Health Care Assistant - Minimum 16 hours (More Hours Available)

NHS; Thame; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 29,000; Part time

Job summary

A healthcare provider in Thame seeks a part-time Healthcare Assistant to join their supportive team. The role involves providing patient care, assisting with clinical duties, and supporting disease management. Ideal candidates should have a relevant qualification in health and social care and the ability to remain calm under pressure. This position offers a chance to make a meaningful difference in patient care and uphold professional standards.

Benefits

NHS Pension

Free parking

Regular protected training time

Qualifications

• Excellent communicator both verbally and in writing.
• Experience of following procedures, guidelines and protocols.
• Experience of working in a healthcare environment.

Responsibilities

• Provide hands-on patient care and support the clinical team.
• Assist in the delivery of chronic disease management.
• Participate in healthcare screenings and patient assessments.

Skills

Patient-focused

Good communication skills

Ability to remain calm under pressure

Education

NVQ in Health and Social Care

Phlebotomy qualification

Job description

Job Summary

Part‑time Healthcare Assistance (Minimum 16 hours). More hours available for the right candidate. Due to retirement, we are looking for an enthusiastic, dedicated and compassionate Health Care Assistant to join our supportive team. Our team includes 4 HCAs (and a phlebotomist), 3 nurse practitioners, 5 practice nurses, 10 GPs, and a wide multidisciplinary team including a clinical pharmacist, paramedic, physician associate and social prescribers.

The Successful Applicant Will:

• Be patient‑focused and motivated to go the extra mile to help others.
• Ideally hold an NVQ in Health and Social Care or a Care Certificate.
• Be able to work collaboratively with colleagues and adapt to changing healthcare priorities.
• Use good judgement while maintaining professional boundaries and limitations.
• Be able to remain calm under pressure.
• Ideally have or wish to develop advanced skills such as wound care, diabetic foot assessment and NHS Health Checks.
• Support enhanced patient access, including occasional Saturday mornings or vaccination clinics (enhanced pay rates apply).

Main Duties of the Job

You will play an important role in supporting the clinical team, combining traditional HCA duties with opportunities to develop new clinical skills. You will provide hands‑on patient care, assist in the delivery of chronic disease management and contribute to the smooth running of the practice.

Duties Include:

• Phlebotomy
• Injections (according to training and protocol)
• ECG recording
• Simple dressings / wound care
• Annual review (QOF) checks including BP, pulse and lifestyle advice
• NHS Health Checks
• Urinalysis
• Ordering supplies
• Chaperoning
• Assisting with procedures such as coil fitting
• Other duties in accordance with protocol and as appropriately trained

About Us

We are a friendly and growing GP practice with over 13,750 patients. Rated ‘Good’ by the CQC (Outstanding for families), we use EMIS Web and pride ourselves on delivering high‑quality, patient‑centred care.

We describe our ethos as “Excellent Care by Working Together”. We have a daily coffee break to foster good working relationships, regular social events and protected whole‑practice training events to ensure that we develop as a cohesive team.

Benefits also include NHS Pension, free parking and regular protected training time. Above all, we offer applicants the chance to make a meaningful difference in patient care.

Details

• Date posted: 03 November 2025
• Pay scheme: Salary £26,500 to £28,500 a year pro rata depending on experience
• Contract: Permanent
• Working pattern: Part‑time, compressed hours (minimum 16 hours per week up to 36)
• Reference number: A4806‑25‑0000
• Job location: Thame Health Centre, East Street, Thame, Oxfordshire, OX9 3JZ

Job Description

JOB TITLE: HEALTHCARE ASSISTANT

REPORTS TO: Nurse Team Lead

HOURS: Minimum 16 hours per week (up to 36)

Provide appropriate care to patients of all ages, in conjunction with other members of the practice nurse team and medical staff. Carry out investigations and treatments as part of evidence‑based care plans and in accordance with practice policy and protocols. Maintain a safe and effective practice at all times and bring any deficits in care to the attention of the Nursing Lead so that they can be addressed. Participate in team meetings in order to enhance communication and improve patient care. Working under the supervision of trained nurses and strictly in accordance with specific practice guidelines and protocols, the HCA will assist the practice clinical team in the provision and delivery of prescribed programmes of patient care. Mentorship role for junior HCAs.

Clinical Responsibilities

• Liaise with other health professionals in the practice to ensure integrated care.
• Ensure comprehensive records of patient contacts are kept and that written and computerised notes are kept up to date.
• Participate in delivery of enhanced services as required, ensuring that all information is adequately captured according to agreed procedures.
• Ensure that current evidence‑based approaches to patient care are standard practice.
• Adhere to high standards of infection control measures when collecting and handling laboratory specimens, disposing of waste materials, dealing with blood and body fluid spillages and reporting and treating sharps injuries.
• Undertake diagnostic, health screening and health surveillance investigations as requested or directed by the medical team or as part of an evidence‑based protocol.
• Undertake annual training and demonstrate competency in anaphylaxis and resuscitation techniques.
• Assist in the assessment, surveillance and promotion of patients’ health and well‑being.
• Ability to self‑motivate, organise and prioritise workload.

Clinical Duties

• Phlebotomy
• Capillary blood samples
• ECG recording
• Chaperoning duties
• NHS health checks
• HCA QOF reviews
• Blood pressure reviews
• Taking of and recording vital signs
• Ambulatory and home blood pressure monitoring, including organising appointments, recording and saving the results
• Assisting coil fits; preparation of equipment / completion of records
• Glucose tolerance tests
• Helicobacter breath tests
• Urinalysis
• Ordering supplies including drugs
• Assisting with the collection and collation of data on needs relating to health and well‑being
• Fitting event monitor
• Administration of influenza vaccine, pneumovax and vitamin B12 injections
• Dementia screening / memory clinic
• Simple dressings
• Learning disability health checks
• Suture / clip removal

Education and Training

• Develop scope of professional practice in accordance with professional guidelines.
• Completion of Care Certificate or NVQ in care; this knowledge must be regularly updated.
• Update training for influenza vaccination administration.
• Completion of mandatory training.
• Support the development of the nursing team and the wider practice through participation in regular audits.
• Acknowledge own limitations.
• Participate in an annual appraisal.

Professional Responsibilities

• Delegate to others with appropriate skills, knowledge and competence.
• Assist in skill development and share best practice as part of initiatives to develop the nursing team and enhance wider service provision in the practice.
• Ensure resources are utilised cost‑effectively and contribute to identifying alternative, more cost‑effective resources.
• Act as a resource to the general public, patients within the healthcare system and their families, as well as carers.
• Attendance of practice nurse team and other practice meetings.
• Comply with all Practice and OCCG protocols, procedures, guidelines and policies.
• Wear a uniform and name badge at all times supplied by the Practice.
• Participate in the writing of protocols relevant to the role.

Confidentiality

In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately. In the performance of the duties outlined in this Job Description, the post‑holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential. Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.

Health & Safety

• Assist in promoting and maintaining self and others’ health, safety and security as defined in the practice Health & Safety Policy.
• Use personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines.
• Identify risks involved in work activities and undertake activities in a way that manages those risks.
• Make effective use of training to update knowledge and skills.
• Use appropriate infection control procedures, maintain work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards.
• Report potential risks identified.

Equality and Diversity

• Support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, including recognising the importance of peoples’ rights and interpreting them consistently with practice procedures, policies and current legislation.
• Respect privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues.
• Behave in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, non‑judgemental and respects their circumstances, feelings, priorities and rights.

Personal/Professional Development

Participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, including an annual individual performance review, maintaining a record of personal and/or professional development and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.

Quality

• Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk.
• Assess own performance and take accountability for all actions, directly or under supervision.
• Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and suggesting ways to improve and enhance team performance.
• Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patient needs.
• Effectively manage own time, workload and resources.
• Maintain concise accurate records both in written and IT formats.

Communication

• Communicate effectively with other team members.
• Communicate effectively with patients and carers.
• Recognise the need for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly.

Liaison

Work closely with reception and administrative staff to ensure the smooth running of the practice, reporting any problems encountered and ensuring everyone is aware of the different roles within the nursing team. Establish and maintain good liaison with other surgeries and healthcare agencies, as well as other organisations that contribute to the care of patients.

Meetings

Attend and contribute to various practice meetings as requested, cascading information to appropriate team members as necessary. Attending is expected unless on annual, study or sick leave.

Research

Co‑operate and participate as required in any research projects within the practice.

Changes to Jobs

All staff are expected to undertake reasonable additional duties and responsibilities in order to meet the evolving service needs of the practice. Changes are made in consultation with staff. Variations to job descriptions can be common and do not by themselves justify a reconsideration of the post’s grading. Provide cover for absent colleagues if possible.

Person Specification

Essential: Excellent communicator both verbally and in writing; basic computer skills with EMIS; good team member; sensitive to confidentiality; ability to remain calm under pressure; adapt to changing priorities; identify learning needs.

Desirable: Ability to remain calm under pressure and in fraught circumstances; common sense; adaptability to changing priorities; identify learning needs.

Experience

Essential: Experience of following procedures, guidelines and protocols and awareness of professional boundaries.

Desirable: Experience of working in primary care, ideally in a GP practice; experience of fulfilling wider HCA duties including injections, ECGs and dressings.

Qualifications

Essential: Qualified in phlebotomy.

Desirable: NVQ3 in Health and Social Care or Care Certificate or equivalent knowledge and experience.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and a submission for Disclosure to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly CRB) will be required to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer Details

Employer name: The Rycote Practice

Address: Thame Health Centre, East Street, Thame, Oxfordshire, OX9 3JZ

Website: https://www.therycotepractice.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)