Job responsibilities
The post-holder will manage a caseload and deal with a wide range of health needs in a primary care setting, ensuring the highest standards of care for all registered and temporary patients.
Clinical responsibilities:
In accordance with the practice timetable, as agreed, the post-holder will make themselves available to undertake a variety of duties, including surgery consultations, telephone consultations and queries, visiting patients at home, bleep holding, checking and signing repeat prescriptions and dealing with queries, paperwork and correspondence in a timely fashion
Making professional, autonomous decisions in relation to presenting problems, whether self-referred or referred from other health care workers within the organisation
Assessing the health care needs of patients with undifferentiated and undiagnosed problems
Screening patients for disease risk factors and early signs of illness
Developing care plans for health in consultation with patients and in line with current practice disease management protocols
Providing counselling and health education
Admitting or discharging patients to and from the caseload and referring to other care providers as appropriate
Recording clear and contemporaneous consultation notes to agreed standards
Collecting data for audit purposes
Compiling and issuing computer-generated acute and repeat prescriptions (avoiding hand-written prescriptions whenever possible)
Prescribing in accordance with the practice prescribing formulary (or generically) whenever this is clinically appropriate
In general, the post-holder will be expected to undertake all the normal duties and responsibilities associated with a GP working within primary care.
Other responsibilities within the organisation:
Awareness of and compliance with all relevant practice policies/guidelines, e.g. prescribing, confidentiality, data protection, health and safety
A commitment to life-long learning and audit to ensure evidence-based best practice
Contributing to evaluation/audit and clinical standard setting within the organisation
Contributing to the development of computer-based patient records
Contributing to the summarising of patient records and read-coding patient data
Attending training and events organised by the practice or other agencies, where appropriate.
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 of 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
Providing advice on the correct and safe management of the specimens process, including collection, labelling, handling, use of correct and clean containers, storage and transport arrangements
Correct personal use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and ensuring correct use of PPE by others, advising on appropriate circumstances for use by clinicians, staff and patients.
Management of the full range of infection control procedures in both routine and extraordinary circumstances (e.g. pandemic or individual infectious circumstances)
Hand hygiene standards for self and others
Managing directly all incidents of accidental exposure
Management and advice relating to infection control and clinically based patient care protocols, and implementation of those protocols across the practice
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 to the responsible person
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, and initiate and manage the training of others across the full range of infection control and patient processes
Monitoring practice facilities and equipment in relation to infection control, ensuring that proper use is made of hand-cleansing facilities, wipes etc., and that these are sufficient to ensure a good clinical working environment. Lack of facilities to be escalated as appropriate to the responsible manager
Safe management of sharps use, storage and disposal
Maintenance of own clean working environment
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 correcting 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 responsible managers
Undertaking periodic infection control training (minimum twice annually)
Correct waste and instrument management, including handling, segregation, and container use
Maintenance of sterile environments
Demonstrate due regard for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
Equality and diversity:
The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:
Acting in a way that recognises the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current legislation
Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues
Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgemental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights
Personal/professional development:
In addition to maintaining continued education through attendance at any courses and/or study days necessary to ensure that professional development requirements for PREP are met, the post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, with such training to include:
Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development
Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.
Quality:
The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will:
Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk
Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision
Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance
Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs
Effectively manage own time, workload and resources.