HCA in Warminster

The ideal candidate will be working strictly in accordance with specific practice guidelines and protocols. The HCA will support the practice clinical team in the provision and delivery of quality health and care services. The post is for a part-time position, working up to 4 days a week and there will be a late shift 11.30 - 20.00 each week on a set day, to be discussed further at interview. This post is for a HCA working in Primary care - not a nursing home or hospital environment, requiring a very different skill set. Please read the job description to ensure that you have the correct skill level for the post.

Main duties of the job

• The successful candidate must be able to display a basic level of computer literacy including the ability to use emails.
• Be accurate and contemporaneous record keeping of all patient contact using appropriate templates and read coding, including recording QOF data.
• NVQ level 2 in health & social care is an essential qualification for the posts.

About us

The Avenue Surgery is a large training practice, providing all aspects of primary care to circa 18,500 patients, in the rural market town of Warminster, Wiltshire. Our mission is to provide outstanding primary care for our patients, offering a service that works with, and for, the community to meet the widest range of care, health promotion and education for our staff and our patients. We have an extremely friendly, happy team comprising of: ST2 & ST3 GP Trainees, large reception & administration team, including clinical pharmacist team, nursing team, including specialist nurses, living well team, and an emergency care team. We are a high achieving QOF practice and are committed to providing high quality, evidence-based care to all.

Job responsibilities

• Working under the supervision of a Registered Nurse and strictly in accordance with specific practice HCA guidelines and protocols, the post holder will support the practice clinical team in the provision and delivery of quality health and care services.
• No task will be undertaken without full training and assessment.
• Undertake, record and follow guidelines for the tasks for which you have received appropriate training.
• Phlebotomy skills including near patient testing for INR, blood glucose and cholesterol.
• Processing of patient samples for dispatch to hospital laboratories. This will include body fluids such as urine, faeces and sputum. This will also include urinalysis and the reporting of results to a registered clinician.
• Measuring and recording patient blood pressure. Reporting any measurement outside of the norm to the appropriate clinician using the practice Hypertension protocol.
• Prepare and maintain environments and equipment before, during and after patient care interventions. Ensure clinical treatment rooms are clean and well stocked. Stock ordering may be expected. Comply with national standards for healthcare cleanliness.
• Cleaning of touch point surfaces to prevent the spread of Covid 19 throughout the practice.
• Long term condition monitoring and NHS Health check screening.
• Have a basic level of computer literacy including the ability to use emails.
• Accurate and contemporaneous record keeping of all patient contact using appropriate templates and read coding, including recording QOF data and patient self-care advice.
• Notifying the GP/ nurse of any significant patient issues.
• Liaising with and assisting members of the administrative team.
• Act as a Chaperone when requested.

Confidentiality

While 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 implement and lead on a full range of promotion and management of 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 National standards for healthcare cleanliness 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 specimen process including collection, labelling, handling, use of correct and clean containers, storage and transport arrangements, responsible for personal hand hygiene, correct use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), 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, monitoring 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 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 where appropriate, 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 managers, undertaking periodic infection control training (minimum twice annually), waste management, including collection, handling, segregation, container management, storage and collection, decontamination control procedures, management and training, and equipment maintenance, maintenance of sterile environments, demonstrate due regard for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults.

Equality and diversity

The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers, and colleagues, to include: acting in a way that recognises 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 that is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights. 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, completion of annual mandatory training modules.

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 recognise 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 accordingly.

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.

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.

NOTE: This job description was accurate at the time of its compilation. However, changes are frequent in general practice and post-holders are expected to be flexible and to agree to reasonable changes from time to time once these have been discussed with the post holder.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Qualified to NVQ level 2 in Health & Social Care
• Qualified to NVQ level 3

Knowledge & Skills

• Good interpersonal & communications skills
• Experience with using TPP Systemone computer system
• Phlebotomy skills including near patient testing for INR, Blood glucose & cholesterol

Experience

• Experience of working within a nursing/ clinical team
• Experience in working in primary care
• Working in a GP practice setting

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.