Job summary
Southport and Formby Health are recruiting General Practice (GP) Assistants on behalf of Southport and Formby primary Care Network and several GP Surgeries within the Southport and Formby area.
GP Assistants work
alongside GPs within a surgery undertaking any task that enables them to
undertake their role more efficiently and effectively. They help to free up GPs time and
contribute to the smooth running of appointments and improving patients
experience.
The GP Assistant role
was initially developed to safely deliver a combination of routine
administrative tasks and some basic clinical duties in the general practice
setting. The focus being on supporting GPs in their
day-to-day management of patients, specifically aimed at reducing the
administrative burden, making best use of consultation time, and supporting
those vulnerable to isolation who are regular attenders at the
practice.
Please specify within your application if you would like to be considered for a particular GP surgery.
This is a wonderful career opportunity within primary care, focusing on both administrative and clinical duties and full training and support will be provided.
The post is advertised as full-time however part-time applications from 30 hours per week will be considered and there will be a pay review upon completion of the course.
Successful candidates will receive a telephone call from Louise Sproat to discuss their application for the post and to arrange an interview.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will need to interact with a
variety of stakeholders both internally and externally to perform the duties
within the post.
The job responsibilities of the GP Assistant
include but are not limited to:
-
Sorting all clinical post and
prioritising for the GP in terms of actions.
-
Signposting some post to others such as
clinical pharmacist etc.
-
Extracting all information from clinical
letters that needs coding and adding to notes
-
Arranging appointments, referrals, tests
and follow up appointments of patients
-
Preparing patients prior to going in to
see the GP, taking a brief history and basic readings in readiness for the GP
appointment.
-
Dipping urine, taking blood pressure,
ECGs & phlebotomy
-
Completing basic (non-opinion) forms and
core elements of some forms for the GP to approve and sign such as insurance
forms, mortgage, benefits agency forms etc
-
Explaining treatment procedures to
patients
-
Helping the GP liaise with outside
agencies e.g., getting an on-call doctor on the phone to ask advice or arrange
admission while the GP can continue with their consultation(s)
-
Support the GP with immunisations/wound
care
-
Undertake any other additional
duties appropriate to the post as requested.
The
post holder will also undertake a GPA training programme called the GPA Skills
Certificate within a 6-9 month timeframe and is an accredited training
programme based on a competency framework.
About us
Southport and Formby Primary Care Network (PCN) is a group of 15 GP Practices working together with other local organisations to improve the health and social care of our local population of around 129,000 people.
Primary Care Networks are designed to provide proactive, coordinated care to their local populations, in different ways to match different peoples needs, with a strong focus on prevention and personalised care. This means supporting patients to make informed decisions about their own health and care and connecting them to a range of statutory and voluntary services to ensure they can access the care they need first time.
"I enjoy being a GP Assistant because the job is varied and interesting. The role is a mixture of administrative duties and clinical ones and every day is different depending on the needs of the surgery. It's great working closely with the GPs and patients and making a real difference to both of them." - Dave Cowie, an existing GP Assistant within Southport and Formby PCN
"During a standard working day our GP assistant works closely with the clinical team. They review the appointment list with the GP and undertake any preparatory work requested by them, such as a brief history, blood pressure, a temperature, an ECG, urinalysis etc. This essentially makes an acute visit a one-stop-shop for the patients. Patients really appreciate this as it means results are back quickly to aid early diagnosis." - a Practice Manager within Southport and Formby PCN
Job description
Job responsibilities
The job responsibilities of the General Practitioner (GP) Assistant
include but are not limited to:
-
Sorting all clinical post and
prioritising for the General Practitioner (GP) in terms of actions.
-
Signposting some post to others such as
clinical pharmacist etc.
-
Extracting all information from clinical
letters that needs coding and adding to notes
-
Arranging appointments, referrals, tests
and follow up appointments of patients
-
Preparing patients prior to going in to
see the GP, taking a brief history and basic readings in readiness for the GP
appointment.
-
Dipping urine, taking blood pressure,
ECGs & phlebotomy
-
Completing basic (non-opinion) forms and
core elements of some forms for the GP to approve and sign such as insurance
forms, mortgage, benefits agency forms etc
-
Explaining treatment procedures to
patients
-
Helping the GP liaise with outside
agencies e.g., getting an on-call doctor on the phone to ask advice or arrange
admission while the GP can continue with their consultation(s)
-
Support the GP with immunisations/wound
care
-
Undertake any other additional
duties appropriate to the post as requested.
GP Assistant Training programme
overview
The postholder will undertake a GPA Training
Programme. The GPA Skills certificate
is an accredited training programme based on a competency framework.
The framework covers 5 domains (2 clinical and 3
non-clinical):
-
Care Certificate (clinical)
-
Clinical (clinical)
-
Communications (non-clinical)
-
Administration (non-clinical)
-
Managing health records
(non-clinical)
The training programme is self-directed, work-based
learning and will require the learner to complete a portfolio of evidence which
demonstrates the required knowledge, skills and behaviours and will promote
critical thinking and reflection.
The learner will work through each domain and upload
evidence onto an on-line learning platform.
The learner will be assigned a GP mentor who has
overall responsibility for signing off the whole learning programme. The
learner will also be supported by other colleagues who must be fully endorsed
by the GP practice.
Each learner has 1 day protected learning time per
week ( day self learning, day mentor supervision)
The timeframe to complete the training programme is
6-9 months.
Once completed, the portfolio will be verified by a
regional, nominated GP mentor prior to sending onto the training provider for
final verification.
Finally, when the learner has been verified and passed
by the university, they will receive 10 credits at Level 4.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The job responsibilities of the General Practitioner (GP) Assistant
include but are not limited to:
-
Sorting all clinical post and
prioritising for the General Practitioner (GP) in terms of actions.
-
Signposting some post to others such as
clinical pharmacist etc.
-
Extracting all information from clinical
letters that needs coding and adding to notes
-
Arranging appointments, referrals, tests
and follow up appointments of patients
-
Preparing patients prior to going in to
see the GP, taking a brief history and basic readings in readiness for the GP
appointment.
-
Dipping urine, taking blood pressure,
ECGs & phlebotomy
-
Completing basic (non-opinion) forms and
core elements of some forms for the GP to approve and sign such as insurance
forms, mortgage, benefits agency forms etc
-
Explaining treatment procedures to
patients
-
Helping the GP liaise with outside
agencies e.g., getting an on-call doctor on the phone to ask advice or arrange
admission while the GP can continue with their consultation(s)
-
Support the GP with immunisations/wound
care
-
Undertake any other additional
duties appropriate to the post as requested.
GP Assistant Training programme
overview
The postholder will undertake a GPA Training
Programme. The GPA Skills certificate
is an accredited training programme based on a competency framework.
The framework covers 5 domains (2 clinical and 3
non-clinical):
-
Care Certificate (clinical)
-
Clinical (clinical)
-
Communications (non-clinical)
-
Administration (non-clinical)
-
Managing health records
(non-clinical)
The training programme is self-directed, work-based
learning and will require the learner to complete a portfolio of evidence which
demonstrates the required knowledge, skills and behaviours and will promote
critical thinking and reflection.
The learner will work through each domain and upload
evidence onto an on-line learning platform.
The learner will be assigned a GP mentor who has
overall responsibility for signing off the whole learning programme. The
learner will also be supported by other colleagues who must be fully endorsed
by the GP practice.
Each learner has 1 day protected learning time per
week ( day self learning, day mentor supervision)
The timeframe to complete the training programme is
6-9 months.
Once completed, the portfolio will be verified by a
regional, nominated GP mentor prior to sending onto the training provider for
final verification.
Finally, when the learner has been verified and passed
by the university, they will receive 10 credits at Level 4.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to GCSE or A Level standard in English and Maths.
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working in a healthcare setting
- Experience of operating independently
- Experience in the management of own workload
Desirable
- Experience of carrying out ECGs, phlebotomy, and lifestyle checks
- Competent in the use of Emis software
Knowledge and skills
Essential
- Ability to communicate effectively and professionally with both patients and colleagues
- Ability to work with confidential sensitive information & understand boundaries
- Competent in the use of Microsoft Office applications
- Reliable and willing to work for the best interests of patients
- Ability to provide empathy and understanding with a compassionate and positive attitude
Desirable
- Awareness of medical terminology
Additional requirements
Essential
- Ability to go through the DBS process
- Driver with own transport
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to GCSE or A Level standard in English and Maths.
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working in a healthcare setting
- Experience of operating independently
- Experience in the management of own workload
Desirable
- Experience of carrying out ECGs, phlebotomy, and lifestyle checks
- Competent in the use of Emis software
Knowledge and skills
Essential
- Ability to communicate effectively and professionally with both patients and colleagues
- Ability to work with confidential sensitive information & understand boundaries
- Competent in the use of Microsoft Office applications
- Reliable and willing to work for the best interests of patients
- Ability to provide empathy and understanding with a compassionate and positive attitude
Desirable
- Awareness of medical terminology
Additional requirements
Essential
- Ability to go through the DBS process
- Driver with own transport
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.
