Job summary
- Main area
- Pharmacy
- Grade
- Band 2
- Contract
- 12 months (12-month fixed term contract)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 249-7379763
- Employer
- Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Great Western Hospital
- Town
- Swindon
- Salary
- £24,465 per annum pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 15/08/2025 12:00
Employer heading

Pharmacy Assistant - Dispensary
Band 2
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
*** This vacancy will close as soon as sufficient number of applications have been received***
This is a 12 months fixed term contract.
A fantastic opportunity has arisen to appoint an enthusiastic and motivated individual to the post of Pharmacy Assistant – Dispensary at The Great Western Hospital in Swindon.
This dynamic role sees you as the first point of contact for all face to face and telephone enquiries to the Department from healthcare professionals, pharmacy colleagues, patients, carer's, the general public and visitors referring them to the appropriate pharmacy staff as required.
You will facilitate an effective and efficient workflow and communication through the department and assist dispensary staff by coordinating the receipt, logging, prioritisation and collection of prescriptions.
Applicants should have excellent communication & organisational skills; be self-motivated and possess excellent interpersonal skills, be flexible and able to work well in an environment of change and transition. Applicants must also have good computer skills and be able to work well under pressure.
Unfortunately, this role does not support sponsorship.
Main duties of the job
The post holder may expected to support the department with medicines related tasks such as ward medicines tops ups and managing medicine waste on an ad hoc basis. Basic knowledge of medicines may be useful but full training and guidance will be given.
An NVQ level 2 in customer care would be an advantage but is not essential, but you will need previous customer service experience. You will be expected to complete certain units of the QCF level 2 in pharmacy services that are relevant to the role. Previous experience of working in a primary care/NHS/pharmacy setting is also desirable.
Please note this vacancy will close as soon as sufficient applications have been received, so please apply as soon as possible if interested.
Working for our organisation
Our STAR values – Service, Teamwork, Ambition and Respect – are a golden thread running through everything we do. These values serve as a guiding principle, driving us towards our vision of delivering great joined up services to our local community. Whether at home, in the community, or within the hospital, our goal is to empower individuals to lead independent and healthier lives
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
- Attend to all staff waiting at the pharmacy reception and deal with their requests in a pleasant and appropriate manner.
- Answer all telephone calls in a timely and prompt manner.
- Ensure optimum communication via teams or telephone with the wider department team.
- Monitor the dispensary email inbox for external unit requests and print / receive all in-patient and take-home medication requests, entering them onto the prescription tracking system, and passing the work onto the relevant person in a timely manner.
- Prioritising all prescriptions according to their urgency, updating information on the prescription tracking system as to the status of prescriptions as required.
- Responsible for ensuring that the prescription tracking system does not exceed our expected turnaround times. Identifying urgent work to an appropriate member of the pharmacy team to enable quick completion and transport to the ward.
- Co-ordinate the packing and sealing of all ward bags ready for the Pharmacy porter collection times, logging them off the prescription tracking system.
- Ensure all visitors to the department who are external to the Trust read, understand and adhere to the official information provided within the visitor’s logbook. and sign the Official visitors’ logbook.
Please read attached JD for full information.
Person specification
Education / Training
Essential criteria
- Good level of literacy and numeracy e.g. GCSE or equivalent in English and Maths
Desirable criteria
- NVQ level 2 in Customer Services
Previous experience
Essential criteria
- Previous customer service experience
- Working as part of a team in a busy environment
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working in a pharmacy department
- Previous administrative work
- Previous experience of working in a primary care/NHS setting
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
- Stacey Guilor
- Job title
- Dispensary Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01793 605194
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