Health Care Assistant

Job description

Job responsibilities

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Clinical Care

• Assist in and perform routine tasks relating to patient care as directed by nursing staff and GPs.
• New patient registration and NHS Health checks.
• Support patients to adopt health promotion strategies that promote them to live healthily and apply principles of self-care. This will include smoking cessation.
• Various checks and monitoring. e.g. BP monitoring, Urinalysis, Weight monitoring etc.

• Assist with childhood and adolescent immunisations maintaining any Child Health and Practice records.
• Assist clinicians in emergency management of patients.
• Provide lifestyle advice to patients making any necessary referrals within the Practice.

• Ensure specimens are labelled and bagged ready for collection with the necessary paperwork completed.
• Ensure clinical waste collection runs smoothly, reporting any problems to the Nurse Team Leader
• Ensure sharps bins are ready for collection.
• Restocking/maintenance of equipment
• Restocking of clinical areas and consulting rooms
• Participate in the Flu and Covid vaccination programmes (training given)
• Skilled phlebotomist
• Process lab samples.
• Monitor patients conditions by taking temperatures, sat levels, weight, height, pulse
• Urinalysis
• Chaperoning and assisting patients where appropriate who are being examined by another clinician.
• Assisting GPs with minor surgery
• ECGs

• Cleaning all clinical areas ensuring continued high standards in infection control
• Maintain general tidiness and cleanliness of nurses and treatment rooms.
• Participation in administrative systems in the practice
• Attend and participate in any Nurse meetings and appropriate practice meetings when required.
• Dressings (following training)
• Suture removal
• Vaccinations including flu, covid, pneumonia and nasal flu.
• Diabetic foot checks
• Smoking cessation
• Any other delegated duties appropriate to the post.

• Participate in the administrative and professional responsibilities of the practice team.
• Ensure accurate notes of all consultations and treatments are recorded on the computer clinical system (EMIS)
• Ensure accurate completion of all necessary documentation associated with patient health care and registration with the practice.
• Ensure collection and maintenance of statistical information required for regular and ad hoc reports.
• To assist in seasonal and special projects as requested e.g., flu campaign.
• Ordering and display of Health Promotion materials
• Ensuring all single use items are kept stocked and in date.
• Participation in administrative systems in the practice
• Maintaining GP and Nurses rooms, stocking and rotating items as required
• A duty to advise the Lead Nurse or the Practice Manager of potential problems or errors within the range of assigned tasks.
• Complete all mandatory training required for the practice and post in line with CQC requirements.
• Any other delegated duties considered appropriate to the post.

• Caring, kind and empathetic
• Good observational skills
• Friendly and cheerful
• A good listener
• An understanding, acceptance, and adherence to the need for strict confidentiality.
• Ability to use own judgment, resourcefulness, and common sense.
• A commitment to maintain a high professional standard of health care and keep up to date with all aspects of care relevant to the post.
• A commitment to ensure all Health and Safety requirements and Infection Control measures are met and reported to appropriate member of the team.
• A commitment to the effective use of practice and NHS resources.
• An awareness of own limitations and experience.

• Excellent communication skills
• An understanding and acceptance of ones capabilities and awareness of own limitations.
• Ability to work without direct supervision and determine own workload priorities.
• Basic keyboard and computer skills

• Full DBS check

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• As part of the nursing team the HCA will be employed to undertake nursing and administrative duties as deemed suitable by the Partners. Where necessary, training will be given prior to any patient contact. The HCA will usually work alongside another member of the nursing and/or GP team and there will always be a clinician available to refer to. The role involves the use of the computer and keyboard skills along with the ability to organise and prioritise a varied workload, as necessary.
• To maintain a safe and effective level of practice and to bring any training needs to the attention of the Nurse team Leader so these can be addressed.
• They will be required to always act in a professional manner and adhere to practice policies, protocols, and guidelines.
• 1.Training
• Training requirements will be monitored constantly, as well as by yearly appraisal. Personal development will be encouraged and supported by the practice. Its the individuals responsibility to remain up to date with recent developments.
• 2.Accountability
• Although accountable to the Partners of the practice through the Practice Manager as an employee, they are ultimately responsible for their own practice and must ensure that limitations are always acknowledged. Full training will be provided for any clinical procedures.
• 3.Meetings
• It will be necessary to attend various Practice meetings as requested. The only reason for not attending will be annual, study or sick leave.
• 4.Liaison
• As well as the nursing team, the HCA will work closely with reception and administration staff and will be expected to communicate and liaise with all other members of the Practice team.

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

The Elms Medical Practice

Address

5 Stewart Road

Harpenden

Hertfordshire

AL5 4QA

Employer's website

https://www.elmsmedicalpractice.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)