General Practice Assistant

Job description

Job responsibilities

Main Duties of the role:

• 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

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 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
• 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 and 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, to 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
• Reporting potential risks identified

Equality and Diversity:

• 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:

• Post holder must hold a GP Assistant Certificate qualification
• 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.
• Attend all relevant annual update
• Inform the lead GP of any concerns regarding GPA role and any professional development needed.
• Be aware of own professional boundaries and what to do when you have reached them.

Quality:

The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the Practice, and will:

• Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk
• Work to practice protocols
• Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision.
• Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision
• Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients need
• 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
• Be familiar in all mediums of communications such as email, tasks, telephone etc.
• Communicate effectively with patients and carers.
• Recognise peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly.
• Communicate effectively to outside agencies.
• Communicate clearly with their lead GP

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

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• GCSE/NVQ level 2 or equivalent; or detailed patient services knowledge

Other

Essential

• Able to adapt a flexible working approach

Experience

Essential

• Must have customer/patient care skills and have worked in a customer/patient facing environment.
• Secretarial experience is essential.
• Competence in Microsoft Office packages (Outlook, Word, Excel).
• Ability to compile and analyse statistical information.

Desirable

• Experience of working with clinical systems i.e. Systm1 would be desirable.
• Experience of working in a public sector/healthcare environment would be extremely advantageous.

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• Ability to remain calm when dealing with difficult or distressed people.
• Ability to work on own initiative and as part of a team.
• Able to think ahead and anticipate issues.
• Ability to be assertive, but polite and patient.
• Excellent organisation skills required along with ability to prioritise and work to very high standards of performance.
• Commitment to health and safety, equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practices in employment and service provision.
• Understanding of the needs for confidentiality and compliance with service regimes.

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Kernow Health CIC

Address

Saltash Health Centre

Callington Road

Saltash

Cornwall

PL12 6DL

Employer's website

https://www.kernowhealthcic.org.uk (Opens in a new tab)