Job description
Job responsibilities
Pontprennau Medical Centre Job description and person specification
Job title
Health Care Assistant (HCA)
Line manager
Senior Nurse
Accountable to
Practice Manager
Hours per week
24
Job summary
The post holder will report to the practice manager and the general practitioners (GP(s) and support the GP(s) to ensure the efficient provision of medical services and clinics by performing several more routine administrative and clinical duties. This will allow the GP(s) to utilise their own time more effectively towards greater patient focused activities.
Additionally, this role will support both nursing and administrative teams in the delivery of clinical and administrative services, working as part of the practice multidisciplinary team, delivering care within their scope of practice to the entitled patient population.
Utilising the NHS Health Education England GPA Competency Framework, the post holder working within general practice/primary care will provide capabilities within care, administration, clinical, communications and health records management.
Primary responsibilities
The following are the core responsibilities of the HCA. 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. Undertaking new patient health checks
b. Providing support to GPs by taking patient history and baseline observations prior to the patient seeing the GP
c. Carrying out baseline observations such as pulse oximetry, blood pressure, temperature, pulse rate, recording all findings accurately
d. Facilitating routine and 24-hour BP monitoring, advising patients accordingly
e. Carrying out BMI checks as directed
f. Acting as a chaperone as required
g. When trained, undertaking venepuncture
h. Conducting ECGs as requested
i. Signposting some received correspondence to others, e.g., clinical pharmacist, practice nurse
j. Extracting all the required information from clinical letters, applying medical codes as required and adding these to patient notes
k. Supporting practice patients by arranging appointments, onward referrals, clinical tests and follow up appointments.
l. Explaining treatment procedures to patients
m. Supporting GP(s) in liaising with external agencies such as helping to arrange patient admission while the GP(s) continue with the consultation.
n. Supporting the GP(s) with wound care and immunisations (including flu vaccinations)
o. Undertaking all mandatory training and induction programmes
p. Attending a formal appraisal with their manager at least every 12 months. Once a performance/training objective has been set, progress will be reviewed on a regular basis so that new objectives can be agreed
q. Contributing to public health campaigns (e.g., flu clinics) through advice or direct care, including opportunistic health promotional programmes
r. Maintaining a clean, tidy and effective working area at all times
s. Ordering of stock
t. Attend and participate in regular Nurse meetings
u. Room checks and replenishing GP rooms.
Secondary responsibilities
In addition to the primary responsibilities, the HCA may be requested to:
a. Demonstrate the ownership of responsibility for personal development, learning and performance
b. Demonstrate performance of skills and activities to others undertaking similar work
c. Attend relevant annual updates and shared practice learning
d. Participate in practice audit as directed by the audit lead
e. Participate in local initiatives to enhance service delivery and patient care
f. Undertake any tasks consistent with the level of the post and the scope of the role, ensuring that work is delivered in a timely and effective manner
Duties may vary from time to time without changing the general character of the post or the level of responsibility
