Health Care Assistant

Job responsibilities

JOB DESCRIPTION & PERSON SPECIFICATION - Full job description and spec will be attached.

JOB TITLE: Health Care Assistant

HOURS: 33 Hours per week

DEPARTMENT: Nursing Team

REPORTING TO: Lead Nurse

Special Requirements for the Post

Ability to use own judgement, resourcefulness, and local knowledge, to respond to patients enquiries and requests while adhering to practice limitations. An understanding and acceptance of ones capabilities and awareness of own limitations.An understanding, acceptance and adherence to the need for strict confidentiality.Ability to work without direct supervision and determine own workload priorities.To be reliable and flexible.To have excellent communication skills and patience.

General

The HCA will be employed to undertake nursing and administrative duties as deemed suitable by the employer.

To work within the guidelines, standard operating procedures and policies of the Practice/Erewash Health Partnership.

To ensure that statutory requirements are always met and to implement practice policy as directed by the Practice.

To ensure that safe systems of work are practiced. To be aware of the responsibility of every employee to have regard for safety for him or herself and others at work in the health and safety at work act

Training requirements will be monitored by yearly appraisal. Personal development will be encouraged and supported by the Practice.

Although accountable to the Lead Practice Nurse, Practice Manager and Partners as an employee, you are ultimately responsible for your own practice and must ensure that limitations are always acknowledged.

Job Summary

The post holder will offer general assistance and support to the Practice Nursing Team, liaising closing with the Lead Practice Nurse.

Please see Job Spec for a list of skills.

The HCA will also be responsible for documenting his/her patient consultations on the System1 clinical information system in General Practice.

He/she will maintain patient confidentiality and will work under the direct supervision of the Lead Practice Nurse and within Practice Guidelines and Protocols at all times.

Administration and professional responsibilities

Attend and participate in nurse/practice meetings as required.

Ensure accurate and legible notes of all consultations and treatments are recorded in the patients notes

Ensure accurate completion of all necessary documentation associated with patient health care and registration with the practice

Ensure appropriate items of service claims are made accurately.

Ensure the clinical computer system is kept up to date with accurate details recorded

Clinical Duties

Acknowledge responsibilities and report any changes in the condition and/or circumstances of patients to a clinician

Ensure sharps bins are ready for collection

Helping to raise awareness of health and well-being and how it can be promoted

Preparing and maintaining environments and equipment before, during and after patient care interventions, including assisting GPs/Nurses during the performance of minor procedures

Restocking of clinical areas and consulting rooms

To act as a chaperone as required to GPs and Practice Nurses.

To act in such a manner as to support the client/patient at all times and be mindful of the need to reduce anxiety for the client/patient.

To assist in general nursing duties, under the supervision of the Practice Nursing Team.

To assist in re-stocking areas with health promotion materials as agreed with the Lead Practice Nurse. To assist in seasonal and special projects as requested e.g. flu campaign.

To be responsible for the processing and management of laboratory samples requested by the GP/ Practice Nurses with specific responsibility to ensure that the samples are correctly labelled, sent to the laboratory promptly and that data is entered onto the patients computer records.

To be responsible for the re-stocking of all clinical areas and maintaining a stock rotation system.

To carry out procedures/checks on patients attending the surgery for QOF related requirements.

To ensure that drug/vaccine refrigerators are at the correct temperature on a daily basis and maintain the Vaccine Cold Chain documented record according to Practice Guidelines, in the absence of designated Nurse.

To receive and document telephone messages as and when necessary and communicate to other members of the clinical team as appropriate.

To undertake appropriate formal training as required by the Practice.

General Duties

To attend relevant clinical meetings as required.

To have knowledge of and act at all times within the boundaries of Health and Safety legislation and Data Protection acts.

To report immediately to the Lead Practice Nurse or GP Safeguarding Leads any acts of omission or error to safeguard the interest of the patient.

Professional Development

To maintain a professional development plan and review annual as part of the annual appraisal

Confidentiality

While 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 implement and lead on a full range of promotion and management their own and others health and safety and infection control 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 (but will not be limited to):

Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines

Awareness of national standards of infection control and cleanliness and regulatory / contractual / professional requirements, and good practice guidelines

Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks across clinical and patient process

Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills

Monitoring practice facilities and equipment in relation to infection control, ensuring that provision of hand cleansing facilities, wipes etc are sufficient to ensure a good clinical working environment. Lack of facilities to be escalated as appropriate.

Safe management of sharps procedures including training, use, storage and disposal

Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy, clean and sterile, and safe way, free from hazards. Initiation of remedial / corrective action where needed or escalation to responsible management

Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas generally clean, sterile, identifying issues and hazards / risks in relation to other work areas within the business.

Undertaking periodic infection control training as directed

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

Maintenance of sterile environments (minor surgery/LARCS support)

Demonstrate due regard for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

Employees must take reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and

in the interests of Health and Safety.

Staff must report any potential risks to the practice manager

Equality and Diversity:

The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues.

• recognising the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with Practice procedures and policies, and current legislation
• Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances and feelings.
• Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues

• Personal/Professional Development:

  The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the Practice as part of this employment.

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
• Effectively manage own time, workload and resources
• Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs

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.

• 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

Qualifications

Essential

• Academic/Vocational qualificationsGood standard of literacy and numeracy
• Qualified to NVQ level 3 or completed Care Certificate
• ExperienceExperience in GP practice
• Experience of dealing with vulnerable patients including those with learning difficulties
• Experience of dealing with patients of all ages
• Knowledge/SkillsAbility to work independently following verbal or written instructions
• Adaptable to change
• Computer literate
• Effective time management
• Experience using system1
• Good interpersonal and communication skills
• Good organisational skills
• Infection control awareness
• Stock ordering and rotation
• Stocking of clinical rooms
• Team working
• Up to date with BLS & Safeguarding training
• Skilled in :
• Phlebotomy
• BP Checks and Understanding
• Chaperoning
• Diabetic Foot Check
• Dietary Advice
• Dressing - Changes
• ECG
• Long Term Conditions Management
• Injection - Flu Vaccine (PSD needed)
• Injection - Hydroxocobalamin (B12)
• Injection - Pneumonia
• Injection - RSV
• Injection - Shingles
• Learning Difficulty Reviews
• NHS/Well Man/Woman Health Check
• Suture/Clip Removal
• Urinalysis
• Weight Management including referrals
• Wound Care
• Qualities/AttributesAble to work on own initiative
• Able to work under pressure and remain calm
• An understanding, acceptance and adherence to the need for strict confidentiality
• Aware of own limitations
• Flexible and adaptable
• Keen to develop
• Additional requirementsProvide cover for absence of Phlebotomist for periods of planned and unplanned absence

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).