Pharmacy Technician

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Activities / Responsibilities

The post holder will be required to:

• Provide support to members of the practice teams answering queries from patients and staff within your professional competence.
• Support pharmacists in improving quality and safety around the use of medicines, including completing patient safety audits.
• To support the practice team managing medication safety alerts
• To support the administration staff with medicines reconciliation in accordance with practice protocols and to update patients medical records/prescribing accordingly.
• To support the achievement of the Practices prescribing Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) targets.
• • To contribute to the review and development of repeat prescribing protocols/Standard Operating Procedures to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of repeat prescribing systems.
  • To provide advice to GPs, staff and patients in changes to prescribing in order to support the improvement of prescribing safety, quality and cost effectiveness.
  • Support patients to manage their medications. Synchronisation of medications, reviewing patient suitability for monitored dosage systems, and setting up electronic repeat dispensing.
  • To assist in the appropriate monitoring and management of prescribing budgets and to liaise with the Medicines Management team at IESCCG.
  • To support the Burlington Pharmacists to provide medication reviews, patient information leaflets and enhance medicine awareness throughout the clinical team.
  • To take a proactive approach to the safe handling of prescriptions, including assessment of risk and making recommendations for improvement.
  • To respond to medication queries from patients and staff in a professional manner.
  • To assist in the submission of claims for personally administered drugs as required.
  • To help plan, develop and support the introduction of new working processes within the practice to optimise the quality of prescribing.
  • To present at patient group meetings or other appropriate events such as Pharmacy Education meetings to give advice on the appropriate use of medicines.

  Other duties and responsibilities to be undertaken may include any or all of the items in the following list:

  • Taking messages and passing on information as appropriate
  • Computer data entry/data allocation and collation, processing and recording information in accordance with practice procedures
  • Initiating contact with and responding to requests from patients, other team members and associated healthcare professionals and providers.
  • Helping to maintain a positive, patient focussed culture
  • • Helping to maintain a positive, supportive culture across the whole of the practice team
    • Any other duties commensurate with this position

    Duties will vary from time to time under the direction of the Clinical Pharmacists/GP prescribing lead dependant on current and evolving practice workload and staffing levels.

    Staff Responsibilities

    • To assist in training and professional leadership.

    Financial Responsibilities

    • The staff member observes a personal duty of care in relation to equipment and resources used in course of work and will promote cost effective, safe, evidence based prescribing in accordance with local formulary, medication optimisation strategy and national guidance
    • Promotes cost effective use of medication including minimising waste.

    General responsibilities

    All members of staff must be flexible and prepared to adapt and take on additional duties or to relinquish existing duties in order to maintain efficient running of the practice

    The post holder will be expected to cover for sickness and holidays as is reasonably necessary based on practice demand and maintaining high quality care for patients

  • Redistribution of duties and functions may be made from time to time, based on service need and post holder skills.

  • Contribution to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance.

    Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs.

    Effectively manage own workload, time and resources.

    To comply with statutory provisions of health and safety at work legislation and local policy and to always work in a safe manner and not to self or others at risk.

    Confidentiality

    It is a contractual requirement that all employees of the practice comply with the rules of confidentiality pertaining to staff, patients and business information.

    • In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately.
    • In the performance of duties outlined in this Job Description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, Practice Staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the Practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential.
    • Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other health care workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the Practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.

    Communication

    The post holder should recognize the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:

    Communicate effectively with other team members

    Communicate effectively with patients and carers

    Recognize peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly

    Personal/Professional Development

    The post holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of their employment, such training to include:

    • Mandatory training relevant to the role as deemed necessary by the practice and policy
    • Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development
    • Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work

    Quality

    The post holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will

    Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk

    Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision

    Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance and input to future practice developments

    Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs

    Effectively manage own time, workload and resources

    Health & Safety

    The post holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others health, safety and security as defined in the Practice Health & Safety Policy, to include:

    • Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines
    • identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks
    • making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills
    • using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards
    • Reporting potential risks identified

    Equality and diversity

    The post holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:

    acting in a way that recognizes the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with Practice procedures, policies and current legislations

    Respecting privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues

    behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgemental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights

  • The post holder will:

    • Apply Practice and PCN policies, standards and guidance
    • Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work
    • Participate in audit where appropriate

    This job description is not exhaustive and may be adjusted periodically as business needs require, you will also be expected to carry out any reasonable duties which may be requested

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• You will be registered with the GPhC as a pharmacy technician and will be expected to undertake the CPPE Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway training unless otherwise exempt.

Desirable

• Previous experience working within Primary Care - however this is not essential.

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Burlington Primary Care

Address

14 Burlington Road

Ipswich

Suffolk

IP1 2EU

Employer's website

https://www.burlingtonprimarycare.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)