About this role
Job summary
We are looking for 2 GP Assistants to join our Copeland Alliance PCN. We have 2 full-time positions available; however, we will consider part-time hours for the right candidates.
Main duties of the job
Our GP Assistants are responsible for providing clinical and administrative support within primary care, helping GPs and wider teams deliver safe, timely and compassionate patient services. The role coordinates urgent and routine workflows, applies judgement to resolve queries and supports effective communication across practice teams.
This role contributes to continuity of care, appropriate referral pathways and efficient service delivery through independent prioritisation, patient-facing support and clear guidance to colleagues.
About us
NCPC (North Cumbria Primary Care) was established in August 2019 in response to an increasingly fragile general practice provision within North Cumbria. NCPCs vision is to bring practices together to develop a sustainable, fully integrated primary care- built locally and delivered together.
The Copeland NCPC area consists of 3 major practices, Fellview Health Care, Lowther Medical Centre and Seascale Health Center as well as a shared PCN (Primary Care Network) which delivers services to patients across all 3 practices.
We are a not-for-profit company with all money we receive in funding and other business activities going towards supporting the organisation, our staff, and our services.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Perform clinical support activities including blood tests, ECGs, wound care and suture removal to provide timely care.
Manage the clinical inbox, appointment templates, annual leave and clinic setup to maintain availability.
Oversee booking accuracy and usage to support effective appointment allocation.
Schedule patient clinics and communicate appointment details to encourage and maximise attendance.
Coordinate cover, sickness, room and site changes to maintain daily services.
Triage digital patient requests alongside the surgery team to support timely action.
Complete delegated clinical tasks to support GPs and wider clinical staff.
Review scanning and coding outputs to route items requiring GP attention safely.
Coordinate overflow work between reception, clinical and administrative teams to maintain continuity.
Monitor incidents, compliance actions and operational risks to support safe services.
Advise colleagues across the practice on referral pathways to support correct processing.
Prioritise and sequence workloads by clinical urgency to support timely service delivery.
Apply adaptive judgement to resolve difficult clinical and administrative queries appropriately.
Apply practice procedures, NHS requirements and legislation to maintain compliant working.
Escalate or reroute unexpected matters to protect patient care and service delivery.
Handle sensitive patient and staff interactions discreetly to support constructive resolution.
Implement small audits and workflow refinements to improve local performance.
Guide colleagues within the roles recognised area to support consistent working practices.
Undertake any other duties as reasonably required to support the organisation.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Level 2 qualification, care certificate is required
Knowledge
Essential
- Detailed understanding of primary care clinical procedures, including venepuncture, ECGs, wound care and suture removal.
- Understanding of infection prevention, clinical information handling and relevant patient-care standards.
- Understanding of general practice procedures for delegated clinical tasks, patient follow-up and care-related administration.
- Understanding of confidentiality, accurate patient record keeping and relevant NHS requirements.
- Understanding of referral pathways, digital patient-request workflows and escalation arrangements within primary care.
- Understanding of appropriate approaches to sensitive or emotive patient interactions.
Experience
Essential
- Significant experience of delivering patient-facing clinical support, including delegated tasks and urgent procedures.
- Demonstrable experience of undertaking delegated procedures, including blood tests, ECGs and patient observations.
- Demonstrable experience of independently prioritising clinical and administrative workloads and resolving difficult queries within recognised escalation routes.
- Demonstrable experience of triaging digital patient requests and coordinating safe workflows across clinical, reception and administrative teams.
- Demonstrable experience of communicating sensitively and effectively with people in upsetting or emotive situations.
Skills
Essential
- Developed skill in applying clinical procedures, including venepuncture, ECGs, wound care and suture removal.
- Developed skill in resolving difficult clinical and administrative queries using adaptive judgement and appropriate escalation.
- Developed skill in prioritising and coordinating clinical and administrative workflows across teams.
- Developed skill in communicating clearly and sensitively with colleagues and patients and providing clear guidance to varied audiences.
Other Requirements
Essential
- Experience of working within challenging healthcare environments
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.
Employer details
Employer name
Lowther Medical Centre
Address
Copeland Alliance PCN
Queen Street Medical Practice
149 Queen Street
Whitehaven
Cumbria
CA28 7BA
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.lowthermedical.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)