Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
Rapid Response Practitioner

Closing date: 22 November 2026

Job summary
Rapid Response provides a Countywide service to manage and treat patients who present with an acute illness or exacerbation of a long term condition. Our aim is to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions and facilitate early discharge from the acute hospitals, we work closely with partners in the acute hospital, and with other urgent care providers and community services.

Our passion for delivering care services of the highest quality to our local communities is further developing and we are striving to deliver new models of service, inspiring innovation, and liberating talent.

Part time hours can be considered.

Main duties of the job
Applicants must have extensive post registration clinical experience and will be expected to be experienced in the assessment of the acutely unwell adult, monitoring and management of the deteriorating patient, along with experience of the delivery of complex care planning to include onward referral into other services when medically stable. Evidence of current experience caring for patients with acute medical needs is essential. The successful applicant will undertake roles within the community setting countywide as a Rapid Response Practitioner.

Applicants must hold an Advanced Patient Assessment Qualification, they must be an adaptable team player and possess excellent communication and IT skills with good problem solving skills to manage challenging situations. Community experience is desirable but not essential as a full and comprehensive induction programme will be provided. A valid UK driving licence plus the use of own transport for business purposes is essential.

The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.
Please refer to the Additional Information attachment before submitting your application.

About us
We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people's homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.

Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:

• 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
• 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
• 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust's priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.

This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.

Details
Date posted: 10 November 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 6
Salary: £39,959 to £48,117 a year per annum (pro rata)
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time
Reference number: 327-26-912
Job locations: Edward Jenner Court, 1010 Pioneer Avenue, Countywide, GL4 3AW, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

• To deliver the rapid response service across the County to achieve the 2-hour Urgent Community Response target
• To work as a clinician within their professional scope of practice in responding to acute medical needs in a variety of community settings.
• Undertake the role of red lead within SPCA on a rotational basis to support development of triage skills.
• Provide comprehensive initial clinical examination, history taking and assessments of patients in order to determine and deliver initial clinical treatments such as intravenous infusions. Refer on to other appropriate members of the Integrated Community Team to provide on-going support.
• To utilise specialist care, skills and knowledge in the delivery of the service in order that clients be cared for appropriately and safely in their own homes.
• To make risk assessments of patients abilities to stay at home safely, and liaising with appropriate care providers
• To provide care and attention to the needs of vulnerable adults including risk assessments and taking appropriate action and referral as required.
• Where appropriate, as an independent prescriber, prescribe and review medication for therapeutic effectiveness or issue medication under a PGD appropriate to patient needs and in accordance with evidence-based practice and national and practice protocols and within the scope of practice and legislative framework.
• Be a visible and accessible presence throughout the organisation to strengthen relationships whilst acting as a role model to other care professionals to support them in managing complex interventions using a variety of approaches to decision making.
• Work closely with other members of the Integrated Community Team to utilise and develop their skills to ensure the rapid response service is accessible and responsive to the needs of patients. Undertake joint reviews and assessments as necessary to support timely and effective care at home.
• For all staff to respond to a fall even if its level 1 non-injurious fall if appropriate due to their location and as directed by the red lead or another senior colleague
• Participate in the promotion of the rapid response service through dissemination of specialist knowledge both locally and nationally.
• Actively participate in local, national, and international networking to maintain and develop expert level of knowledge in the speciality.
• Provide emotional support to patients and their carers by offering appropriate health education, information and advice
• Support the investigation and or analysis of complaints or incidents relating to the rapid response service. Help to Identify areas which require re-design or further development
• Attend relevant meetings
• Assess, diagnose and treat patients with urgent care presentations.
• Offer support and specialist advice to lower band clinicians within Rapid Response and other Community Teams as appropriate.
• Liaise with SPCA and Social Care where the requirement for a package of care is identified.
• Evaluation of care given, discharging patients and arranging scheduled follow up as appropriate.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential: Professional Registration; Advanced Patient Assessment Qualification
Desirable: Evidence of Post Graduate Study; Experience of Teaching and Supporting Colleagues; Experience of Providing Acute Patient Care
Professional / Managerial
Essential: Acute assessment skills; Experience of managing patients with complex needs
Desirable: Community experience

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
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.

Certificate of Sponsorship
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.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see the NHS Careers website.

Employer details
Employer name: Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
Address: Edward Jenner Court, 1010 Pioneer Avenue, Countywide, GL4 3AW, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.ghc.nhs.uk/who-we-are/jobs/

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: Matron, Steve Daniel, steve.daniel@ghc.nhs.uk, 07974427895

The Trust is required to work in line with the Government's UK Visa and Immigration Rules and Regulations. To support compliance with UK immigration requirements, all applicants who require a visa to work in the UK must disclose their visa history in full. Incomplete information may mean we are unable to consider your application.