Job summary
- Main area
- Pharmacy
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 3
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 282-SB1349
- Employer
- The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- The Royal Marsden Chelsea
- Town
- Chelsea
- Salary
- £30,546 - £32,207 Per Annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 31/03/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Senior Rotational Pharmacy Assistant
NHS AfC: Band 3
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen within the busy Inpatient Dispensary at the Chelsea site of the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust for a band 3 Senior Pharmacy Assistant. This is a full time position working within the Dispensary, providing support to the Dispensary Manager and senior technical staff in the day to day running of the service. Duties include dispensing, ordering, stock control, and monitoring of pharmacy dispensary processes. The successful candidate will also work within the pharmacy stores area, assisting with ward stock top-ups, ordering medication from wholesalers, and liaising with the multpilinary team across the Trust. The post holder will report to the Dispensary Manager and the Stores Manager. Applicants must possess good communication and interpersonal skills, basic computer skills including Microsoft Office, flexibility within the role and the ability to work effectively as part of a team. The successful candidate must be able to participate in early and late weekends shifts as well as weekend and bank holiday rotas. The role involves some manual handling and may occasionally require cross-site working. Full training will be provided for all aspects of the role. This post offers excellent development opportunities, and we are looking for motivated individuals who are eager to grow and contribute to the future of the service.
Main duties of the job
- To support the inpatient dispensary and pharmacy stores on site with provision of a comprehensive dispensary and distribution service i.e. dispensing, ordering and distribution of stock medicines and assist with other duties when required.
- Take an active role in accurately dispensing medicines to provide an efficient and timely service and to participate with any other related duties other areas of pharmacy.
- Assist the pharmacy team (under the supervision of a registered pharmacy professional) in providing a high -quality service to patients, customers, and pharmacy staff.
- To provide a pharmacy service to the Medical Day Unit, Chelsea
Working for our organisation
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is a world-leading cancer centre. Our role is to offer our patients the best cancer care available anywhere in the world, and to continue to make a global contribution to finding better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer. We employ over 4,500 staff in a diverse range of careers including nursing, medical, science, radiography, pharmacy, occupational therapy, finance and administrative services. We have two hospitals – one in Chelsea, London, and one in Sutton, Surrey – as well as a Medical Daycare Unit in Kingston Hospital.
At The Royal Marsden, we deal with cancer every day, so we understand how valuable life is. When people entrust their lives to us, they have the right to demand the very best. That's why the pursuit of excellence lies at the heart of everything we do.
At the heart of the hospital is our dedicated team. We offer a stimulating and dynamic working environment, a wide range of staff benefits, learning and development opportunities and clear career pathways. There are opportunities to work flexibly across a range of areas and specialities and we welcome flexible working requests from point of hire to support employees work life balance. We are looking for employees who aspire to excellence, share our values and can play a crucial role in our on-going achievements.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For further information please refer to the Job Description and Personal Specification
- To interpret and accurately dispense prescriptions and ward pharmacy requisitions’ ensuring the work is carried out accurately, safely, and efficiently following current standard operating procedures of the department
- To accurately supply and dispense controlled drugs (on request from clinical areas and for discharge prescriptions) when required, in accordance with departmental procedures and relating legislation regarding record keeping, storage and transportation of controlled drugs.
- To attend to the dispensary hatch as required dealing with patients and members of staff and taking in prescriptions, requisitions, deliveries etc. and processing as per local procedures.
- To ensure the telephone is answered promptly and politely where appropriately throughout the working day:
-Deal with query / information and respond promptly.
-Relay completed and accurate information.
- Recognise self -limitations and refer to an appropriate person. - To ensure medication requiring delivery is sent to individual patient home using a suitable method e.g. courier when required, considering safe transportation of medication, storage requirements and surgery.
- To ensure that adequate supply of medicines emergency boxes and kits are available in the dispensary and accurate records are maintained daily.
Person specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential criteria
- GCSE level (Grade A-C in English and Maths) or Numeracy and Literacy functional skills level 2 (or equivalent)
- • NVQ Level 2 in Pharmacy Services or relevant GPhC accredited Training Programme equivalent to Level 2
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of working in a Pharmacy environment
- Experience of preparing & dispensing prescriptions
- Experience of ordering and stock management
- Working with and liaising with other healthcare professionals
Desirable criteria
- Previous work experience in hospital pharmacy
Skills Abilities/knowledge
Essential criteria
- Ability to organise workload and work as part of a team
- Good communication and interpersonal skills (written and verbal)
- Quality-oriented; strives for continuous improvement
- Excellent customer service skills
- Computer literate
- Be physical fit to be able to undertake lifting to put stock away and for carrying orders to wards / departments
Other Requirements
Essential criteria
- Professional appearance and demeanour
- Adaptable to change
- Prepared to take responsibility, and able to work without direct supervision
- Calm under pressure, maintaining accuracy and attention to detail
- Reliable with a good attendance record
- Compassionate, Pioneering, Collaborative and determined.
- Supportive of colleagues and other NHS staff to encourage best practice in relation to medicines.
- Able to work effectively in both the dispensary and stores areas, with the flexibility to adapt to the changing needs of the role.
- Excellent timekeeping
Desirable criteria
- Able to work at all sites if required to do so and to be flexible to meet the needs of the role.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Rudyard Lewis
- Job title
- Dispensary Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
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