Healthcare Assistant

**Job summary**:
To support the clinical team in their diagnosis of patient symptoms by undertaking diagnostic procedures. To review and promote patient lifestyles by actively collecting data to help improve patient lifestyles. To give advice and guidance to patients tosupport their well-being.

**Clinical practice**
- To work with other healthcare professionals in monitoring and managing long term conditions, in line with national and local policies and practice needs
- Work with patients in order to support adherence to prescribed treatments
- Meet the needs of patients presenting for opportunistic wound care
- Ensure clinical practice is safe and effective and remains within boundaries of competence, and to acknowledge limitations.

**General HCA Duties include**:

- ABPM fit/remove
- Hypertension checks
- ECG
- FEV1/Spirometry
- Phlebotomy
- INR/DOAC Management
- Public Health Checks
- Life style advice
- Urinalysis
- Ear syringing
- Flu vaccinations
- Pneumococcal
- B12 injections
- Assisting with minor surgery procedures in the treatment room
- Provide general and specific health screenings to the practice patients (within agreed protocols) with referral to other members of the primary and secondary health care team as necessary

**Administration**
- Ensure all contacts with patients are recorded accurately on the EMIS system
- Work effectively with the rest of the clinical team
- Effectively manage own time, workload and resources
- Participate in audits where appropriate
- Review and process data using accurate coding to ensure easy and accurate retrieval for monitoring and audit processes
- Understand your responsibilities relating to confidentiality and freedom of information
- Use the correct templates for the task being undertaken

Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision.
- Ensure the clinical lead is aware of any matters arising or problems / potential problems.

**Health and Safety**

To have an awareness of national standards of infection control and cleanliness and regulatory, contractual, professional requirements, and good practice guidelines
- Manage and assess risk within the areas of responsibility, ensuring adequate measures are in place to protect staff and patients
- Monitor work areas and practices to ensure they are safe and free from hazards and conform to the practices health & safety and infection control policies

To ensure the Infection Control Audit is undertaken twice a year and fed back to the Clinical Lead so that any action points can be addressed.

To ensure PSDs are held where appropriate

To ensure all equipment is tested annually and any faults raised with the Practice Manager

To log all faults and arrange replacements/repair where necessary
- To report any risks and undertake Significant Event Analysis where appropriate, feeding back to the wider team
- Ensure safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs

**Training and personal development**
- Personal development will be encouraged and supported by the practice.
- It is the individuals responsibility to remain up to date with recent developments within the health service
- Statutory and mandatory training is undertaken annually through Blue Stream Academy as e-learning.
- You are responsible for holding and updating your Personal Development Plan which will be reviewed annually at appraisal.
- Participate in the education and training of students of all disciplines and the introduction of all members of the practice staff where appropriate
- If it is necessary to expand the role to include additional responsibilities, full training will be given.
- Make effective use of learning opportunities within and outside the workplace, evaluating their effectiveness and feeding back relevant information

**Meetings**

It will be necessary to attend and contribute to various practice meetings as requested. The only reason for not attending will be annual, study or sick leave.

To hold regular monthly meetings with the nursing team, feeding back on health and safety and infection control.
- Participation in the quarterly educational afternoons is expected and if this falls on a day you would not normally work, overtime is claimable

**Communication**:

- Communicate effectively with other team members, patients, carers and other allied healthcare professionals
- Demonstrate sensitive communication skills to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment
- 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
- To ensure everyone in the practice is aware of which skills can be undertake by which members of the nursing team, updating these as appropriate
- There is also the need to establish and maintain good liaison with other surgeries and agencies, including secondary care

**Delivering a quality service**
- Participate in achieving targets for the delivery quality outcome framework and enhanced services.
- Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient consultation, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures
- Deliver care according to NSF, NICE guidelines and evidence-based care
- Support and participate in shared learning across the practice and wider organisation