Healthcare Assistant (6 month fixed term maternity cover)
Albany Surgery
The closing date is 25 April 2025
Job summary
To support the practice nursing and administrative teams in the delivery of clinical and administrative services, working as part of the practice multi-disciplinary team, delivering care within their scope of practice to the entitled patient population.
The Healthcare Assistant will deliver and assist clinical staff in the provision of treatment, preventative care, health promotion and patient education while also supporting the administrative team on an as-required basis.
The position offers some flexibility with working hours, however Wednesday evenings until 8pm is non-negotiable and essential for this position. This is a fixed term contract however a permanent position may be considered at the end of the fixed term depending on business need.
Main duties of the job
Primarily taking, collecting, and storing samples of blood in accordance with training and procedures will be your fundamental job role.
Experience in undertaking ECGs, blood pressure, urinalysis/samples
Ensuring that the patient is as comfortable and relaxed as possible and confirming their agreement to the collection of a blood sample
Ensuring samples are stored in appropriate containers.
Accurate, legible labelling of all samples to confirm patient identity
Chaperoning duties
Processing and management of laboratory samples requested by GPs/nurses such as urine, faeces and sputum.
Basic wound care is essential.
Preparing and maintaining environments and equipment before, during and after patient care interventions, restocking rooms.
The post holder will be a key team player within our nursing team. You will work as part of a multi disciplinary team.
Driving license essential as you may be required to visit patients in their own homes.
About us
Albany Surgery is a friendly and supportive practice comprising 4 GP Partners, 3 Salaried GPs, 2 Advanced Nurse practitioners, 2 Healthcare assistants and 3 nurses, serving over 10,000 patients.
Albany Surgery is part of the PCN Newton West which includes collaborative working with Kingskerswell & Ipplepen and Bovey Tracey & Chudleigh practices.
The successful applicant will be working within our supportive nursing team providing high quality care that our patients can rely on.
Date posted
11 April 2025
Pay scheme
Other
Salary
Depending on experience
Contract
Fixed term
Duration
6 months
Working pattern
Full-time, Part-time
Reference number
A0187-25-0000
Job locations
Scott Close
Newton Abbot
Devon
TQ12 1GJ
Job description
Job responsibilities
Job title: Healthcare Assistant
Line manager: Lead ANP & Nursing
Accountable to: Practice Manager
Hours per week: 6 months fixed term contract to cover Maternity Leave. Both full and part time will be considered.
Job summary
To support the practice nursing and administrative teams in the delivery of clinical and administrative services, working as part of the practice multi-disciplinary team, delivering care within their scope of practice to the entitled patient population.
The Healthcare Assistant will deliver and assist clinical staff in the provision of treatment, preventative care, health promotion and patient education while also supporting the administrative team on an as-required basis.
The position offers some flexibility with working hours, however Wednesday evenings until 8pm is non-negotiable and essential for this position.
Mission statement
Continually working hard to maintain and improve our high level of patient care.
Generic responsibilities
All staff have a duty to conform to the following:
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I)
A good attitude and positive action towards Equality Diversity & Inclusion(ED&I) creates an environment where all individuals can achieve their full potential. Creating such an environment is important for three reasons it improves operational effectiveness, it is morally the right thing to do and it is required by law.
Patients and their families have the right to be treated fairly and be routinely involved in decisions about their treatment and care. They can expect to be treated with dignity and respect and will not be discriminated against on any grounds.
Staff have the right to be treated fairly in recruitment and career progression. Staff can expect to work in an environment where diversity is valued, and equality of opportunity is promoted. Staff will not be discriminated against on any grounds including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion, or belief, sex, or sexual orientation. Staff have a responsibility to ensure that they treat our patients and their colleagues with dignity and respect.
Safety, Health, Environment and Fire (SHEF)
This organisation is committed to supporting and promoting opportunities for staff to maintain their health, wellbeing, and safety.
The post holder is to manage and assess risk within the areas of responsibility, ensuring adequate measures are in place to protect staff and patients and monitor work areas and practices to ensure they are safe and free from hazards and conform to health, safety and security legislation, policies, procedures, and guidelines.
All personnel have a duty to take reasonable care of health and safety at work for themselves, their team, and others and to cooperate with employers to ensure compliance with health and safety requirements.
All personnel are to comply with:
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
Environmental Protection Act 1990
Environment Act 1995
Fire Precautions (workplace) Regulations 1999
Other statutory legislation which may be brought to the post holders attention
Confidentiality
The organisation is committed to maintaining an outstanding confidential service. Patients entrust and permit us to collect and retain sensitive information relating to their health and other matters pertaining to their care. They do so in confidence and have a right to expect all staff will respect their privacy and maintain confidentiality.
It is essential that, if the legal requirements are to be met and the trust of our patients is to be retained, all staff must protect patient information and provide a confidential service.
Quality and Continuous Improvement (CI)
To preserve and improve the quality of this organisations outputs, all personnel are required to think not only of what they do but how they achieve it. By continually re-examining our processes, we will be able to develop and improve the overall effectiveness of the way we work.
The responsibility for this rests with everyone working within the organisation to look for opportunities to improve quality and share good practice and to discuss, highlight and work with the team to create opportunities to improve patient care.
At this organisation, we continually strive to improve work processes which deliver healthcare with improved results across all areas of our service provision. We promote a culture of continuous improvement where everyone counts, and staff are permitted to make suggestions and contributions to improve our service delivery and enhance patient care.
Staff should interpret national strategies and policies into local implementation strategies that are aligned to the values and culture of general practice. All staff are to contribute to investigations and root cause analyses whilst participating in serious incident investigations and multidisciplinary case reviews.
Induction
We will provide a full induction programme and management will support you throughout the process.
Learning and development
The effective use of training and development is fundamental in ensuring that all staff are equipped with the appropriate skills, knowledge, attitude, and competences to perform their role. All staff will be required to partake in and complete mandatory training as directed. It is an expectation for this post holder to assess their own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate
The post holder will undertake mentorship for team members and disseminate learning and information gained to other team members to share good practice and inform others about current and future developments (e.g., courses and conferences). The post holder will provide an educational role to patients, carers, families, and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning.
Collaborative working
All staff are to recognise the significance of collaborative working and understand their own role and scope and identify how this may develop over time. Staff are to prioritise their own workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are embedded within the culture of the team.
Teamwork is essential in multidisciplinary environments and the post holder is to work as an effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploring the mechanisms to develop new ways of working and work effectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon care delivery
Effective communication is essential, and all staff must ensure they communicate in a manner which enables the sharing of information in an appropriate manner.
All staff should delegate clearly and appropriately, adopting the principles of safe practice and assessment of competence. Plans and outcomes by which to measure success should be agreed.
Managing information
All staff should use technology and appropriate software as an aid to management in the planning, implementation and monitoring of care and presenting and communicating information.
Data should be reviewed and processed using accurate SNOMED to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes.
Service delivery
Staff will be given detailed information during the induction process regarding policy and procedure.
The post holder must adhere to the information contained within the organisations policies and regional directives, ensuring protocols are always adhered to.
Security
The security of the organisation is the responsibility of all personnel. The post holder must ensure they always remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity immediately to their line manager.
Under no circumstances are staff to share the codes for the door locks with anyone and are to ensure that restricted areas remain effectively secured. Likewise, password controls are to be maintained and passwords are not to be shared.
Professional conduct
All staff are required to dress appropriately for their role.
Leave
All personnel are entitled to take leave. Line managers are to ensure all their staff are afforded the opportunity to take a minimum of 5 weeks leave each year and should be encouraged to take all their leave entitlement.
Public holidays will be calculated on a pro-rated basis dependent on the number of hours worked.
Primary key responsibilities
The following are the core responsibilities of the Healthcare Assistant. There may be, on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels:
a.Undertake new patient health checks
b.Support the Practice Nurse with health promotion programmes
c.Carry out baseline observations such as pulse oximitery, blood pressure, temperature and pulse rate, recording findings accurately
d.Facilitate routine and 24-hour BP monitoring, advising patients accordingly
e.Undertake wound care, dressings and other clinical tasks as required
f.Support the Practice Nurse with the management of chronic disease clinics
g.Carry out BMI checks as directed
h.Act as a chaperone as required
i.Undertake venepuncture
j.When trained, administer flu vaccinations
k.Carry out ECGs as requested
l.Ensure specimens are recorded and ready for onward transportation
m.Provide support during minor operations as required
n.Ensure all clinical rooms are adequately stocked and prepared for each session
o.Ensure fridges are cleaned routinely in accordance with extant guidance
p.Ensure clinical waste is removed from clinical areas and sharps bins replaced in accordance with the organisations IPC policy
q.Deliver opportunistic health promotion where appropriate
Secondary key responsibilities
In addition to the primary responsibilities, the Healthcare Assistant may be requested to:
a.Participate in practice audit as directed by the audit lead
b.Participate in local initiatives to enhance service delivery and patient care
c.Support and participate in shared learning within the organisation
d.Complete opening and closing procedures in accordance with the duty rota
Job description
Job responsibilities
Job title: Healthcare Assistant
Line manager: Lead ANP & Nursing
Accountable to: Practice Manager
Hours per week: 6 months fixed term contract to cover Maternity Leave. Both full and part time will be considered.
Job summary
To support the practice nursing and administrative teams in the delivery of clinical and administrative services, working as part of the practice multi-disciplinary team, delivering care within their scope of practice to the entitled patient population.
The Healthcare Assistant will deliver and assist clinical staff in the provision of treatment, preventative care, health promotion and patient education while also supporting the administrative team on an as-required basis.
The position offers some flexibility with working hours, however Wednesday evenings until 8pm is non-negotiable and essential for this position.
Mission statement
Continually working hard to maintain and improve our high level of patient care.
Generic responsibilities
All staff have a duty to conform to the following:
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I)
A good attitude and positive action towards Equality Diversity & Inclusion(ED&I) creates an environment where all individuals can achieve their full potential. Creating such an environment is important for three reasons it improves operational effectiveness, it is morally the right thing to do and it is required by law.
Patients and their families have the right to be treated fairly and be routinely involved in decisions about their treatment and care. They can expect to be treated with dignity and respect and will not be discriminated against on any grounds.
Staff have the right to be treated fairly in recruitment and career progression. Staff can expect to work in an environment where diversity is valued, and equality of opportunity is promoted. Staff will not be discriminated against on any grounds including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion, or belief, sex, or sexual orientation. Staff have a responsibility to ensure that they treat our patients and their colleagues with dignity and respect.
Safety, Health, Environment and Fire (SHEF)
This organisation is committed to supporting and promoting opportunities for staff to maintain their health, wellbeing, and safety.
The post holder is to manage and assess risk within the areas of responsibility, ensuring adequate measures are in place to protect staff and patients and monitor work areas and practices to ensure they are safe and free from hazards and conform to health, safety and security legislation, policies, procedures, and guidelines.
All personnel have a duty to take reasonable care of health and safety at work for themselves, their team, and others and to cooperate with employers to ensure compliance with health and safety requirements.
All personnel are to comply with:
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
Environmental Protection Act 1990
Environment Act 1995
Fire Precautions (workplace) Regulations 1999
Other statutory legislation which may be brought to the post holders attention
Confidentiality
The organisation is committed to maintaining an outstanding confidential service. Patients entrust and permit us to collect and retain sensitive information relating to their health and other matters pertaining to their care. They do so in confidence and have a right to expect all staff will respect their privacy and maintain confidentiality.
It is essential that, if the legal requirements are to be met and the trust of our patients is to be retained, all staff must protect patient information and provide a confidential service.
Quality and Continuous Improvement (CI)
To preserve and improve the quality of this organisations outputs, all personnel are required to think not only of what they do but how they achieve it. By continually re-examining our processes, we will be able to develop and improve the overall effectiveness of the way we work.
The responsibility for this rests with everyone working within the organisation to look for opportunities to improve quality and share good practice and to discuss, highlight and work with the team to create opportunities to improve patient care.
At this organisation, we continually strive to improve work processes which deliver healthcare with improved results across all areas of our service provision. We promote a culture of continuous improvement where everyone counts, and staff are permitted to make suggestions and contributions to improve our service delivery and enhance patient care.
Staff should interpret national strategies and policies into local implementation strategies that are aligned to the values and culture of general practice. All staff are to contribute to investigations and root cause analyses whilst participating in serious incident investigations and multidisciplinary case reviews.
Induction
We will provide a full induction programme and management will support you throughout the process.
Learning and development
The effective use of training and development is fundamental in ensuring that all staff are equipped with the appropriate skills, knowledge, attitude, and competences to perform their role. All staff will be required to partake in and complete mandatory training as directed. It is an expectation for this post holder to assess their own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate
The post holder will undertake mentorship for team members and disseminate learning and information gained to other team members to share good practice and inform others about current and future developments (e.g., courses and conferences). The post holder will provide an educational role to patients, carers, families, and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning.
Collaborative working
All staff are to recognise the significance of collaborative working and understand their own role and scope and identify how this may develop over time. Staff are to prioritise their own workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are embedded within the culture of the team.
Teamwork is essential in multidisciplinary environments and the post holder is to work as an effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploring the mechanisms to develop new ways of working and work effectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon care delivery
Effective communication is essential, and all staff must ensure they communicate in a manner which enables the sharing of information in an appropriate manner.
All staff should delegate clearly and appropriately, adopting the principles of safe practice and assessment of competence. Plans and outcomes by which to measure success should be agreed.
Managing information
All staff should use technology and appropriate software as an aid to management in the planning, implementation and monitoring of care and presenting and communicating information.
Data should be reviewed and processed using accurate SNOMED to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes.
Service delivery
Staff will be given detailed information during the induction process regarding policy and procedure.
The post holder must adhere to the information contained within the organisations policies and regional directives, ensuring protocols are always adhered to.
Security
The security of the organisation is the responsibility of all personnel. The post holder must ensure they always remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity immediately to their line manager.
Under no circumstances are staff to share the codes for the door locks with anyone and are to ensure that restricted areas remain effectively secured. Likewise, password controls are to be maintained and passwords are not to be shared.
Professional conduct
All staff are required to dress appropriately for their role.
Leave
All personnel are entitled to take leave. Line managers are to ensure all their staff are afforded the opportunity to take a minimum of 5 weeks leave each year and should be encouraged to take all their leave entitlement.
Public holidays will be calculated on a pro-rated basis dependent on the number of hours worked.
Primary key responsibilities
The following are the core responsibilities of the Healthcare Assistant. There may be, on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels:
a.Undertake new patient health checks
b.Support the Practice Nurse with health promotion programmes
c.Carry out baseline observations such as pulse oximitery, blood pressure, temperature and pulse rate, recording findings accurately
d.Facilitate routine and 24-hour BP monitoring, advising patients accordingly
e.Undertake wound care, dressings and other clinical tasks as required
f.Support the Practice Nurse with the management of chronic disease clinics
g.Carry out BMI checks as directed
h.Act as a chaperone as required
i.Undertake venepuncture
j.When trained, administer flu vaccinations
k.Carry out ECGs as requested
l.Ensure specimens are recorded and ready for onward transportation
m.Provide support during minor operations as required
n.Ensure all clinical rooms are adequately stocked and prepared for each session
o.Ensure fridges are cleaned routinely in accordance with extant guidance
p.Ensure clinical waste is removed from clinical areas and sharps bins replaced in accordance with the organisations IPC policy
q.Deliver opportunistic health promotion where appropriate
Secondary key responsibilities
In addition to the primary responsibilities, the Healthcare Assistant may be requested to:
a.Participate in practice audit as directed by the audit lead
b.Participate in local initiatives to enhance service delivery and patient care
c.Support and participate in shared learning within the organisation
d.Complete opening and closing procedures in accordance with the duty rota
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Essential:
- Phlebotomy certification
Desirable
- Healthcare qualification (level 3 or 4) or working towards gaining equivalent level
- Previous completion of the HCA Care Certificate - as detailed within GP Mythbuster No 57 - HCAs in General Practice
- Vaccination certification
Clinical knowledge and skills
Essential
- ECGs
- Venepuncture
- New patient medicals, including height, weight, BP, pulse
- Chaperone procedure
- Ability to record accurate clinical notes
- Wound care/removal of sutures and staples
- Excellent communication skills (written and oral)
- Competent in the use of Office and Outlook
- Clinical IT system user skills
- Clear, polite telephone manner
- Effective time management (planning and organising)
- Ability to work as a team member and autonomously
- Good interpersonal skills
- Ability to follow clinical policy and procedure
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working in a primary care environment
- Experience of working with the general public
- Experience of working in a healthcare setting
Other requirements
Essential
- Flexibility to work outside core office hours
- Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check
- Occupational Health clearance
Personal qualities
Essential
- Polite and confident
- Flexible and cooperative
- Motivated
- Problem solver with the ability to process information accurately and effectively, interpreting data as required
- High levels of integrity and loyalty
- Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations
- Ability to work under pressure/in stressful situations
- Able to communicate effectively and understand the needs of the patient
- Commitment to ongoing professional development
- Effectively utilise resources
- Punctual and committed to supporting the team effort
Notes
Essential
- The job description and person specification may be amended following consultation with the post holder to facilitate the development of the role, the organisation and the individual.
- All personnel should be prepared to accept additional, or surrender existing duties, to enable the efficient running of the organisation.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Essential:
- Phlebotomy certification
Desirable
- Healthcare qualification (level 3 or 4) or working towards gaining equivalent level
- Previous completion of the HCA Care Certificate - as detailed within GP Mythbuster No 57 - HCAs in General Practice
- Vaccination certification
Clinical knowledge and skills
Essential
- ECGs
- Venepuncture
- New patient medicals, including height, weight, BP, pulse
- Chaperone procedure
- Ability to record accurate clinical notes
- Wound care/removal of sutures and staples
- Excellent communication skills (written and oral)
- Competent in the use of Office and Outlook
- Clinical IT system user skills
- Clear, polite telephone manner
- Effective time management (planning and organising)
- Ability to work as a team member and autonomously
- Good interpersonal skills
- Ability to follow clinical policy and procedure
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working in a primary care environment
- Experience of working with the general public
- Experience of working in a healthcare setting
Other requirements
Essential
- Flexibility to work outside core office hours
- Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check
- Occupational Health clearance
Personal qualities
Essential
- Polite and confident
- Flexible and cooperative
- Motivated
- Problem solver with the ability to process information accurately and effectively, interpreting data as required
- High levels of integrity and loyalty
- Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations
- Ability to work under pressure/in stressful situations
- Able to communicate effectively and understand the needs of the patient
- Commitment to ongoing professional development
- Effectively utilise resources
- Punctual and committed to supporting the team effort
Notes
Essential
- The job description and person specification may be amended following consultation with the post holder to facilitate the development of the role, the organisation and the individual.
- All personnel should be prepared to accept additional, or surrender existing duties, to enable the efficient running of the organisation.
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.
Employer details
Employer name
Albany Surgery
Address
Scott Close
Newton Abbot
Devon
TQ12 1GJ
Employer's website
https://www.albanysurgery.co.uk (Opens in a new tab)
Employer details
Employer name
Albany Surgery
Address
Scott Close
Newton Abbot
Devon
TQ12 1GJ
Employer's website
https://www.albanysurgery.co.uk (Opens in a new tab)
For questions about the job, contact:
Date posted
11 April 2025
Pay scheme
Other
Salary
Depending on experience
Contract
Fixed term
Duration
6 months
Working pattern
Full-time, Part-time
Reference number
A0187-25-0000
Job locations
Scott Close
Newton Abbot
Devon
TQ12 1GJ