HCA @ Stour Surgery

Job summary

The post-holder is a Healthcare Assistant (HCA) with a special interest in frailty and dementia, working as an integral member of the Stour Community Outreach Team (SCOT). The HCA will provide high-quality, person-centered care to patients within the community, with a particular focus on supporting older, frail and housebound patients, including those living with dementia and complex health and social care needs. The post holder will work collaboratively with the wider practice multidisciplinary team and other health and social care professionals to promote independence, prevent deterioration and support patients to remain safely in their own homes wherever possible. The post holder will contribute to proactive and holistic care, working with families and carers, helping to coordinate care where appropriate. Working within their scope of practice and under appropriate clinical supervision, the HCA will undertake a range of clinical and preventative care activities including annual reviews, frailty assessments, care planning, clinical observations, phlebotomy, health checks and housebound vaccinations. The post holder will also identify and appropriately escalate concerns relating to changes in health, wellbeing, capacity and safeguarding. This role involves working as part of the practice multi-disciplinary team, delivering care within their scope of practice to the entitled patient population.

Main duties of the job

Working as part of SCOT, you will provide a mixture of planned and proactive care to our housebound and frail patients. This role will include:

- Undertaking annual reviews and health assessments for patients with frail and long-term conditions

- Completing frailty assessments and supporting personalised care planning

- Taking and recording clinical observations

- Undertaking blood tests for housebound patients

- Supporting dementia and frailty care, including working with patients, families and carers

- Identifying and escalating safeguarding concerns

- Identifying changes in patients health, wellbeing or social circumstances and escalating concerns appropriately

- Supporting care coordination and liaising with GPs, Nurses, community teams and other professionals

- Providing health promotion and preventative care

- Working collaboratively with the wider practice team to improve outcomes for our most vulnerable patients.

About us

Stour Surgery is a well-established, friendly GP practice based in Christchurch, Dorset serving over 10,500 patients. We are proud to provide a high standard of patient-centred care to our local community and are committed to delivering safe, accessible and responsive healthcare services.

We have a dedicated and experienced multidisciplinary team who work collaboratively to support one another and provide the best possible service for our patients. As a practice, we value teamwork, professionalism, kindness and continuous improvement, and we encourage staff at every level to contribute ideas and help shape the future of the practice.

If you are passionate about supporting older people and would like to be a part of a team that takes a proactive approach to frailty and dementia care, we would love to hear from you.

Job description Job responsibilities

The post-holder is a Healthcare Assistant (HCA) with a special interest in frailty and dementia, working as an integral member of the Stour Community Outreach Team (SCOT). The HCA will provide high-quality, person-centered care to patients within the community, with a particular focus on supporting older, frail and housebound patients, including those living with dementia and complex health and social care needs. The post holder will work collaboratively with the wider practice multidisciplinary team and other health and social care professionals to promote independence, prevent deterioration and support patients to remain safely in their own homes wherever possible. The post holder will contribute to proactive and holistic care, working with families and carers, helping to coordinate care where appropriate. Working within their scope of practice and under appropriate clinical supervision, the HCA will undertake a range of clinical and preventative care activities including annual reviews, frailty assessments, care planning, clinical observations, phlebotomy, health checks and housebound vaccinations. The post holder will also identify and appropriately escalate concerns relating to changes in health, wellbeing, capacity and safeguarding. This role involves working as part of the practice multi-disciplinary team, delivering care within their scope of practice to the entitled patient population. Primary key responsibilities The following are the core responsibilities of the Healthcare Assistant in delivering health services. 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. Work as an integral member of the SCOT team, providing person-centered care to frail, elderly, housebound and vulnerable patients within their own homes and community settings. b. Undertake annual reviews, health checks and assessments for patients with long-term conditions, frailty and other identified health needs, within their scope of practice. c. Undertake frailty assessments, identify changes in health, wellbeing and functional ability and appropriately escalate concerns where needed. d. Contribute to personalised care planning, supporting patients, families and carers to maintain independence and remain safely in their own homes wherever possible. e. Develop and maintain skills and knowledge in supporting patients living with dementia and frailty, adopting a compassionate, and holistic approach to care. f. Ensure clinical waste is removed from clinical areas and sharps bins replaced in accordance with the organisations IPC Policy m. Work within national and local protocols where these exist Undertake blood sampling, obtaining bloods samples during home visits, ensuring specimens are correctly labelled, recorded and prepared for onward transportation. g. Undertake clinical observations and other appropriate clinical assessments within their level of competence, recognising and escalating abnormal findings appropriately. h. Identify and appropriately escalate concerns relating to safeguarding, neglect, abuse, deterioration in health, capacity or social circumstances, in accordance with practice policies and procedures. i. j. Deliver and assist clinical staff in the provision of treatment, preventative care, health promotion, long-term condition management and patient education Be an integral part of the general practice team k. Act as a chaperone as required l. n. Be aware of your duties and responsibilities regarding current legislation and adhere to practice policies and procedures on Safeguarding Adults and Safeguarding Children o. Recognise the boundaries of their practice and know when and to whom patients should be referred p. Support in the delivery of enhanced services and other service requirements q. Undertake all mandatory training and induction programmes r. Contribute to and embrace the spectrum of clinical governance s. Maintain a clean, tidy, effective working area at all times t. Attend 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 Wider responsibilities In addition to the primary responsibilities, the Healthcare Assistant has the following wider responsibilities: a. Participate in any audits as directed b. Participate in local initiatives to enhance service delivery and patient care c. Support and participate in shared learning

Person Specification

Qualifications Essential

Has completed the Care Certificate or equivalent qualification and as detailed within CQCs GP mythbuster 57: Health Care Assistants in General Practice Proof of any courses or training Qualifications commensurate with the post Experience of working with the general public Experience of working in a healthcare setting Has worked in a primary care environment Understanding of infection prevention and control measures Clinical knowledge and skills Essential Desirable Able to perform venepuncture Ability to undertake patient medicals, including height, weight, BP, pulse and BMI etc. Ability to work within own scope of practice and understanding when to refer to colleagues Clinical IT system user skills and thew ability to record accurate clinical notes Broad knowledge of clinical governance Understanding of safeguarding adults and children Chaperone procedure Understand the requirement for PSDs and associated policy. Personal qualities Demonstrate personal accountability, emotional resilience and work well under pressure. Ability to follow legal, ethical and clinical policy and procedure Knowledge of and ability to work to key policies and procedures Competent in the use of MS Office and Outlook Ability to use own initiative, discretion, and sensitivity Problem solver with the ability to process information accurately and effectively, interpreting data as required Able to get along with people from all backgrounds and communities, respecting lifestyles and diversity Ability to work as a team member and autonomously Excellent communication skills and effective in communicating and understanding patient needs Good organisational skills Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations Commitment to ongoing professional development Problem solver with the ability to process information accurately and effectively, interpreting data as required Effectively utilise resources Punctual and committed to supporting the team effort High levels of integrity and loyalty Clear, polite telephone manner Flexible and cooperative Motivated Other requirements/wider responsibilities Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check Occupational Health clearance

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details Employer name Stour Surgery

Address 49 Barrack Road

Christchurch

Dorset

BH23 1PA

United Kingdom

Employer's website https://www.stoursurgery.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)