Job responsibilities
Job summary:
Working under the direct supervision of the Practice Matron 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 programmes of patient care.
Duties and responsibilities:
New patient health checks
ECG recording
Phlebotomy
Blood pressure
Ear syringing
24 hour blood pressure monitoring
Chaperoning duties
Processing and management of laboratory samples requested by GPs and nurses
Sterilising, cleansing and maintenance of surgical equipment
Vaccine/cold chain storage, monitoring and recording
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 individual
Helping 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
Preparing and maintaining Infection Control Audits
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, the practice Health & Safety manual, and the practice Infection Control policy and published procedures. This will 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
- Actively reporting of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
- Keeping own work areas and general and patient areas generally clean, assisting in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness consistent with the scope of the job holders role
- Undertaking periodic infection control training (minimum annually)
- Reporting potential risks identified
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