Access Team Lead


Company:	NHS Jobs
Salary:	£49,338 - £56,461
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	Taunton, TA1 5HA
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	13 Aug 2026
Closing date:	24 Aug 2026

Apply for this job

Summary

Practice and leadership Provide day-to-day operational leadership for the Access Team through transition to business-as-usual, including recruitment, induction, rota/off-duty planning, and performance oversight. Role model specialist palliative and end of life care practice, embedding consistent triage standards, documentation quality, and person-centred decision-making. Provide clinical leadership to support safe, timely triage and advice line activity, including escalation decisions and complex case review. Create and sustain a positive, inclusive working culture, supporting wellbeing, resilience and psychological safety within a team working with distressing and end of life situations. Use service data, feedback and quality metrics to identify priorities, manage demand and capacity, and drive continuous improvement. Take and analyse a clinical history in a relevant, succinct and logical manner, remotely and/or face to face. Use specialist assessment and clinical reasoning to triage, assess, plan and coordinate care for people with palliative and end of life care needs. Apply knowledge of community, hospice and system resources to support timely, appropriate pathways and care in the place of choice where possible. Use physical assessment and clinical reasoning skills to inform safe advice, professional communication and high-quality documentation. Undertake non-medical prescribing within scope of practice and in accordance with organisational policy (where qualified). Recognise and manage palliative care emergencies, following agreed escalation pathways. Support advance care planning and treatment escalation planning, sharing information through appropriate IT platforms. Act as a specialist resource to colleagues and partners on palliative and end of life care, supporting safe decision-making, timely escalation and consistent standards across the system.Communication Support delivery of the hospice digital strategy to enhance access, coordination and clinical workflows. Contribute to, organise and/or chair multidisciplinary meetings as required (e.g., Primary Care Network meetings, Gold Standards Framework, internal MDTs), ensuring clear actions and follow-up. Maintain effective working relationships with community services and partners (e.g., rapid response, district nursing, Hospital at Home, GP practices and voluntary sector) to enable timely, coordinated care. Use advanced communication skills to manage complex and sensitive conversations, including uncertainty, deterioration, dying and bereavement; support shared decision-making and informed choice. Anticipate and address barriers to communication, supporting the team to develop and apply effective communication strategies. Provide and/or facilitate a robust framework of clinical supervision and reflective practice that supports resilience and high-quality care. Ensure contemporaneous, accurate electronic records and information sharing in accordance with professional standards and organisational policy. Identify potential risks to self and others in work activities, environments and processes. Understand specific risks associated with lone working and follow the lone working policy when conducting home visits. Manage identified risks in the best way possible and keep the team informed and engaged. Work in a way that complies with legislation and hospice policies and procedures on health, safety and risk management. Report actual or potential problems that may put health, safety or security at risk and suggest solutions. Support and challenge others in maintaining health, safety and security at work. Work within the safeguarding framework for the protection of vulnerable adults and children.Education and training Maintain expert clinical knowledge and skills through evidence-based practice, critical reflection and continuing professional development in line with NMC requirements (including revalidation). Develop, deliver and evaluate education programmes internally and externally, aligned to service priorities and learning needs. Support the induction and ongoing development of staff, including competency frameworks, supervision, coaching, and contribution to appraisal/PDR processes. Provide mentorship and learning opportunities for students and colleagues across disciplines, including clinical placements and inter-professional learning. Promote and participate in audit, service evaluation and (where appropriate) research activity; support the team to engage with audit cycles, implement learning and demonstrate improvement. Ensure compliance with mandatory training and support staff to meet role-specific developmental pathways and professional requirements.Reporting and data Ensure high-quality data capture and reporting that describes service demand, activity, outcomes and quality. Use data, audit findings and feedback to identify themes, risks and improvement opportunities; contribute to plans that improve performance and patient/carer experience. Work with the Head of Service to produce regular performance updates, KPI reporting and narratives that support strategic decision-making and service development. Support governance requirements including incident learning, audit cycles, service evaluation and assurance reporting as required.

Apply for this job