Job responsibilities
This role will be working with and
supported by the Heart of Lincoln Medical Group Primary care multi-disciplinary
team, in delivering care within their scope of practice to the patient
population where necessary.
The Healthcare Assistant will deliver
and assist primarily in Clinical Diagnostic tests - namely, Phlebotomy, Blood
pressure Monitoring or 24hr BP, ECG taking and when trained spirometry
investigations. The post holder will demonstrate critical thinking with a caring,
compassionate and committed attitude, a HCA who, acting within their
professional boundaries, will provide care for the presenting patient as
appropriate. They will
communicate and work collaboratively with the general practice team to meet the
needs of patients, supporting the delivery of policy and
Communication
Utilise and demonstrate sensitive
communication styles, to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to
treatment
Communicate effectively with patients
and carers, recognising the need for alternative methods of communication to
overcome different levels of understanding, cultural background and preferred
ways of communicating
Anticipate barriers to communication
and take action to improve communication
Maintain effective communication
within the practice environment and with external stakeholders
Act as an advocate for patients and
colleagues
Ensure awareness of sources of
support and guidance (e.g. PALS) and provide information in an acceptable
format to all patients, recognising any difficulties and referring where
appropriate
Delivering a quality service
Recognise and work within own
competence at all times
Produce accurate, contemporaneous and
complete records of patient consultation, consistent with legislation, policies
and procedures
Prioritise, organise and manage own
workload in a manner that maintains and promotes quality
Deliver care according to NSF, NICE
guidelines and evidence-based care
Assess effectiveness of care delivery
through self and peer review, benchmarking and formal evaluation
Initiate and participate in the
maintenance of quality governance systems and processes across the organisation
and its activities
In partnership with other clinical
teams, collaborate on improving the quality of health care responding to local
and national policies and initiatives as appropriate
Evaluate patients response to health
care provision and the effectiveness of care
Support and participate in shared
learning across the practice and wider organisation
Use a structured framework (e.g.
root-cause analysis) to manage, review and identify learning from patient
complaints, clinical incidents and near-miss events
Assess the impact of policy
implementation on care delivery
Working with the management teams to
monitor and develop the service
Contribute to the appraisal of the
performance of the team, providing feedback as appropriate
Understand and apply legal issues
that support the identification of vulnerable and abused children and adults,
and be aware of statutory child/vulnerable patients health procedures and local
guidance
Leadership personal and people
development:
Take responsibility for own learning
and Support staff development in order to maximise potential
Actively promote the workplace as a
learning environment, encouraging everyone to learn from each other and from
external good practice
Encourage others to make realistic
self-assessment of their application of knowledge and skills, challenging any
complacency or actions that are not in the interest of the public and/or users
of services
Critically evaluate and review
innovations and developments that are relevant to the area of work
Enlist support and influence
stakeholders and decision-makers in order to bring about new developments in
the provision of services
Contribute to the development of
local guidelines, protocols and standards
Promote the role of the HCA in general
practice
Team working
Understand own role and scope and
identify how this may develop over time
Work as an effective and responsible
team member, supporting others and exploring the mechanisms to develop new ways
of working
Prioritise own workload and ensure
effective time-management strategies are embedded within the culture of the
team
Work effectively with others to
clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon care delivery
Discuss, highlight and work with the
team to create opportunities to improve patient care
Agree plans and outcomes by which to
measure success
Management of risk
Manage and assess risk within the
areas of responsibility, ensuring adequate measures are in place to protect
staff and patients
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
Apply infection-control measures
within the practice according to local and national guidelines
Advocate for policies that reduce
environmental health risks, are culturally sensitive and increase access to
health care for all
Managing information
Use technology and appropriate
software as an aid to management in planning, implementation and monitoring of
care, presenting and communicating information
Review and process data using
accurate Read codes in order to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval
for monitoring and audit processes
Understand responsibility of self and
others to the practice and primary care trust regarding the Freedom of
Information Act
Learning and development
Undertake mentorship for more junior
staff, assessing competence against set standards
Disseminate learning and information
gained to other team members in order to share good practice and inform others
about current and future developments (e.g. courses and conferences)
Assess own learning needs and
undertake learning as appropriate
Provide an educational role to
patients, carers, families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates
learning
Equality and diversity
Identify patterns of discrimination
and take action to overcome this and promote diversity and equality of
opportunity
Enable others to promote equality and
diversity in a non-discriminatory culture
Support people who need assistance in
exercising their rights
Monitor and evaluate adherence to
local chaperoning policies
Act as a role model in the observance
of equality and diversity good practice
Accept the rights of individuals to
choose their care providers, participate in care and refuse care
Assist patients from marginalised
groups to access quality care
