PCN Pharmacy Technician

Job responsibilities

Job Details

Job Title: PCN Pharmacy Technician

Location: Oadby & Wigston PCN

Responsible to: PCN Senior Clinical Pharmacist

Working pattern: Monday to Friday, including possible Saturday / evening work

Job Purpose

To support the Primary Care Network to ensure the delivery of safe, effective and efficient systems for repeat prescribing, medicines optimisation, reducing medicines waste and maximising patient outcomes to increase patient safety and cost-effective prescribing.

Main duties and responsibilities

This job profile is intended to provide an outline of the duties and responsibilities; it will be subject to review and amendment as necessary in consultation with the post holder.

1. Clinical & patient care

a) Support the identification and delivery of the elements of the PCN prescribing strategy including Medicines Management & Optimisation, QIPP, and best prescribing practice.

b) Support the PCN Clinical Pharmacists to ensure that processes are in place for the effective dissemination of prescribing-related policies, guidelines and alerts e.g. LMSG guidance

c) Support the identification and sharing of best practice and ensure these are reflected in the PCN working practices and plans.

d) Undertake patient facing and patient supporting roles to ensure effective medicines use, through shared decision-making conversations with patients.

e) Carry out medicines optimisation tasks including effective medicine administration (e.g. checking inhaler technique), supporting medication reviews, and medicines reconciliation. Where required, utilise consultation skills to work in partnership with patients to ensure they use their medicines effectively.

f) As determined by the PCN, support structured medication reviews and medicines reconciliation for new care home patients and synchronising medicines for patient transfers between care settings and linking with local community pharmacists. This may include domiciliary visits to optimise medicines use and identify/reduce waste.

g) Provide specialist expertise, where competent, to address both the public health and social care needs of patients, including lifestyle advice, service information, and help in tackling local health inequalities.

h) Take a central role in in the clinical aspects of shared care protocols and support initiatives for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing.

i) Support the implementation of national prescribing policies and guidance within GP practices, care homes and other primary care settings. This will be achieved through undertaking clinical audits (e.g. use of antibiotics), supporting quality improvement measures and contributing to the Quality and Outcomes Framework and enhanced services.

j) Contribute to the development of / and implement patient medication change programmes within PCN practices and associated care homes to increase value for money and/or improve quality in prescribing.

k) Implement agreed medicines support programmes/services in line with the PCN and Integrated Care System (ICS) priorities and identified patient needs.

l) Provide advice and information to support improved medicines compliance and medicines waste reduction, referring to the PCN Clinical Pharmacists as required.

m) Manage and deal with multiple complex problem-solving issues involving all aspects of medicine management and quality concurrently, using own knowledge and skills within polices and guidance, being aware of own limitations and referring to PCN Clinical Pharmacists when appropriate.

n) Support practice reception teams in sorting and streaming general prescription requests, so as to allow GPs and clinical pharmacists to review the more clinically complex requests.

o) Responsible for all actions and decisions, as a registered technician in accordance with the Code of Ethics of the General Pharmaceutical Council.

2. Policy & service development

a) Deliver medicines management and optimisation projects across the PCN GP practices or care homes.

b) Participate in the identification, development and implementation of medicines management and quality policies and guidelines within PCN GP practices, care homes and social care in line with national and local policies and compliance with Medicines related Acts to improve cost effective and safe prescribing.

c) Ensure appropriate systems are in place for medicines reconciliation for all patients transferred out of and back into the PCN GP practices.

3. Technical & administration

a) Provide leadership for medicines optimisation systems across PCNs, supporting practices with a range of services to get the best value from medicines by encouraging and implementing Electronic Prescriptions, safe repeat prescribing systems, and timely monitoring and management of high-risk medicines.

b) Investigate, identify and advise PCN GP practices on additional prescribing actions to ensure prescribing spend is within budget.

c) Work with the PCN multi-disciplinary team to ensure efficient medicines optimisation, including implementing efficient ordering and return processes, and reducing wastage.

d) Implement medicines management and optimisation changes in the PCN GP practices to deliver cost savings.

e) Develop and implement schemes and actions plans for the PCN delivery of Investment & Impact Fund (IIF) scheme.

f) Support the PCN Clinical Pharmacists by preparing and delivering performance reports/briefings for the PCN Board and team meetings.

g) Assist in the delivery of medicines optimisation and management incentive schemes and patient safety audits.

h) Responsible for the safe use of GP practice IT system.

i) Carry out manual and computerised searches of patient records and use this information to create databases, reports and recommendations to prescribers for patient medication changes.

j) Interrogate, analyse and interpret GP practice prescribing data; generating reports and recommendations for GP practice prescribing improvements.

k) Document and report all confidential patient activity carried out at practice level to provide evidence of work carried out

4. Communication & relationships

a) Develop relationships with other pharmacy technicians, pharmacists and members of the multi-disciplinary team to support integration of the pharmacy team across health and social care including primary care, community pharmacy, secondary care, and mental health.

b) Regularly and proactively set-up and co-ordinate meetings in PCN practices and present verbal and written guidance and information regarding medicines optimisation projects and audits.

c) Responsible for implementing change in PCN practices in a variety of ways including liaising with GPs, practice staff and patients.

d) Establish links and effectively communicate and collaborate with external providers of healthcare and other stakeholders eg social care.

e) As required, advise, support and train GP registrars and rotating students to assess and improve prescribing and medicines processes to increase cost effective prescribing and patient safety.

f) Provide advice and support to community pharmacies, GP practices, members of the medicines’ quality team and other health and social care professionals in relation to local and national medicines management and optimisation and pharmacy developments.

g) Provide training and support on the legal, safe and secure handling of medicines, including the implementation of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS).

5. Research & Development

a) Implement GP practice and associated care homes and social care audit programmes and quality reporting including medicines reconciliation to ensure delivery of national and local medicines policies and standards.

Qualifications

Essential

• BTEC and NVQ level 3 qualification in pharmaceutical Science or equivalent qualifications under GPhC grand-parenting arrangements
• Current registration with the GPhC
• Evidence of CPD throughout employment

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working as a pharmacy technician
• At least 2 years experience in medicines management and primary care
• Experience of working on own initiative within professional boundaries and within national/local protocols and legislation.
• Experience of working within a patient facing role

Desirable

• Experience of working with SystmOne

Knowledge & skills

Essential

• Knowledge of medicines policy
• Knowledge of current NHS policies, processes and structures especially relating to medicines and pharmacy
• Awareness of equality and valuing diversity principles
• Understanding of Confidentiality and Data Protection Act
• Patient counselling skills
• Logical reasoning & problem-solving skills
• Numerate/literate
• Excellent IT skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Time management and prioritisation skills
• Accurate and high attention to detail
• Ability to work in a team and work alone as required, using initiative
• Good written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work flexibly and work across multiple sites with use of own car
• Apply medicines national policy to inform prescribing recommendations
• Direct response to enquiries or information on medicines management, judging when to refer to a Clinical Pharmacist

Desirable

• Basic clinical knowledge of common long-term conditions
• Clinical audit knowledge and skills

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).