Health Care Assistant

**Job Description JOB TITLE**: Health Care Assistant REPORTS TO: Nurse Manager Job summary: To provide and maintain a high standard of nursing care for patients as well as providing nursing assistance to the doctors and other members of the primary healthcare team. The duties will include a variety of tasks and any roles agreed between the nurse and doctors as appropriate, having regard to current training. Professional: Take a holistic approach to lifestyle advice on diet, smoking, alcohol intake and exercise. Undertaking long-term condition health checks and liaising with the relevant nurses.

Ensures awareness of statutory and local clinical protection procedures, including systems of referral. Ability to recognise signs and symptoms of child abuse. Able to perform Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation according to current UK guidelines. Ability to obtain and document informed consent (either verbal or written).

Ensure infection control guidelines are maintained. Confidentially of information gained at work must be preserved at all times. Carry out other duties as required which are commensurate with the skills and knowledge required by the post, and for which training has been provided. Developmental: Contribute to the assessment of service needs.

Assist patients to identify their health needs. Contribute a HCA perspective to the practice development plan. Manage and organise individual patient consultations. Aware of identification and reporting procedures related to professional standards.

To attend staff meetings and Protected Learning Time events. Ensure effective relationships and communications with the PHCT and other agencies. Support the practice clinical governance agenda. Identify changes to clinical practice that are required to implement evidence-based guidelines.

**Educational**: Identify personal development and training needs in conjunction with the manager. Participate in clinical supervision. Support others with their training and development needs. To participate in continuing education and maintain a contemporary level of professional knowledge and skills.

**Undertake mandatory and other suggested training Personal**: Maintain good working relationships Take reasonable care of his/her own safety and that of other persons who may be affected by his/her act or omission. Co-operate with the practice team members to adhere to statutory regulations/policies, codes of practice and safety rules. Confidentiality: In the course of 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 assist in promoting and maintaining 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 Responsible for the correct and safe management of the specimens process including collection, labelling, handling, use of correct and clean containers, storage and transport arrangements 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, and initiate and manage the training of others across the full range of infection control and patient processes 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 Actively identifying, reporting, and correction of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised Keeping own work areas and general / patient are