Job responsibilities
Key Activities and accountabilities
- To offer care complementary to that offered by the GPs and other Practitioners in the Practice
- Visits following discussion of each case with a GP, to undertake visits to patients in their own homes and to nursing homes if required during urgent / acute episodes of care.
- Triage (after training): Telephone triage of patients requesting same day appointments, prioritising the needs of patients and referring on to the Advanced Nurse Practitioner and GPs as necessary.
- To monitor and evaluate standards of care through appropriate audit, taking appropriate remedial action if standards are not achieved
- To be accountable for care given within Practice policies, protocols, and procedures
- To maintain accurate and comprehensive records with specific regards to confidentiality
- To advise and support other members of the team whilst working as a flexible and conscientious team member
- Perform specialist health checks and reviews within their scope of practice and in line with local and national guidance
- Perform and interpret ECGs
- Perform investigatory procedures as required and undertake the collection of pathological specimens including intravenous blood samples, swabs and other samples within their scope of practice and within line of local and national guidance
- Support the delivery of anticipatory care plans and lead certain services (e.g., monitoring blood pressure and diabetes risk of elderly patients)
- Communicate effectively with patients and, where appropriate, family members and their carers, where applicable, complex and sensitive information regarding their physical health needs, results, findings and treatment choices
- To attend appropriate clinical update training and general and specific paramedic skills and training in order to maintain knowledge and skills
- To be aware of national and local targets; initiatives; in relation to own practice and to apply these in the clinical setting
- To recognise professional boundaries and ensure these are maintained
- Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development.
- Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities
- To maintain a professional profile.
Confidentiality:
In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust practice staff with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters.
- Comply with Legislation with regards to data protection act and ensure confidentiality is maintained at all times.
- The post-holder must regard all information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers (as well as information relating to the practice as a business organisation) 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, data protection legislation and the protection of personal and sensitive data, as well as other related healthcare legislation (e.g. the NHS Confidentiality Code of Practice)
Health & Safety:
The post-holder will comply with practice policies, procedures and clinical guidelines for self and others. This includes (but not limited to):
- Identifying, reporting, and correcting health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
- Identifying, reporting, and correcting health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
- Identifying issues and hazards / risks in relation to other work areas within the business
- Awareness of national standards of infection control and cleanliness, as well as ownership of infection control and clinically based patient care protocols and implementing them across the practice.
- Active observation of current working practices across the practice in relation to infection control, cleanliness and related activities, ensuring that procedures are followed and weaknesses / training needs are identified, escalating issues as appropriate.
- Identifying the risks involved in work activities, raising them with appropriate management and managing those risks across clinical and patient processes.
- Safe management of sharps procedures, including training, use, storage and disposal
- Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas generally clean, sterile, assuming responsibility in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness across the business in consultation (where appropriate) with other managers
- Demonstrate due regard for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
- Routine management of own team / team areas, and maintenance of work space standards:- Waste management, including collection, handling, segregation, container management, storage and collection- Spillage control procedures, management and training- Decontamination control procedures, management and training, and equipment maintenance
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
- Identify patterns of discrimination and take action to overcome this and promote diversity and equality of opportunity.
- Behaving in a manner that is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.
Support people who need assistance in exercising their rights.
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 recognize the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:
- Communicate effectively with other team members
- Communicate effectively with patients and carers
- Recognize peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly
Ensure awareness of sources of support and guidance (e.g. PALS) and provide information in an acceptable format to all patients, recognising any difficulties and referring where appropriate.
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.