Health Care Assistant

Job responsibilities

Job summary

The post-holder will work as a member of the Health Care Team offering directed treatments to meet the needs of patients under indirect supervision of the Registered Practice Nurse and/or General Practitioner.

The following list serves to illustrate the scope and responsibilities of the post and is not intended to be exclusive

Manage specific call and re-call lists as required by the Practice

Job responsibilities:

Clinical

Working within agreed protocols and after being assessed as competent, carry out:

Phlebotomy

Measurement of blood pressure

Measurement of height, weight and girth

Urine analysis

Measurement of peak respiratory flow

Spirometry

Simple dressings

ECGs

Undertake any other clinical activities identified by the Nursing Team or Partners in accordance with written guidelines and within competencies.

Run healthcare assistant clinic and phlebotomy clinics at both Woodhouse Health Centre and Chandos Medical Centre.

Assist in the running of chronic disease management clinics.

Act as an assistant for fitting contraceptive implants.

Undertake domiciliary visits to carry out procedures identified as being within competencies.

Act as Chaperone when required.

Clerical

Play the major role in maintaining practice records of patients basic health data: identify missing information; together with colleagues plan and carry out the gathering of such data.

Maintain, store and retrieve record both manual and computerised.

Record information on the computer system.

Provide clerical support for the nursing team including recording information, preparing and sending appointment letters.

Organise and maintain the practice recall system for due diary dates for

o Blood tests

o Hypertension monitoring

o Chronic Disease Management

o Respiratory Disease Management

Organise and maintain the practice recall system for cervical cytology.

House-Keeping

Prepare clinical areas, including instrument preparation, for specific clinical sessions

Maintain and organise consulting room 7 at Woodhouse Health Centre

Maintain and control stock levels of equipment and materials according to the needs of the practice

Be responsible for the planning and overseeing health promotion displays and materials in waiting areas and consulting rooms.

Maintenance of equipment.

General responsibilities:

• To have a thorough knowledge of all practice procedures.
• To have a thorough knowledge of the computer system.
• To work in accordance of written protocols

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 assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others health, safety and security 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:

• Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines
• Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks
• Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills
• Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards
• Actively reporting of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
• Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas clean, assisting in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness consistent with the scope of the job holders role
• Undertaking periodic infection control training
• Reporting potential risks identified

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-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.

Personal/professional development:

The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, 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
• Provide documentation in line with professional requirements

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

Communication:

The post-holder should recognise the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:

• Communicate effectively with other team members
• Communicate effectively with patients and carers
• Recognise peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly

Contribution to the implementation of services:

The post-holder will:

• Apply practice policies, standards and guidance
• Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work
• Participate in audit where appropriate

Other

This job description may change in the light of developments within the role and/or within the Practice, national policies or personnel factors and will then be subject to amendments in consultation with the post holder.

Qualifications

Essential

• GCSE grade A to C in English and Maths
• Qualified to NVQ level 2 in Health and Social Care

Desirable

• Qualified in Phlebotomy
• Qualified to NVQ level 3

Experience

Essential

• Experience within a health care setting
• Experience of working within a nursing team
• Experience of dealing with vulnerable patients

Desirable

• Experience in GP Practice

Knowledge and skills

Essential

• Ability to provide quality care
• Good interpersonal and communication skills
• Good organisational skills
• Good team working skills
• Effective time management skills
• Ability to work independently following verbal or written instructions Adaptable to change
• Computer literate

Desirable

• Basic IT Skills
• Knowledge in Vision and Docman clinical systems
• Skills in Phlebotomy, ECGs, Patient Health Checks, Blood Pressures
• Basic first aid knowledge
• Health and safety awareness

Qualities/Attributes

Essential

• An understanding, acceptance and adherence to the need for strict confidentiality
• Able to work on own initiative
• Able to work under pressure and remain calm
• Flexible and adaptable
• Aware of own limitations
• Keen to develop
• To have a driving licence and access to a vehicle to undertake domiciliary visits (business insurance is required)

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).