Healthcare Assistant

Job description

Job responsibilities

Duties and responsibilities:

1. Nursing

• BP monitoring
• Urinalysis
• Phlebotomy
• ECG
• BMI checks
• NHS health checks
• Chaperone
• Basic wound care including removal of sutures/clips
• CVD & Hypertension management (HBPM/CVD calculations)
• Vaccine/cold chain storage, monitoring and recording
• Minor surgery stock check
• Stock ordering - needles/syringes
• Diabetic baseline checks including foot checks pre nurse appointment
• Provide lifestyle advice to patients making any necessary referrals within the practice

• Weight monitoring
• Ensure specimens are labelled and bagged ready for collection with the necessary paperwork completed

• Ensure clinical waste collection runs smoothly, reporting any problems.
• Ensure sharps bins are ready for collection
• Restocking/maintenance of equipment
• Restocking of clinical areas and consulting rooms
• Acknowledge responsibilities and report any changes in the condition and/or circumstances of patients to a clinician
• Preparing and maintaining environments and equipment before, during and after patient care interventions, including assisting GPs/Nurses during the performance of minor procedures if required.
• Undertaking specific clinical activities for named patients that have been delegated and taught specifically in relation to that individual
• Helping to raise awareness of health and well-being and how it can be promoted
• Assisting with the collection and collation of data on needs related to health and well-being

1. Administration and professional responsibilities

• Participate in the administrative and professional responsibilities of the practice team
• Ensure accurate and legible notes of all consultations and treatments are recorded in the patients notes
• Ensure the clinical computer system is kept up to date with accurate details recorded
• Ensure appropriate items of service claims (clinical codes relating to payment) are made accurately, reporting any problems to the practice administrator
• Ensure accurate completion of all necessary documentation associated with patient health care and registration with the practice
• Ensure collection and maintenance of statistical information required for regular and ad hoc reports
• Attend and participate in nurse/practice meetings as required
• Assist in formulation of practice philosophy, strategy and policy
• Recalling of patients with chronic diseases using our recall system and working with the Operations Manager and the rest of the clinical team to ensure Qof targets are met.
• To assist in seasonal and special projects as requested e.g. flu campaign
• Ordering and display of health promotion materials
• Professional development - to undertake relevant activities to meet the training objectives identified with your team leader.
• Ensure mandatory training is kept up to date and keep a record or your training and clinical development activities
• The checking and recording of medical supplies on receipt dispatch/invoice notes to be given to Operations Manager.

3.Management of appointment system

• Ensure total familiarity with all appointment systems, including regular and incidental variations
• Book appointments and recalls, ensuring sufficient information is recorded to enable retrieval of the medical record
• Monitor effectiveness of the system and report any problems or variations to the senior receptionist

4.Any other delegated duties considered appropriate to the post

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE POST

• An understanding, acceptance and adherence to the need for strict confidentiality
• An ability to use own judgement, resourcefulness, common sense and local knowledge, to respond to patients enquiries and requests while adhering to practice limitations
• An understanding and acceptance of own capabilities and awareness of own limitations
• Ability to work without direct supervision and determine own workload priorities
• Basic keyboard and computer skills
• Flexibility of working hours
• Excellent communication skills.

Confidentiality

• In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately
• In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential
• Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data

Health & Safety

The post-holder will implement and lead on a full range of promotion and management their own and others health and safety and infection control as defined in the practice Health & Safety policy, the practice Health & Safety manual, and the practice Infection Control policy and published procedures. This will include (but will not be limited to):

• Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines
• Awareness of national standards of infection control and cleanliness and regulatory / contractual / professional requirements, and good practice guidelines
• Responsible for the correct and safe management of the specimens process, including collection, labelling, handling, use of correct and clean containers, storage and transport arrangements
• Active observation of current working practices across the practice in relation to infection control, cleanliness and related activities, ensuring that procedures are followed and weaknesses / training needs are identified, escalating issues as appropriate
• Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks across clinical and patient process
• Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills
• Monitoring practice facilities and equipment in relation to infection control, ensuring that provision of hand cleansing facilities, wipes etc are sufficient to ensure a good clinical working environment. Lack of facilities to be escalated as appropriate.
• Safe management of sharps procedures including training, use, storage and disposal
• Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy, clean and sterile, and safe way, free from hazards. Initiation of remedial / corrective action where needed or escalation to responsible management
• Actively identifying, reporting, and correction of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
• Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas generally clean, sterile, identifying issues and hazards / risks in relation to other work areas within the business, and assuming responsibility in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness across the business in consultation (where appropriate) with other sector managers
• Routine management of own team / team areas, and maintenance of work space standards
• Waste management including collection, handling, segregation, container management, storage and collection
• Spillage control procedures, management and training
• Decontamination control procedures, management and training, and equipment maintenance
• Maintenance of sterile environments (minor surgery/LARCS support)
• Demonstrate due regard for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working within a team
• Working with the general public

Desirable

• Experience of working in general practice as a HCA.
• Experience of working in primary care
• Experience of working in a GP practice
• Experience of working with EMIS and Docman

Qualifications

Essential

• GCSE grade A to C in English and Maths or equivalent
• Qualified in Phlebotomy

Desirable

• Qualified to NVQ level 3 in Health and Social Care
• Qualified in wound care dressing, diabetes checks and NHS health checks

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

Lapworth Surgery

Address

Old Warwick Road

Lapworth

Solihull

West Midlands

B94 6LH

Employer's website

https://www.lapworthsurgery.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)