Job responsibilities
JOB TITLE: Health Care Assistant
REPORTS TO: Senior Practice Nurse
HOURS: Flexible Hours per Week
Permanent
Job Summary:
- To collect blood samples, as requested, from patients by venepuncture.
- Work under the supervision of the Senior Practice Nurse to provide basic nursing support to the Practice.
- Ensuring patient and personal safety through adherence to Practice procedures, protocols and relevant health and safety legislation at all times.
- To take part in providing Extended Access on a rota basis.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Clinical Care
- To collect blood samples as requested by Medical staff from patients by venepuncture to the arm or the advanced skill of back of hand venepuncture.
- To collect samples requiring specialist knowledge of test requirements i.e. blood cultures, samples needing to be packed in ice or kept at body temperature, or sent immediately to the lab.
- Long term conditions experience
- Giving Injections
- Assist with minor surgery
- Undertake and record the measurement of patient height and weight
- Undertake Urinalysis
- Measurement of blood pressure , temperature and pulse
- Measure Peak Flow Requirements
- Recognise changes in Patients observations, which must be reported and acted on.
- Assist clinicians in emergency management of patients
- Enable patients to access appropriate professional in the practice team
- Act as a chaperone
- Provide relevant Health promotion literature for patients.
- Adhere to procedures for reporting incidents of patients and staff, with particular reference to needle stick injuries.
- Offers basic dietary and lifestyle advice
- Offers Health promotion Advice
Care And Programme Management
- Ensure stock items are ordered and provided in GP and Treatment rooms, emergency equipment
- Maintain clinical equipment efficiently and ensure servicing is undertaken
- Follow infection control standards
- Contribute to new ideas to improve patient care
- Instructs Patients in appropriate techniques or tasks
Clinical Practice Leadership/ Developmen
- Work effectively in a team
- Interact with patients and colleagues in a profession manner
- Maintain set standards of organisation in treatment rooms/ practice
- Takes part in Appraisals
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 performance of the duties outlined in this Job Description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential
- 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 & 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:
The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:
- 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:
The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, such training to include:
- 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.
Quality:
The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will:
- Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk
- Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision
- Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance
- Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs
- 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
- Communicate effectively with patients and carers
- Recognise peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly.
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.
