At Mersey Care, we support healthcare professionals to develop into ACP roles while continuing to work. Mersey Care can support staff through structured development programs, providing access to accredited ACP training pathways in collaboration with local universities. The trust offers opportunities for both Nursing and Allied Health Professionals to advance their skills through fully funded Master’s degree programs in Advanced Clinical Practice.
Mersey Care also offers mentorship from experienced ACPs, helping staff gain hands-on experience in advanced clinical skills such as prescribing, assessment, diagnostics, and leadership. As they train, aspiring ACPs can work closely with multidisciplinary teams, learning to take on more complex cases under supervision. This training framework allows staff to build their expertise while continuing to work, making ACP roles accessible to those who are committed to advancing their careers within Mersey Care.
This multifaceted role allows ACPs to deliver comprehensive care to patients while contributing to the development and improvement of healthcare services across the NHS. They statistically have a significant impact on improving patient outcomes, reducing wait times, and enhancing overall service quality. ACP roles also help meet the increasing demands on healthcare, bringing both flexibility and expertise to teams across the NHS.
If you are interested in finding out more, please contact: ACPLeads
Sara Proffitt: Senior Advanced Clinical Practitioner - Leigh Moss CMHT – Mental Health Division
Hi, I’m Sara and I work as a Senior Advanced Clinical Practitioner in Leigh Moss Older Adult community team.
I finished my ACP course in early 2020 and initially worked with mental health division assessments services in the mental health liaison team in Aintree Hospital and also in Clock View Hospital First Response Service.
I gained a post as an ACP working in the newly opened Longmoor House intermediate care hub where I was able to develop my examination and diagnostic skills around physical health condition and increase my knowledge. I was also able to share my knowledge surrounding mental health to colleagues and provide support, guidance and training.
I have worked in Leigh Moss Older Adult community team since March 2023. This team covers the whole of Liverpool and Kirkby for anybody over the age of 65 with memory issues or over the age of 70 for functional mental health disorders. Ther service also has a dedicated young onset dementia team for anybody under the age of 65 who may be experiencing cognitive decline and can have a specialist assessment. The role of advanced clinical practitioner was new to the hub and I therefore had to set up and embed the role within the team.
I became involved in quality improvement work to help reduce waiting times – prior to me starting two teams within the hub had an average wait for new patient appointment of 30 weeks. I began doing ACP led clinics and supporting in the implementation of nurse led initial assessments and we have managed to reduce the waiting time for new appointments to around six weeks for these two teams.
I have also supported in quality improvement work in streamlining ways of working within the team and helping to reduce internal waits for allocation of nurses along with implementing a daily triage of new referrals received to allow for timely response and action for referrals and an interface with the duty nurse.
Even though my role was new to the hub the role has been positively received and due to the success we have been able to secure funding to employ a trainee ACP who has just recently started in the team.
I feel that my role allows me to cover the four pillars of advanced practice as I have a good mixture of workload.