Healthcare Assistant - ENT Outpatients

Job overview

An opportunity has arisen for a Health care assistant to join our dynamic and friendly Ear, Nose and Throat Outpatient Department. The candidate will be required to take on board new skills and knowledge, and have a sensitive approach towards, patients, staff, visitors and colleagues. You will be expected to use your own initiative and work alongside the existing team members, including our medical team.

We are a patient focused service and a dedicated team that offer a variety of treatments and procedures and consultations among which are: caring for patients with Ear, Nose and Throat problems including Head and Neck cancers. The main role will be to chaperone in clinics and ensure the departments runs well.

Main duties of the job

General duties will include chaperoning patients during clinic consultations and treatments.

Preparing clinic rooms and house-keeping duties

Acting as a co-ordinator on the arrival of patients to the department

Liaising with other wards and departments, as required

Taking messages, telephoning patients and making appointments using current IT systems.

We require a reliable, motivated, enthusiastic person who will be sensitive and caring.

Have good numeracy, literacy and I.T skills.

Able to work on own initiative, as well as in a team

Willing to work flexible hours over a 7 day period and to work across sites, as the service dictates.

Sites are mainly Royal Blackburn hospital, St Peters health center, Burnley.

As an organization we are moving to seven-day services,  you will be expected be flexible and to work across sites as needed.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

MAIN DUTIES

• Responsible for the tidiness and cleanliness of all clinical areas, including waiting areas and stock rooms.
• Carry out errands between departments, answering telephones and taking messages.
• Prepare and set up clinics and re-stock as necessary.
• Chaperoning patients as required.
• Carry out duties assigned to him/her by qualified staff.
• Liaise closely with other members of the clinic team to ensure that the clinics are conducted efficiently and effectively.
• Welcome patients into clinic waiting areas, ensuring that they have booked in, and provide information and advice as requested.
• Assist with the care of patients, their relatives and friends, directing them to other departments as necessary.
• Maintain any records relating to the patient's visit as requested by medical or nursing staff.
• Assist with the observation and collection of specimens. Test urine.
• Report to qualified staff any changes in the patient's condition that require nursing intervention.
• Liaise with wards and departments as required.
• Assist with the effective and economic use of clinical supplies and ensure all equipment is used and decontaminated in a proper manner.
• After adequate structured training take blood pressures and chart on patients  conditions.
• Ensure that patients requiring ambulance transport are taken/directed to the appropriate waiting areas and that the Ambulance Officer is aware of their presence.
• Ensure that the patients/carers understand the doctor’s instructions.
• Assist with the booking arrangements for patients who require immediate or planned admission by liaison with those wards, hospitals and departments as required.
• Assist with the taking and charting of temperature, pulse, and respiration.
• Be conversant with the resuscitation procedure and ensure that this is updated on an annual basis.
• Ensure that training has been received regarding manual handling and handling procedures prior to practice and avoid risk of injury to self and patients.
• Under the guidance of the Nurse in Charge undertake some clerical duties.
• You may be required to work across specialties covering clinics in ENT and Oral Surgery in Blackburn and Burnley in East Lancs Hospitals NHS Trust

The duties performed by the Health Care Assistant may vary from clinic to clinic.  However it is the responsibility of the qualified nursing staff to ensure that appropriate training is given in keeping with the role of Health care Assistant as defined at the beginning of this job description