Job summary
- Main area
- Pharmacy
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 5
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 409-6184292
- Employer
- Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Whiston Hospital
- Town
- Prescot
- Salary
- £28,407 - £34,581 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- Today at 23:59
- Interview date
- 09/05/2024
Employer heading
Pharmacy Technician - Accuracy Checker (Ward Services)
NHS AfC: Band 5
Job overview
You will be working on wards to complete medicines reconciliation, assessing patients own medicines, ensuring discharges are completed in a timely manner and counselling patients on discharge.
It is vital that applicants are adaptable and prepared to work with us to help shape the best possible service. Your contribution through suggestions, working groups, involvement in projects and audits will be encouraged.
You will be based at Whiston or St Helens site which has 100 staff operating across both departments.
We have established automated dispensing systems within the dispensaries at both sites, and the Trust has a long-standing reputation for being a rewarding place to work.
Interview date: 9th May 2024
Main duties of the job
To provide a dispensing service to all patients of the Trust to include taking medication histories, counselling patients and inspection and accuracy checking of all medications belonging to and supplied to patients.
Working for our organisation
The Secretary of State has approved the partnership between St Helens & Knowsley and Southport & Ormskirk Hospitals.
From 1st July we have come together as a single organisation under the name Mersey & West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
The Trust delivers acute hospital care, intermediate care, community, and primary care services to a population of over 600,000 people with a combined workforce of around 9000 dedicated and skilled staff from 17 locations including Whiston, Southport & Formby, St Helens, Ormskirk and Newton hospitals.
The Trust provides regional services for burns, plastic surgery and spinal injuries to more than 4 million people across Mersey and West Lancashire, Cheshire, the Isle of Man and North Wales.
Our Vision is to deliver 5 Star Patient Care:
- CARE that is evidence based, high quality and compassionate
- SAFETY that is of the highest standards
- COMMUNICATION that is open, inclusive and respectful
- SYSTEMS that are efficient, patient centred and reliable
- PATHWAYS that are best practice and embedded, but also respect the individual needs of patients
Our achievements include:
- Trust rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
- Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
- Awarded National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for our Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme
Please see our Wellbeing & Benefits booklet for more information on our staff benefits. Accessible version available upon request.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
KEY DUTIES
- To final accuracy check dispensed prescriptions, including ‘one stop dispensing’ items in accordance with departmental procedures.
- To dispense prescriptions accurately according to safe working practices.
- To provide a one stop dispensing service to inpatients at ward level. This will require taking patient medication histories, counselling patients, inspection of patient own drugs for re-use and dispensing for discharge.
- To participate in the dispensing process of all prescriptions accurately according to safe working practices and departmental procedures, including;
- Inpatient
- Outpatient
- TTOs
- Controlled Drugs
- Clinical Trials
- Cytotoxic Drugs
- Unlicensed medicines
- To be responsible for the stock control of dispensed medicines on wards, departments and clinics.
- To assist in the maintenance of the stock control of non-dispensed medicines on wards.
- To liaise with appropriate medical staff, clinical pharmacists, ward staff, GP’s, Primary Care Trust staff, community pharmacies and other professional bodies regarding any issues with patients’ medication.
- To order stocks and special line items to fulfil prescriptions.
- To provide individual dose dispensing and blister packing services for patients who have difficulty with normal medicines packaging.
- To assist in the preparation, assembly and final accuracy check of emergency resuscitation and anaphylaxis boxes.
- To assist the Chief Technician in the recruitment of staff including participation on interview panels.
- To participate in a rota which enables the department to provide a full 7 day service?
- To participate in Saturday, Sunday, Bank Holiday, late night and on-call rotas as necessary in response to the changing needs of the service.
CLINICAL & PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
- To maintain registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council.
- To maintain continuing professional development in line with GPhC requirements.
- To attend and participate in study days and courses as necessary.
- To undertake any training and assessment required to maintain competency in their role.
- To maintain security and the safe storage of medicines within the dispensaries in accordance with departmental policies and procedures.
- To comply with and ensure that all other pharmacy staff under their control comply with the legal and other requirements related to the purchase, supply, use, safe custody and destruction of drugs both within the pharmacy and in all other areas of the Trust
ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES
- To assist in the receipt of prescriptions accurately according to safe working practices.
- To be responsible for making appropriate records in the Controlled Drug Register.
- To be responsible for organising own daily workload within allocated areas.
- To carry out prescription charge transactions accurately, including ‘Chip and pin,’ handling cash, cheques and be able to ‘cash-up’ in the dispensaries as necessary, according to departmental procedures.
- To train and counsel patients on their suitability for the use of compliance aids eg blister packs, breath activated inhalers/spacers, containers and other formulations such as liquids and assess their understanding.
- To extemporaneously dispense medicines using specific equipment (e.g. fume cupboards and weighing balances) and taking protective measures. Weighing and measuring must be accurate as there are narrow margins for errors.
- To assist other members of staff in the performance of their duties.
- To co-operate with the provision of staffing within the Pharmaceutical service and participate in staff rotation to 2 Trust sites (e.g. Whiston, St Helens) when the need arises.
- To answer telephone and face to face queries of a routine or basic technical nature from a wide range of staff groups, patients and the public, either in the pharmacy or on the ward, and refer appropriate queries to the relevant member of the pharmacy team when necessary.
- To be responsible for the accurate input of data into the pharmacy JAC computer system for all duties requiring its use e.g. labelling, ordering and stock control
TEACHING & TRAINING RESPONSBILITIES
- To assist in the training and development of all grades of staff in the systems used including other professionals e.g. discharge planning and the efficient operation of ‘dispensing for discharge’.
- To assist in the training and support of ATOs and pre-registration pharmacy graduates in dispensing training manual requirements and provide witness statements for NVQ students
- To assist in the training and development of other members of staff in patient services and to ensure complete training records are maintained
FINNCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
- To co-operate in the provision of an efficient and cost effective service
RESEARCH & AUDIT
- To carry out and assist in audit research projects to improve and develop the service provision.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Principles and Practices for Pharmacy Technicians or GPhC recognised equivalent’
- BTEC professional diploma in dispensing checking or GPhC recognised equivalent which must meet the APTUK standard for accuracy checking (1000 item log with checking test). The APTUK standard must be met within 3 months of starting role.
- Registered as a practising Pharmacy Technician with the GPhC
Knowledge & Experience
Essential criteria
- Significant post-qualification experience working in a pharmaceutical environment
- Experience of dispensing for discharge and medicines management
Desirable criteria
- Experience in using the JAC pharmacy computer system
- Knowledge of LEAN principles
Skills
Essential criteria
- Demonstrates ability to motivate team performance to achieve objectives
- Good verbal communication skills both face to face and using telephones
- Ability to talk to patients, staff and other senior health care professionals
- Ability to concentrate for long periods of time and able to work under pressure
- Ability to work accurately and efficiently with good attention to detail
- Well organised with good time management skills
- Good administration skills including accurate record keeping
Desirable criteria
- Good negotiation skills
Other
Essential criteria
- Ability to participate in the department evening and weekend rota for 7 day working.
- Supportive of colleagues of all grades
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
- Marie Cawley
- Job title
- Chief Pharmacy Technician Clinical Services
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0151 290 4285
- Additional information
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