General Practice Assistant; GPA

The General Practice Assistant (GPA) will support the clinical staff with the smooth running of clinics by performing the more routine administration and clinical tasks, on behalf of the clinical team, freeing up their time for better patient care and continuity. A sound professional working relationship will be required with all the staff working within the Practice and the PCN. The role requires high levels of organisation and excellent interpersonal skills.

The successful candidate will be proactive, have excellent organisational skills and be able to prioritise their own and others workloads to enable them to work under pressure and meet deadlines effectively.

Effective communication skills and teamwork are crucial in a multidisciplinary environment, helping ensure the quality and consistency of the services the practice provides. The post requires a pleasant and approachable manner with the ability to exercise tact and discretion as well as being able to use initiative.

The Practice will support continuing education and professional development in the form of attendance at study days, courses and with in-house training, as deemed appropriate for the benefit of both the individual and the Practice.

Canterbury Medical Practice's priority is to provide the highest standard of clinical care to the 24,000+ patients registered with the Practice as well as those from other practices who are seen in our additional clinics. We aim to work collaboratively with other healthcare providers and support organisations, to enable more patients to be treated in a primary care setting, closer to home.

We embrace a continuous improvement ethos and strive to ensure that we are available to patients when they need a consultation. We have a holistic approach to patient care and a strong training ethos within the practice with a team of medical and non-medical educators as well as opportunities for non-clinical staff to develop and progress.

provide high quality clinical care

act with integrity and complete confidentiality

be courteous, approachable, friendly and accommodating

ensure we provide safe and effective services and environments

to put patient care at the centre of what we do

to maintain a motivated and skilled workforce

use feedback, monitoring and auditing to continuously improve our services

treat all patients and staff with dignity, respect and honesty

The following are the core responsibilities of the GP Assistant. There may be on occasion a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels. The role will require an undertaking and participation of supporting the clinical team. Although not an exhaustive list, the GPA duties will include:

Performing venepuncture in accordance with practice protocols

Obtaining patient consent for the collection of a blood sample

Maintaining accurate patient records on EMIS

Ensuring samples are correctly labelled, packages, stored and sent to the laboratory in a timely manner

Taking blood pressures, urine analysis in accordance with practice protocols

Support with the NHS health checks

Ensuring medication reviews are arranged as per practice protocols

Deal with all prescription related enquiries in a timely manner. Record and report adverse effects accurately and appropriately. Reviewing discharge summaries and other documents with medication changes and transferring to patient medical records

Ensure accurate coding of data on EMIS

Extracting all information from clinical letters that need coding and adding to notes

Sorting all clinical post and prioritising for the GP in terms of actions. Signposting post to others such as ACP, nurse etc

Supporting clinicians with medical reports

Liaising with outside agencies i.e. district nurses

To keep up to date with the practice policies and procedures

Any other duties commensurate with the role

• Health & Social Care Qualification

• Broad knowledge of General Practice
• Good interpersonal and communication skills
• Display good initiative and judgement consummate to the role
• Highly organised and excellent attention to detail
• Time management and ability to prioritise workload
• Flexible, ability to step in to support other team members when required
• Polite and confident
• Enthusiastic and motivated
• Adaptable and a good team player
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines
• Experience working in a primary care setting
• Understanding and knowledge of healthcare provision in GP practices, QOF, PCN and enhanced services
• Good clinical system IT knowledge of EMIS

• Ability to travel between CMP sites

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.