Job summary
- Main area
- Pharmacy
- Grade
- Band 5
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Monday - Friday core hours 8.45am - 5pm also late, weekend and bank holiday working)
- Job ref
- 411-MED-26-7922297
- Employer
- Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Alder Hey Children's Hospital
- Town
- Liverpool
- Salary
- £32,073 - £39,043 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 03/07/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Medicines Management Pharmacy Technician
Band 5
Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is a provider of specialist health care and has a presence in community outreach sites and, in collaboration with other providers, our clinicians help deliver care closer to patients’ homes by holding local clinics at locations from Cumbria to Shropshire, in Wales and the Isle of Man. The Trust also provides inpatient care for children with complex mental health needs at our Sunflower House building newly relocated, and opened on the hospital site.
We currently have more than 4,000 staff working across our community and hospital sites. We’re also a teaching and training hospital providing education and training to around 540 medical and over 500 nursing and allied health professional students each year.
As black and minority ethnic (BME) employees are currently under-represented in this area, we particularly welcome applications from members of our BME communities. All appointments will be made on merit.
You can expect a warm welcome at Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, our staff are friendly and welcoming. We listen to each other and work together to embed our Trusts values and behaviours. At Alder Hey we appreciate our staff and reward them with an outstanding benefits package including:
- Great flexible working opportunities
- Lease car scheme and Home Electronics Scheme
- Generous annual leave and pension scheme
- Extensive staff health and well-being programmes
Job overview
Alder Hey in the park is one of the world’s leading children’s hospitals recognised as a Centre of Excellence for children with cancer, cardiac, spinal and brain disease, providing specialist treatment for children in the UK and from around the world.
Main duties of the job
Providing an efficient medicines management service to designated ward areas, with the particular emphasis on carrying out medicine reconciliation on patient admission, providing inpatient medication supplies as required, and preparing medication for patient discharge
Ensuring the best use of patients own medicines to reduce medicines wastage.
Supporting the multidisciplinary team in your designated ward area to ensure the safe and effective supply of medicines
Liaises with: Pharmacists, Nurses, Pharmacy Technical Staff, Doctors, Other Healthcare Professionals both internal and external to the Trust.
To be responsible for providing a safe, efficient, and accurate ward-based pharmacy service
- Complete medicines reconciliation for patients accurately and safely on admission
- To safely dispense and issue prescriptions to patients.
- To provide drug stock supplies to wards and departments using the automated drug storage systems where available.
- To review and supply medicines to patients on discharge from hospital
- To carry out final accuracy checks of clinically screened prescriptions dispensed by others.
- To provide complex information and advice to patients and carers on the use and supply of their medicines.
- To support and deliver departmental training packages to student pharmacy technicians, pharmacy technicians, Pre-registration pharmacists and pharmacy assistants.
Working for our organisation
Alder Hey Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is a stand alone paediatric hospital located on the outskirts of Liverpool with a national reputation for excellence. A brilliant team of pharmacist and technicians provide pharmacy services to a wide range of paediatric surgical and medical specialties. The pharmacy teams are innovative, caring and compassionate and work well together.
We are committed to staff development and value our Technician’s dedication and hard work.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Provide a Medicines Management service to designated ward areas, which involves following relevant Medicines Management procedures to deliver the service in a safe and effective manner.
Assess the suitability of patients own drugs for use when brought into the trust. ie-: Correct drug and directions on label, expiry date and storage conditions, re-labelling if necessary and gaining patient consent for the use or destruction of medication brought into hospital.
Initiate supply of non-stock items for one-stop dispensing ie-: ordering medication labelled ready for discharge when appropriate and ensure that sufficient supplies of medication are available for each patient for their inpatient stay and comply with discharge arrangements.
Check for prescribing errors within the limits compatible with technician training and competence using own knowledge and relevant supporting literature bringing any discrepancies to the attention of a Pharmacist.
Be an accredited accuracy checking technician participating in the dispensing and final accuracy checking of prescriptions and dispensed medication at ward level and within the in-patient and out-patient dispensaries
Co-ordinate and plan the discharge medication, bringing together patients own drugs and newly dispensed items, discharge times and intervention data.
Respond promptly to any request via phone or bleep relating to patients discharge to ensure a rapid and safe discharge is facilitated.
Participate in dispensing systems at ward level through dispensing of pre-packs at ward level to ensure that there is no delay in a patient receiving their medicines.
To manage own workload at ward level by prioritising urgent discharge prescriptions, non-stock items and resupplies of medication
Provide advice, instruction, and counselling for patients/parents/carers regarding the use of the patients medications. Explain complex regimes ensuring patients/parents/carers understand their medication regimes including benefits of their medicines and possible side effects. There may be certain barriers to understanding, of a sensitive and/ or complex nature that will require resolution
To liaise with members of multidisciplinary teams to effectively deliver patient-focused pharmacy services. This may include discharge planning, requesting changes to prescriptions, further supply of medications in Primary care, repeat prescriptions, homecare, discussing concerns about patient compliance or future problems.
Participate in the ordering and supply of stock medicines to all wards. This includes the periodic review of stock par levels and assessment of ward stock profiles, medication expiry dates and storage conditions.
Person specification
Proof of registration with General Pharmaceutical Council
Essential criteria
- NVQ Level 3 Pharmacy Services & BTEC in Pharmaceutical Science
- Registered with the Pharmaceutical Council
- Level 4/Equivalent dispensary accuracy checking qualification
- Demonstrated experience of supervising pharmacy technicians and assistants
- Previous experience of ‘Near Patient Pharmacy’ and POD’s
- Good understanding of the job description and expectations of the role
- Ability to communicate effectively and in a professional manner with patients and staff
- Ability to work effectively within various teams and alone.
- Ability to solve complex technical problems
- Good working knowledge of safe dispensing practices and responsible attitude to quality and accuracy
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working within a hospital pharmacy setting
- Ability to adapt to different computer packages
- Pro-active approach to the extended roles for technicians
- NPP ward-based / Medicines Reconciliation training
- Demonstrated experience of maintaining stock control systems
- Previous experience of completing department projects and audits
- Experience of counselling patients about their medicines and understanding potential side effects
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Stephen Hazlehurst
- Job title
- Senior Pharmacy Technician - Medicines Management
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01512525669
- Additional information
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