Health Care Assistant

To support the practice nursing team in the delivery of nursing services, working as part of the practice multidisciplinary 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.

**Primary Responsibilities**

The following are the core responsibilities of the healthcare assistant. 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. Undertake new patient health checks

b. Support the practice nurse with health promotion programmes

c. Carry out baseline observations such as pulse oximitery, blood pressure, temperature, pulse rate, recording findings accurately

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

e. Undertake wound care, dressings and other clinical tasks as required

f. Support the practice nurse with the management of chronic disease clinics

g. Carry out BMI checks as directed

h. Act as a chaperone as required

i. When trained, undertake venepuncture

j. When trained, administer flu vaccinations

k. When trained, carry out ear irrigation under the supervison of the practice nurse

l. Carry out ECGs as requested

m. Ensure specimens are recorded and ready for onward transportation

n. Provide support during minor operations as required

o. Ensure all clinical rooms are adequately stocked and prepared for each session

p. Ensure fridges are cleaned routinely in accordance with extant guidance

q. Ensure clinical waste is removed from clinical areas and sharps bins replaced in accordance with the practice IPC policy

r. Deliver opportunistic health promotion where appropriate

**Secondary Responsibilities**

In addition to the primary responsibilities, the healthcare assistant may be requested to:
a. Participate in practice audit as directed by the aduit lead

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

c. Support and participate in shared learning within the practice

d. Complete opening and closing procedures in accordance with the duty rota

**Generic Responsibilities**

All staff at St Peter’s Medical Centre have a duty to conform to the following:
**Equality, Diversity & Inclusion**

A good attitude and positive action towards ED&I creates and environment where all individuals are able to achieve their full potential. Creating such an environment is important for three reasons: it improves operational effectiveness, it is morally the right thing to do, and it is required by law.

**Safety, Health, Environment and Fire (SHEF)**

This practice is committed to supporting and promoting opportunities to for staff to maintain their health, well-being and safety. You have a duty to take reasonable care of health and safety at work for you, your team and others, and to cooperate with employers to ensure compliance with health and safety requirements. All personnel are to comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Environmental Protection Act 1990, Environment Act 1995, Fire Precautions (workplace) Regulations 1999 and other statutory legislation.

**Confidentiality**

This practice is committed to maintaining an outstanding confidential service. Patients entrust and permit us to collect and retain sensitive information relating to their health and other matters, pertaining to their care. They do so in confidence and have a right to expect all staff will respect their privacy and maintain confidentiality at all times. It is essential that if, the legal requirements are to be met and the trust of our patients is to be retained that all staff protect patient information and provide a confidential service.

**Quality & Continuous Improvement (CI)**

To preserve and improve the quality of our output, all personnel are required to think not only of what they do, but how they achieve it. By continually re-examining our processes, we will be able to develop and improve the overall effectiveness of the way we work. The responsibility for this rests with everyone working within the practice to look for opportunities to improve quality and share good practice.

This practice continually strives to improve work processes which deliver health care with improved results across all areas of our service provision. We promote a culture of continuous improvement, where everyone counts and staff are permitted to make suggestions and contributions to improve our service delivery and enhance patient care.

**Induction Training**

On arrival at the practice all personnel are to complete a practice induction programme; this is managed by your line manager.

**Learning and Development**

**Collaborative Working**

All staff are to recognise the significance of collaborative working. Teamwork is essential in multidisciplinary environments. Effective communication is es