Healthcare Assistant

Job description

Job responsibilities

DRAYTON MEDICAL PRACTICE

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title:

Health Care Assistant

Reports to:

Nurse Manager (Clinically)

Managing Partner (Administratively)

Job Summary:

The post holder is an experienced Health Care Assistant with experience of working in primary care. They will provide and maintain a high standard of care for patients as well as providing nursing assistance to the clinical team in the practice.

Working under the direct supervision of the practice nurse team and strictly in accordance with specific practice guidelines and protocols, the healthcare assistant will assist the practice clinical team in the provision and delivery of prescribed program of patient care. They will work collaboratively with the general practice team to meet the needs of patients, supporting the delivery of policy and procedures in line with local and national guidance.

Key responsibilities

• New patient health checks

• NHS Health checks

• ECG recording

• Phlebotomy

• Spirometry

• Chaperoning duties

• Processing and management of laboratory samples requested by GPs/nurses

• Surgical equipment and vaccine re-stocking and stock rotation

• Clearing and re-stocking consulting rooms

• Preparing and maintaining environments and equipment before, during and after patient care interventions, including assisting GPs during the performance of minor operations

• Assisting in the assessment and surveillance of patients health and well-being

• Undertaking specific clinical activities for named patients that have been delegated and taught specifically in relation to that individualHelping to raise awareness of health and well-being and how it can be promoted

• Assisting with the collection and collation of data on needs related to health and well-being

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

• Anticipate barriers to communication and take action to improve communication

• Maintain effective communication within the practice environment and with external stakeholders

• Act as an advocate for patients and colleagues

• Ensure awareness of sources of support and guidance (eg PALS) and provide information in an acceptable format to all patients, recognising any difficulties and referring where appropriate

Delivering a quality service

• Recognise and work within own competence.

• Produce accurate, contemporaneous 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 NSF, NICE guidelines and evidence-based care

• Assess effectiveness of care delivery through self and peer review, benchmarking and formal evaluation

• Initiate and participate in the maintenance of quality governance systems and processes across the organisation and its activities

• Utilise the audit cycle as a means of evaluating the quality of the work of self and the team, implementing improvements where required

• In partnership with other clinical teams, collaborate on improving the quality of health care responding to local and national policies and initiatives as appropriate

• Evaluate patients response to health care provision and the effectiveness of care

• Support and participate in shared learning across the practice and wider organisation

• Use a structured framework (eg root-cause analysis) to manage, review and identify learning from patient complaints, clinical incidents and near-miss events

• Assess the impact of policy implementation on care delivery

• Monitor and develop the performance of the GPN team in accordance with local policies

• Understand and apply legal issues that support the identification of vulnerable and abused children and adults, and be aware of statutory child/vulnerable patients health procedures and local guidance

Leadership personal and people development

• Take responsibility for own learning and performance including participating in clinical supervision and acting as a positive role mode

• Support staff development in order to maximise potential

• Actively promote the workplace as a learning environment, encouraging everyone to learn from each other and from external good practice

• Encourage others to make realistic self-assessment of their application of knowledge and skills, challenging any complacency or actions that are not in the interest of the public and/or users of services

• Critically evaluate and review innovations and developments that are relevant to the area of work

• Enlist support and influence stakeholders and decision-makers in order to bring about new developments in the provision of services

• Contribute to planning and implementing changes within the area of care and responsibility

• Contribute to the development of local guidelines, protocols and standards

Team working

• Understand own role and scope and identify how this may develop over time

• Work as an effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploring the mechanisms to develop new ways of working

• Delegate clearly and appropriately, adopting the principles of safe practice and assessment of competence

• Create clear referral mechanisms to meet patient need

• Prioritise own workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are embedded within the culture of the team

• Work effectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon care delivery

• Discuss, highlight and work with the team to create opportunities to improve patient care

• Manage and lead on the delivery of specifically identified services or projects as agreed with the practice management team

• Agree plans and outcomes by which to measure success

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 appropriate supervision of safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs.

• Participate in mandatory and statutory training requirements

• Apply infection-control measures within the practice according to local and national guidelines

• Interpret national strategies and policies into local implementation strategies that are aligned to the values and culture of general practice

Managing information

• Use technology and appropriate software as an aid to management in planning, implementation and monitoring of care, presenting and communicating information

• Review and process data using accurate Read codes in order to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes

• Manage information searches using the internet and local library databases

• Understand responsibility of self and others to the practice and primary care trust regarding the Freedom and Information Act

• Monitor and confirm that the nursing team are receiving and processing data and information in an agreed format

• Collate, analyse and present clinical data and information to the team

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 (eg courses and conferences)

• Assess own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate

• Provide an educational role to patients, carers, families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning

Equality and diversity

• Identify patterns of discrimination and take action to overcome this and promote diversity and equality 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 the observance of equality and diversity good practice

• Accept the rights of individuals to choose their care providers, participate in care and refuse care

• Assist patients from marginalised groups to access quality care

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Qualified in Phlebotomy

Desirable

• Vaccination course
• Diabetic Food care course

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

Drayton Medical Practice

Address

8 Manor Farm Close

Drayton

Norwich

NR8 6EE

Employer's website

https://draytonmedical.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)