Health Care Assistant

Job Summary

The health care assistant will work as part of

the primary healthcare team providing Personal Medical Services to the patients

of practice.

Job Responsibilities

• Assist in and perform routine tasks related to patient care as
• directed by senior nursing staff and GPs
• Wound care / ulcer care/Doppler*
• Removal of Sutures
• New Patient Medicals/Urinalysis
• ECGs
• Venepuncture
• Blood pressure monitoring
• Ear syringing*
• Chaperoning and assisting patients where appropriate who are being
• examined by another clinician
• Assisting GPs with minor surgery and coil fittings
• Requesting pathology tests, for example urine culture, swabs
• Interest in Long Term Medical Conditions and carrying out basic
• reviews including tasks such as diabetic foot assessments

Following agreed clinical protocols with referral to senior nurses

or GPs as appropriate

Maintain and promote Infection Control and prevention standards

within the practice

* following

verified training and completion of competencies

Other tasks will

include:

Chaperoning and assisting patients who are being examined by

another clinician.

Maintain general tidiness and cleanliness of clinical consultation

and treatment rooms

Participation in administrative systems in the Practice

At all times there will be a need to maintain accurate records

A duty to advise senior nurses of potential problems or errors

within a range of assigned tasks

Attend and participate in any Practice meetings when required.

On occasion there may be a requirement to undertake home visits

Any other delegated duties appropriate to the post

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 confidential.

Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, healthcare workers

or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons,

in accordance with practice policies and procedures relating to

confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data

Health and Safety

The post-holder

will be responsible for 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

Awareness of the correct and safe management of the specimen

process, including collection, labelling, handling, use of correct and

clean containers, storage and transport arrangements

Awareness of hand hygiene across the practice

Awareness of infection control and clinically based patient care protocols,

and implementation of those protocols across the practice

Awareness of current working practices across the practice in

relation to infection control, cleanliness and related activities,

ensuring that procedures are followed and weaknesses / training needs are

identified, escalating issues as appropriate

Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking

such activities in a way that manages those risks across clinical and

patient process

Awareness of practice facilities and equipment in relation to

• infection control, ensuring that provision of hand cleansing facilities,
• wipes etc are sufficient to ensure a good clinical working environment.
• Lack of facilities to be escalated as appropriate.
• 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 areas generally

• clean, sterile, identifying issues and hazards / risks in relation to
• other work areas within the business, and assuming responsibility in the
• maintenance of general standards of cleanliness across the business in
• consultation (where appropriate) with other sector managers

Undertaking periodic infection control training (minimum twice

• annually)
• Waste management including collection, handling, segregation,
• container management, storage and collection
• Spillage control procedures, management and training
• Decontamination control procedures, management and training, and
• equipment maintenance
• Maintenance of sterile environments
• Equality and Diversity
• The post-holder will support the equality,
• diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues by:
• Acting in a way that recognizes the importance of peoples rights,
• interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and
• policies, and current legislation
• Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients,
• carers and colleagues
• Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual,
• is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities
• and rights.
• Personal and Professional development
• In addition to maintaining continued education
• through attendance at any courses and/or study days necessary to ensure that

NMC professional development requirements for revalidation are met, the

• post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the
• practice as part of this employment, such training to include:
• Participation in an annual individual performance review,
• including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal
• and/or professional development

Taking responsibility for own development, learning and

performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are

undertaking similar work

Quality

The post-holder will strive to maintain quality

within the practice, and will:

Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk

• Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions,
• either directly or under supervision
• Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own
• and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance
• the teams performance

Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet

• patients needs
• Effectively manage own time, workload and resources
• Communication
• The post-holder should recognize the importance of effective
• communication within the team and will strive to:
• Communicate effectively with other team members
• Communicate effectively with patients and carers
• Recognise peoples needs for alternative methods of communication
• and respond according
• Contribution to the implementation of services

The post-holder will

• Apply practice policies, standards and guidance
• Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards
• and guidelines will affect own work
• Participate in audit where appropriate
• Safeguarding
• The post-holder to be aware of all current safeguarding
• policies which are available on our TeamNet portal.