Job responsibilities
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.
As
part of this role, you commit to ongoing development and training.
You
will be part of a supportive team and will play a crucial role in all aspects
of nursing practice.
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.
Provide clinical support to registered nurses and other professionals.
c. Carry out baseline observations such as pulse oximetry, blood
pressure, temperature and pulse rate, recording findings accurately.
d. Undertake wound care, dressings and other clinical tasks as required.
e.
Support patients and the practice nurse with long term conditions and
address health inequalities.
f. Carry out BMI checks as directed.
g. Act as a chaperone as required.
h. When trained, undertake venepuncture.
i.
Play a key role in vaccination and immunisation programs.
j. When trained, administer flu vaccinations.
k. When trained, carry out ear irrigation under the supervision of the
Practice Nurse.
l. Carry out ECGs as requested.
m. Ensure specimens are recorded and ready for onward transportation
n. Provide support during minor operations if required
o. Ensure all clinical rooms are adequately stocked and prepared for each
session
p. Ensure fridges are cleaned routinely in accordance with extant
guidance
q. Ensure clinical waste is removed from clinical areas and sharps bins
replaced in accordance with the organisations IPC policy
r.
Support health promotion and prevention activities.
s.
Deliver basic clinical care interventions under supervision.
Secondary 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
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 including age,
disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy
and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
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 the:
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.
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.
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 clinical codes 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.
The nature of this post may undoubtedly change. As such flexibility is essential. The post holder is required to carry out any duties that may reasonable be requested from the partners, management team or line managers. No Job Description can give a complete account of all aspects of the post. Therefore, from time to time the demands of the organisation will require adjustments in the responsibilities of the post. No such adjustments, however, may be made without the agreement of the Partners, Management Team without full consultation with the post-holder.
