Health Care Assistant - Outpatients London, England
Job description
HCA advert Band 3 Outpatient clinic
The Whittington Hospital is an Integrated Care Organisation providing a seamless transition from Hospital to community care.
This means we can provide better coordinated care for our patients.
Our aim is to deliver the best experience for our patients with care designed around their individual needs that’s as joined up as possible between our health services in the community and The Whittington Hospital.
To help us achieve our ambitions we are seeking to recruit a well-organised, punctual, reliable, trustworthy & flexible Healthcare Assistant (HCA) Band 3 for the Outpatient clinic.
The post provides an excellent opportunity for personal development. Desirable or willing to develop phlebotomy and basic wound care.
You will be enthusiastic, motivated and dedicated to providing only the very best in patient care and clinic delivery in a diverse setting. You will be able to work confidently in a team.
Essentially you will have previous experience in a healthcare role or have an experience in a hospital/clinical setting. Further healthcare education (NVQ level 3 or equivalent) is essential.
You should have excellent communication skills and good IT skills are a must, together with a commitment to being a part of a compassionate and caring service.
Outpatients is a predominantly 08:30-18:00 service, but this varies in different clinics.
The post holder is a member of the outpatient’s team who works under the supervision of registered nurses and will carry out basic nursing duties
They will work collaboratively with the multi-disciplinary team in the delivery of patient care following hospital policy and procedures.
They will assist in housekeeping duties.
They will support registered nurses in the provision of a safe and caring environment. Assist with the induction, supervision and training of Band 2 Health Care Assistants.
The Band 3 Health Care Assistant will demonstrate a level of skill and understanding which enables them to undertake specific tasks delegated by the nurse in charge and in accordance with relevant procedures, guidelines and policies. S/he will undertake both routine and specially identified tasks for which they have been trained and assessed as competent.
A band 3 Health Care Assistant will be expected to carry out all of the following activities depending upon the requirements of their clinical area. They may also be required to undertake other patient care-related activities not listed here. Training or instruction will be provided. Continuing development will be achieved within a time frame agreed with their manager and with reference to Whittington Health strategy: attendance at local induction programme, developmental study days and e-learning.
Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.
For more information, please access the following link: https://www.whittington.nhs.uk/
MAIN DUTIES
Communication
Communicate clearly, effectively and appropriately with the multi-disciplinary team, patients and their families/visitors/carers, recognising their needs for alternative methods of communication.
- Respond appropriately to queries, take phone messages and pass on written and verbal information to patients.
- Provide relevant information to patients/families/visitors/carers and colleagues
- Complete documentation accurately and contribute to reports of patient’s activity and progress.
- Accept constructive feedback from colleagues
- Give constructive feedback on patient care and activities to relevant healthcare professionals.
- Participate in discussion about patient care and departmental development including team meetings.
- Maintain patient confidentiality at all times
- Maintain professional boundaries and working relationships with patients and colleagues.
- Record information and activities undertaken with patients in an accurate and timely fashion, ensuring your documentation is counter signed by the qualified nurse.
Understand own level of responsibility and accountability in relation to trained staff.
- Identify own learning needs and produce a personal development plan in conjunction with the outpatient Sister/Charge Nurse
- Reflect on and analyse workplace experiences in order to develop own skills/abilities
- Assist with the induction and ongoing development of Band 2 Health Care Assistants and other support staff, acting as a role model.
- Participate in annual staff appraisal, staff development and in service training in line with the Knowledge and Skills Framework
- Attend Trust/local orientation programmes, mandatory training sessions and undertake e-learning training and any other annual updates deemed necessary by the Sister of Outpatients
- Take part in reflection and appropriate learning from practice, in order to maintain and develop competence and performance.
Assist in maintaining a clean environment that is conducive to safe practice
- Report any issues at work that may put health, safety and security of staff, patients and visitors at risk
- Summon immediate help for any emergency and take appropriate action to contain it
- Understand and implement the principles of Infection Control
- Work within own personal/professional limitations and seek help of others to maintain safe practice.
- Identify potential risks for all staff, patients/relatives/visitors/carers and assist with relevant incident reporting procedures using Datix
- Report any accidents to the nurse in charge and complete Datix as appropriate
- Clean patient equipment as required Decontaminate equipment in accordance with Trust/local policies and procedures and use appropriate documentation for same
- Handle and dispose of all bodily fluids in accordance with hospital policy.
- Ensure consultation rooms are prepared and fully stocked as necessary.
- Undertake administrative duties and clerical tasks associated with patient care to facilitate the smooth running of the department
- Maintain adequate levels of stock, equipment and materials and facilitate the efficient, effective use of resources. Report when availability falls below an acceptable level or standard
- Pass on constructive views and ideas for improving services to Sister/Charge Nurse
- Ability to use Patient Administration System(PAS) and Electronic Patient Records(EPR when launched) at a basic level, input and retrieve information when the needs arises
- Ensure a welcoming, caring and safe environment is provided for the patient and their family/visitor/carers
- Aware of and maintains required standard of care
- Take delegated responsibility for specifically identified tasks which facilitate smooth running of the department.
- Ensure that patient areas are kept clean and tidy
- Comply with Trust/local policies and procedures
