Health Care assistant (Support Worker)
Job Description
Job summary
The HCA is a crucial role in supporting the practice nursing and administrative teams in the delivery of clinical and administrative services. The HCA will deliver and assist clinical staff in the provision of treatment, preventative care, health promotion and patient education whilst supporting the administrative team on an as-required basis. TCare Assistant (HCA) is crucial in healthcare
Main duties of the job
Undtertake new patient health checks
ubdertake wound care, dressings and other chronic disease clinincs.
Carry out BMI checks
Act as a chaperone
About us
Greensand Health Centre is a newly formed PCN consisting of three branch sites: Linton, Loose, and Headcorn. We are a friendly, supportive team who are looking to expand services that we offer to patients. We have a strong commitment to a happy, sensible work-life balance and place value on a healthy, strong team. We aim to provide the highest standards of medical care within a friendly setting.
Built within primary care, for primary care, Athena works with local GPs and their practices to champion investment in and deliver effective primary care at scale. By connecting in this way, we are stronger, more resilient, and can care effectively for over 25,000 local people together.
Job responsibilities
Job Summary
To support the practice nursing and administrative teams in the delivery of clinical and administrative services, working as part of the practice multi-disciplinary team, delivering care within their scope of practice to the entitled patient population.
The Healthcare Assistant will deliver and assist clinical staff in the provision of treatment, preventative care, health promotion and patient education whilst also supporting the administrative team on an as-required basis.
Main Responsibilities:
Undertake new patient health checks
- Support the practice nurse with health promotion programmes
- Carry out baseline observations such as pulse oxymetry, blood pressure, temperature and pulse rate, recording findings accurately
Facilitate routine and 24-hour BP monitoring, advising patients accordingly
Undertake wound care, dressings and other clinical tasks as required
Support the practice nurse with the management of chronic disease clinics
Carry out BMI checks as directed
Act as a chaperone as required
Undertake venepuncture
Administer flu vaccinations
Carry out ear irrigation
Carry out ECGs as requested
Ensure specimens are recorded and ready for onward transportation
Provide support during minor operations as required
Ensure all clinical rooms are adequately stocked and prepared for each session
Ensure fridges are cleaned routinely in accordance with extant guidance
Ensure clinical waste is removed from clinical areas and sharps bins replaced in accordance with the organisations IPC policy
Carry out Anticoagulation testing/monitoring, under the supervision of GP/ACP
Communication
Demonstrate sensitive communication styles to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment
Communicate with and support patients receiving bad news
Communicate effectively with patients and carers, recognising the need for alternative methods of communication to overcome different levels of understanding, cultural background and preferred ways of communicating
Anticipate barriers to communication and take action to improve communication
Estimate and maintain effective communication with individuals and groups within the practice environment and with external stakeholders
Act as an advocate when representing patients
Delivering a Quality Service
Recognise and work within own competence and professional code of conduct
Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient consultation, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures
Prioritise, organise and manage own workload in a manner that maintains and promotes quality
Deliver care according to local and national guidelines and evidence-based care
Assess effectiveness of care delivery through self and peer review, benchmarking and formal evaluation
Participate in the maintenance of quality governance systems and processes across the practice
Collaborate on improving the quality of health care in partnership with other clinical teams, responding to local and national policies and initiatives as appropriate
Evaluate the patients response to health care provision and the effectiveness of care
Support and participate in shared learning across the practice and wider organisation
Participate in the management and review of patient complaints, and identify learning from clinical incidents and near-miss events using a structured framework (eg root-cause analysis)
Assess the impact of policy implementation on care delivery
Understand and apply legal policy that supports the identification of vulnerable and abused children and adults, being aware of statutory child/vulnerable adult health procedure and local guidance
Work within policies regarding family violence, vulnerable adults, substance abuse and addictive behaviour, and refer as appropriate
Personal and Team Development
Take responsibility for own development learning and performance including participating in clinical supervision and acting as a positive role model
Participate in planning and implementing changes within the area of care and responsibility
Contribute and participate in the development of surgery guidelines, protocols and standards
Participate in Annual Appraisal and reviews
Learning and Development
Understand own role and scope, and identify how this may develop over time
Act as mentor to students, assessing competence against set standards as requested and if appropriately qualified
Disseminate learning and information gained to other team members in order to share good practice and inform others about current and future developments
Assess own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate
Make effective use of learning opportunities within and outside the workplace, evaluating their effectiveness and feeding back relevant information
Provide an educational role to patients, carers, families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning
Attend PLT (Protected Learning Training) as and when required
Ensure that mandatory training is completed within required timeframes
Equality and Diversity
Identify patterns of discrimination, take action to overcome this, and promote diversity and quality of opportunity
Enable others to promote equality and diversity in a non-discriminatory culture
Support people who need assistance in exercising their rights
Monitor and evaluate adherence to local chaperoning policies
Act as a role model in the observance of equality and diversity good practice
Accept the rights of individuals to choose their care providers, participate in care and refuse care
Assist patients from marginalised groups to access quality care
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)
This job plan may be subject to change in agreement between the practice and the post-holder.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- HCA (care certificate) qualified.
- Phlebotomy/ECG qualified.
Experience
Essential
- Proven experience of working within a nursing team other healthcare setting or GP surgery.
- Compassionate and empathetic nature.
- Flexible attitude and the ability to handle challenging situations with patience and resilience are crucial.
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.
Employer details
Employer name
Headcorn Surgery
Address
Grigg Lane
Headcorn
Kent
TN27 9AA
