Health Care Assistant / Research Assistant

Are you looking for an interesting and varied role within primary care? If the answer is yes, look no further. An exciting opportunity has arisen within our Practice Team for an experienced HCA / Research Assistant. The post is 30 hours per week based across both sites, with 6 hours per week dedicated to research work. Some Saturday morning and early evening work will be required.

As a Health Care Assistant, your work will focus on the pro-active clinical support of long-term conditions as well as assessment, screening, phlebotomy, preventative care and audit. As a research assistant, you will be joining one of the most active research primary care organisations in the North-West, with the number and complexity of studies we offer, increasing year-on-year.

Our staff have fantastic facilities, and we offer access to the NHS Fleet car scheme, Gym contribution and birthday gift cards to all our staff as part of the rewards for your hard work and loyalty. Primary care is challenging and we value committed staff.

We are looking for a candidate who has a passion for patient care and has experience of administrative duties. The research hours will involve a mixture of clinical and administrative work. You will need to be a team player, be able to demonstrate excellent communication skills and have sound IT & keyboard skills. You will have a minimum of two years caring experience; although not essential, a broader experience of primary care would be really helpful.

Our Practice is based over two sites close to the Yorkshire / Lancashire border in Colne and Earby. We have a patient list of over 15,250 patients. We are a training practice and have a strong emphasis on working as a team to provide high quality patient-focussed care. The practice receives significant funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) as well as other stakeholders. Since commencing research in 2018, the number of staff involved, the amount of investment and the number and complexity of studies we offer have increased year-on-year.

We have often appeared in the top 10 recruiters in the North West and were one of the first 11 regional Research Hubs with funding by an NIHR grant of a designated workspace and state-of-the-art equipment. Offering all patients opportunities to participate in research has been flagged as a priority for UK healthcare through publications such as the NHS constitution (2023) and the NHS 10 Year Plan (2025), and the NIHR is planning a 60% increase in research outside hospital settings over the next 3 years.

We are keen to develop new ways of working, and see our Nursing and Care team as having a major role in the future of our wider practice team. We take an active role in the Pendle East Primary Care Network and work closely with this wider team within our group to ensure we can provide successful candidates with the support, development and experience they need for a successful career in primary health care.

The Role is 30 hours per week, based across both sites. It is expected that 6 hours of the role per week will be committed to research.

• Performing routine clinical tasks such as ECGs, Health checks, Holistic, frailty and respiratory care.
• Processing and management of laboratory samples as requested by GPs & Nurses.
• Preparing and maintaining clinical areas, ensuring they are clean and well-stocked.
• Undertaking NHS Health Checks.
• Assisting in the assessment and surveillance of patients' health and well-being.

• Performing standard HCA duties as needed for patients enrolled in studies e.g. phlebotomy, height, weight, BP.
• Attending study initiation visits where needed for training.
• Assisting patients in completing structured questionnaires regarding their health, and confirming their interest in study participation.
• Scanning documents, management of electronic files, printing & filing of documents, printing posters for display in waiting rooms.
• Communicating with external & internal staff in person, by e-mail or teams as needed to arrange meetings, complete study logs to raise awareness of studies amongst the wider clinical team.
• Any other research related duties as requested by the GP research lead.

• Recognised or transferable training in phlebotomy or venepuncture.
• Knowledge of medical terminology.

• Able to provide quality care.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Strong IT skills and experience with electronic patient records.
• Organisational skills with attention to detail.
• Knowledge of the EMIS Web clinical system.
• Willing to undertake any necessary training to fulfil the role.

• Experience of working in primary care or a healthcare setting.
• Experience of working with the general public.
• Sound administrative skills.
• Experience with Microsoft applications.

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.

£12.51 to £13.60 an hour dependent on experience.