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Job summary

Main area
Pharmacy
Grade
Band 4
Contract
Fixed term: 12 months (End date February 2025)
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
249-6052458-2
Employer
Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Great Western Hospital
Town
Swindon
Salary
£25,147 - £27,596 pro rata per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
14/05/2024 23:59

Employer heading

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust logo

Procurement & Distribution Assistant – Pharmacy

Band 4

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is a unique organisation, serving as the sole integrated provider in the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire system. Our scope extends beyond boundaries as we oversee adult community services in Swindon and provide acute care from the Great Western Hospital. 

Our 5,500 staff have 1.2m patient contacts a year, with 13,000 operations carried out in our Theatres, around 4,000 babies born, and our emergency attendances are now well over 100,000 per year. Those numbers only tell part of our story about what an exciting time it is to join Great Western Hospitals.

We are cultivating a culture that fosters our ambitions, prioritising equality, diversion, inclusion, wellbeing, and leadership. We aim to create an environment where every member of our team can truly thrive.

The Trust is a Disability Confident Employer; all applicants who have a disability can opt to be considered under the guaranteed interview scheme, which means that, providing they meet the minimum essential criteria for the post, they will be offered an interview. We are also proudly accredited as a Veteran Aware organisation and have signed The Armed Forces Covenant.

If we receive a high volume of applications, we may close adverts prior to the published closing date. Therefore, we advise you to complete and submit your application as soon as possible.

Job overview

Fixed Term until February 2025

The opportunity has arisen for an exceptional Procurement & Distribution assistant to join our Pharmacy Department. 

Our friendly and progressive Pharmacy department is currently looking for a dynamic and forward-thinking individual to join our Pharmacy Procurement team. This role will involve maintaining the Pharmacy procurement and distribution service. 

Main duties of the job

The Stores & Distribution role in pharmacy is centred around maintaining high work standards and ensuring efficient and safe distribution systems. Core responsibilities include ordering essential items to prevent shortages, updating to-follows lists to manage out-of-stock medication, and organising workloads. Daily stock checks are a key part of this role, as is assisting with staff training and serving as a superuser for pharmacy robots, troubleshooting errors, and providing training.

Other tasks include keeping ward stock lists updated, assisting with product recalls, and performing routine store duties such as ward top-ups. This role requires maintaining computerised records, tracking expiry dates, and obtaining credits for returned items. Staff training and handling procurement and distribution-related tasks, including managing licenses and resolving invoice queries, are essential. Additionally, this role involves supporting the Trust Outpatient Pharmacy and collaborating with other pharmacy team members to enhance patient care and flow.

You will have delegated duties to undertake the day to day WDA licensed activities ensuring that the service and facilities are compliant with all aspects of Good Distribution Practice (EU GDP 2013/C 343/01), and all other relevant medicines regulations and quality standards. Support and deliver related training provision to all operational staff within the facility and support the operational lead in all aspects of regulatory audit.

Working for our organisation

Our STAR values are at the heart of everything we do. You can expect to see them in the way we act and the way we treat each other. Our values make us who we are.

Service  - We will put our patients first
Teamwork  - We will work together
Ambition  - We will aspire to provide the best service
Respect  - We will act with integrity

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

This role is ideal for someone ready to gain experience in a dynamic environment with constant opportunities to learn.

Primary responsibilities include:

  • Promoting high work standards at all times.
  • Overseeing the ordering process to ensure there's no shortage of essential medicines and coordinating with contracted or cost-effective suppliers.
  • Acting as a superuser for the Pharmacy Robots, resolving errors, and training staff on their usage.
  • Monitoring service quality through agreed performance metrics.
  • Ensuring facilities and services comply with Good Distribution Practice (EU GDP 2013/C 343/01) and other relevant medicine regulations and quality standards.
  • Assisting in staff training and supervision.

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for additional details.

 

 

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Relevant experience
  • NVQ / QCF Level 2 in Pharmacy Services or willing to work towards
Desirable criteria
  • CIPs level 3 or above qualification or be willing to work towards accreditation

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Experience in procurement or relevant pharmacy experience
  • Recent practical experience in a busy working environment
  • Experience of training individuals
  • Managing own workload to meet the needs of a service
Desirable criteria
  • Supervisory experience
  • Knowledge of stock control computer systems
  • Knowledge and clear understanding of Good Distribution Practice (EU GDP 2013/C 343/01), and other relevant regulations, guidance and quality standards
  • Experience working in a hospital environment

Knowledge

Essential criteria
  • Aware of Health and Safety issues and their implications for staff
  • Effective listening skills
  • Excellent IT skills including Word, Outlook, internet, intranet and email
  • Good organisational and time management skills. Able to prioritise tasks and respond to urgent demands by diverting resources whilst managing own workload.
  • Excellent customer services skills
Desirable criteria
  • Understanding of clinical governance and implications for service including quality & audit
  • Good and broad understanding of current pharmacy practice in order to advise other staff
  • Good understanding of formulary and medicines management issues and the implications for Pharmacy services
  • Knowledge of legislative aspects of medicines supply issues
  • Understanding of procedures, protocols and legal requirements governing clinical trials supply and non-licensed medicines
  • Good knowledge of the legal requirements (Law and Ethics) for dispensing and supplying medicines, including Controlled Drugs

Employer certification / accreditation badges

NHS Pastoral Care Quality AwardVeteran AwareApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyPositive about disabled peopleAge positiveDisability confident leaderInvestors in People: Goldhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/kickstart-scheme-employer-resources/kickstart-scheme-brand-guidelinesStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.Step into healthArmed Forces Covenant

Applicant requirements

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

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Jasmine Heap
Job title
Interim Pharmacy Procurement & Distribution Lead
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
01793 605193
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