Experienced Health Care Assistant

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job title

Health Care Assistant (HCA)

Line manager

Senior Nurse

Accountable to

Practice Manager

Hours per week

24

Job summary

The post holder will report to the practice manager and the general practitioners (GP(s) and support the GP(s) to ensure the efficient provision of medical services and clinics by performing several more routine administrative and clinical duties. This will allow the GP(s) to utilise their own time more effectively towards greater patient focused activities.

Additionally, this role will support both nursing and administrative teams in the delivery of clinical and administrative services, working as part of the practice multidisciplinary team, delivering care within their scope of practice to the entitled patient population.

Utilising the NHS Health Education England GPA Competency Framework, the post holder working within general practice/primary care will provide capabilities within care, administration, clinical, communications and health records management.

Primary responsibilities

The following are the core responsibilities of the HCA. There may be, on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks. This will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels.

a. Undertaking new patient health checks

b. Providing support to GPs by taking patient history and baseline observations prior to the patient seeing the GP

c. Carrying out baseline observations such as pulse oximetry, blood pressure, temperature, pulse rate, recording all findings accurately

d. Facilitating routine and 24-hour BP monitoring, advising patients accordingly

e. Carrying out BMI checks as directed

f. Acting as a chaperone as required

g. When trained, undertaking venepuncture

h. Conducting ECGs as requested

i. Signposting some received correspondence to others, e.g., clinical pharmacist, practice nurse

j. Extracting all the required information from clinical letters, applying medical codes as required and adding these to patient notes

k. Supporting practice patients by arranging appointments, onward referrals, clinical tests and follow up appointments.

l. Explaining treatment procedures to patients

m. Supporting GP(s) in liaising with external agencies such as helping to arrange patient admission while the GP(s) continue with the consultation.

n. Supporting the GP(s) with wound care and immunisations (including flu vaccinations)

o. Undertaking all mandatory training and induction programmes

p. Attending a formal appraisal with their manager at least every 12 months. Once a performance/training objective has been set, progress will be reviewed on a regular basis so that new objectives can be agreed

q. Contributing to public health campaigns (e.g., flu clinics) through advice or direct care, including opportunistic health promotional programmes

r. Maintaining a clean, tidy and effective working area at all times

s. Ordering of stock

t. Attend and participate in regular Nurse meetings

u. Room checks and replenishing GP rooms.

Secondary responsibilities

In addition to the primary responsibilities, the HCA may be requested to:

a. Demonstrate the ownership of responsibility for personal development, learning and performance

b. Demonstrate performance of skills and activities to others undertaking similar work

c. Attend relevant annual updates and shared practice learning

d. Participate in practice audit as directed by the audit lead

e. Participate in local initiatives to enhance service delivery and patient care

f. Undertake any tasks consistent with the level of the post and the scope of the role, ensuring that work is delivered in a timely and effective manner

Duties may vary from time to time without changing the general character of the post or the level of responsibility

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Healthcare qualification (level 3 or 4) or working towards gaining equivalent level
• Phlebotomy certification
• Vaccination certification

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working in a primary care environment
• Experience of working with the general public
• Experience of working in a healthcare setting
• Wound care/removal of sutures and staples
• ECGs
• Venepuncture
• New patient medicals, including height, weight, BP, pulse
• Chaperone procedure
• Ability to record accurate clinical notes

Skills

Essential

• Excellent communication skills (written and oral)
• Strong IT skills
• Clear, polite telephone manner
• Effective time management (planning and organising)
• Ability to work as a team member and autonomously
• Good interpersonal skills
• Ability to follow clinical policy and procedure

Desirable

• Competent in the use of Office and Outlook
• EMIS/SystmOne/Vision user skills

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Pontprennau Medical Centre

Address

33 Kenmare Mews

Pontprennau

Cardiff

South Glamorgan

CF23 8RJ

Employer's website

https://www.pontprennaumc.wales.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)