Health Care Assistant

Job responsibilities

The post holder will offer general assistance to the Nursing Team and the General Practitioners. They will maintain patient confidentiality and work under the direct clinic supervision of the Practice Nurse and within Practice Guidelines and Protocols at all times

The Post holder is responsible for the delivery of basic care to the practice population, this will be delivered within the boundaries of their role, focusing upon supporting patient to be healthy, monitoring of long-term conditions, health prevention and screening activities.

The post holder will develop the required level of training and competence and will work within Patient Group Directions (PGDs) as necessary.

Qualifications

Essential

• Healthcare qualification (or working towards)
• ECG
• Immunisation and Vaccination
• Phlebotomy

Desirable

• Wound Care
• Chronic Disease Management reviews

Experience

Essential

• To act in such a manner as to support the client/patient at all times and be mindful of the need to reduce anxiety for the client/patient
• Implement and evaluate programs to promote health and well-being and prevent adverse effects on health and well-being
• To provide phlebotomy service as required providing a regular monitoring and screening service
• To be responsible for the processing and management of laboratory samples requested by the Health Care Professionals (HCPs) with specific responsibility to ensure that the samples are correctly labelled, sent to the laboratory promptly and that data is correctly entered in the patients records
• Implement and evaluate individual treatment plans for patients with a known long-term condition including regular recall monitoring
• To be responsible for the correct maintenance and cleaning of clinical equipment
• To be responsible for the re-stocking of all clinical areas and maintain a stock rotation system
• To maintain/order an adequate amount of clinical supplies and health promotional materials as agreed by the Medical Staff and to restock all rooms as appropriate
• To assist in general nursing duties, under the supervision of the nursing team eg Urinalysis, Cardiovascular Screening, New Patient Checks, Wound dressings, Blood Pressures, Patient Observations, Diabetic Foot Checks, ECGs, Peak Flow training, QOF recalls, screening, Minor Ops assistance etc.
• To ensure that the drug/vaccination refrigerators are at the correct temperature on a daily basis and that the cold chain is maintained, recording as per the practice guidelines
• To give vaccinations according to local policy and completion of relevant training
• To act as a chaperone for the HCPs and assist in emergency situations
• To participate in the induction program for new staff and Students
• To function as an integral part of the Primary Health Team
• To attend regular meetings as required
• To maintain equipment and rooms as per Infection Control Guidance
• 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
• Utilise communication skills to support patients to adhere to prescribed treatment regimens
• Anticipate barriers to communication and take action to improve communication
• Act as an advocate when representing the patients and colleagues viewpoints to others
• Liaise appropriately with the multidisciplinary team
• Delivering a quality service:
• Recognise and work within own competence
• Produce accurate 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 the local and National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines and evidence-based care
• Maintain accurate registers and use the recall system on EMIS/ARDENS
• Assess effectiveness of care delivery through self and peer review
• Take part in regular appraisals
• Participate in the maintenance of quality governance systems including Significant Event Audit
• Adhere to local and national policies and initiatives as appropriate
• Support and participate in shared learning across the practice and wider organization
• Understand and apply legal policy that supports the identification of vulnerable and abused children and adults, being aware of statutory child/vulnerable adult health procedure and local guidance
• Work within policies relating to domestic violence, vulnerable adults, substance abuse and addictive behaviour, and refer as appropriate
• Team working
• Work as an effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploring the mechanisms to develop new ways of working
• Ensure clear understanding and utilisation of referral mechanisms within the practice
• Prioritise own workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are embedded in own practice
• 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
• Ensure safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs is undertaken.
• Undertake mandatory and statutory training
• Apply infection control measures within the practice according to local and national guidelines
• Apply policies that reduce environmental health risks, are culturally sensitive
• Utilising information:
• Use technology as an aid to management in planning, implementation and monitoring, presenting and communicating information
• Review and process data using accurate Read codes about patients in order to ensure easy and accurate retrieval for monitoring and audit processes
• Manage information searches using the internet and the retrieval of relevant information for patients on their condition
• Understand own and others responsibility to the individual organisation regarding the Freedom of Information Act
• Learning and development:
• Disseminate learning and information gained to other team members in order to share good practice and inform others about current and future developments
• Assess own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate
• Make effective use of learning opportunities within and outside the workplace, evaluating their effectiveness and feeding back relevant information
• Ensure mandatory training needs are met
• Readesmoor Medical Group Practice will support learning and develop the individual within the role offered
• Equality and diversity:
• Identify patterns of discrimination, take action to overcome this, and promote diversity and quality 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 good practice relating to equality and diversity
• Accept the rights of individuals to choose their care providers participate in care and refuse care.
• TASKS UNDERTAKEN BY THE HEALTH CARE ASSISTANT
• 1.ECGs both routine & urgent
• 2.Dressings/other clinical room procedures
• 3.Venepuncture
• 4.Chaperone
• 5.Assist with Minor Operations/Family Planning procedures
• 6.Ear syringing (suspended)
• 7.Blood Pressures/other base line observations
• 8.Suture Removal/ Staple Removal
• 9.Swabs
• 10.Minor Injuries
• 11.Heights and Weights/waist circumference
• 12.Emergencies/equipment checks
• 13.Vaccinations and Vitamin B12
• 14.Telephone Calls
• 15.Pre Diabetes/Diabetic clinics/Respiratory clinics
• 16.Lifestyle advice/Health Promotion
• 17.Spirometry/Reversibility tests (suspended)
• 18.Supervise Phlebotomists/student nurses
• 19.Treatment room/clinic room stock and ordering
• 20.Cleaning of equipment
• 21.New Patient Checks/CVD checks/Urinalysis
• 22. Learning Disability checks
• 23. Disease Register Management

Desirable

• Experience working in primary care
• Experience working in a GP practice

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).