PCN level and filled out before any application is submitted during the funding window in March.”
Video Resources
- Trainee Advanced Practitioners in General Practice
- Advanced Practitioners in the workforce
- Clinicians in Derby tell us why they became Advanced Clinical Practitioners - Health Education England
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HEE - The Centre for Advancing Practice has created some short video resources to accompany the ‘Workplace Supervision for Advanced Clinical Practice: An integrated multi-professional approach for practitioner development’ guidance. The videos provide practice insights for each of the fundamentals of supervision set out in the guidance and are a useful resource for everyone who is either developing or providing supervision for trainee advanced practitioners.
The links to the videos can be found on the Centre for Advancing Practice website under resources
Advanced Clinical Practice - First Contact Practitioners
Advanced Clinical Practice - Nurses
Advanced Clinical Practice - Mental Health Practitioner
Advanced Clinical Practice - MSK
Advanced Clinical Practice - Occupational Therapist
Advanced Clinical Practice - Paramedics
Advanced Clinical Practice - Pharmacists
Advanced Clinical Practice - Physicians Associates
Advanced Clinical Practice - Podiatrists
For more information about the Role of ACP - please click here
Registered Body
The Health Care and Professions Council (HCPC)
“We protect the public by regulating 15 health and care professions. To do this we:
- set standards for professionals' education and training and practice;
- keep a register of professionals, known as 'registrants', who meet our standards; and
- take action if professionals on our Register do not meet our standards.”
The GP Contract and PCNs
"This document updates and enhances the existing five-year contract agreement Investment and Evolution, which stands unless otherwise amended in the update document.
Jointly developed by the BMA, GPC and NHS England and NHS Improvement, the revised deal has been confirmed by the Government."
Practice Resources
Public Health England have a selection of A3 posters for download to promote a particular role in your practice.
Roles featured:
- Clinical Pharmacist
- Physiotherapist
- Paramedic
- Physician Associate
- Mental Health Therapist and Practitioner
- Social Prescribing Link Worker
- Healthcare Assistant
- Practice Nurse
- Advanced Clinical Practitioner
E Learning for Advanced Clinical Practice
Please click HERE for further information
Useful Links and Publications
RCGP - Membership
BSW Training Hub - Professional groups
RCN - Advanced Practice Standards
HEE - Advancing Practice - Taking Centre Stage . Health Education England’s Virtual National Conference for Advanced Practitioners was held in November 2020. There are some YouTube videos you may find useful.
BMA - New clinical roles in the NHS (bma.org.uk)
Additional roles reimbursement scheme (ARRS) - Accessed via FutureNHS workspace
Dorset Primary Care Training Hub - Additional Roles Resources
HEE - Advanced Practice
E-Learning for Healthcare - Advanced Practice Toolkit
Surrey Training Hub - Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS)
HEE - AHP Superpowers
The HEE Centre For Advancing Practice website ‘ Supported ePortfolio Route ’ page now has a guidance document, FAQs and a recording of the 6/12/21 Webinar with Richard Collier.
