Job summary
Meopham Medical Centre are looking for an experienced enthusiastic Dispensary Supervisor to join our team. We are looking for someone to lead and develop the team whilst also working alongside them.
Staff wellbeing is important and so excellent skills in leadership, operational and organisational management are essential.
Job summary:
To provide leadership and direction to our Dispensary Team, ensuring that we deliver a safe and efficient dispensing service the patients of Meopham Medical Centre, and to ensure effective financial control of the dispensary.
Main duties of the job
Key tasks:
As a Dispensary Supervisor you will be responsible for:
- Support a team of dispensers / prescription clerks, including rotas, 1-2-1's, appraisals, arranging cover, training and staff wellbeing.
- Stock order and financial management Alongside the Practice Manager and Finance Clerk)
- Safe management of medicines including controlled drugs.
- Ensuring CQC regulations and met and adhered to
- Creating, updating and working within standard operating procedures.
- Effective communication within the team and the Practice.
- Quality and performance monitoring ensuring KPIs are met and preparing proactive action plans to ensure standards are high.
- Reporting and audit work.
- Liaise with the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) pharmaceutical advisor
About us
Meopham Medical Centre is a semi-rural dispensing practice with a list of just over 10,000 patients. The team is comprised of 4 distinguished Partners, each with a range of special interests. We also have 2 Health Care Assistants, 2 Practice Nurses, 2 Clinical Pharmacists, an In-house Physiotherapist, Mental Health Nurse and Dietician. We also have an amazing support network for our care home residents and housebound patients, consisting of an excellent frailty team and a PCN Paramedic who conducts most of our home visits. Our excellent reception and administration team support the clinical staff by effective signposting and management of administration tasks to help make workload manageable.
We have excellent schools and local amenities, with the added benefit of being a short drive from the A2 and M25, and also great rail links into London. We also have free on-site parking.
We are part of the nationally recognised Altogether Better Programme, Collaborative Practice, and have a fantastic multi-disciplinary team which includes a great practice and frailty nurse team. We are aiming to develop a holistic and patient focused approach to health care by providing support for non-urgent or non-medical needs like medication review, social prescribing, care coordination, mental health support.
So, if you would like to work in a forward-thinking, patient-centred practice, with dedicated GPs and a great support team, then wed love to hear from you!
Job description
Job responsibilities
Job responsibilities:
Leadership
- Ensure the smooth running of the dispensary function
- Develop and implement a dispensary work plan that contributes to achievement of the practices overall strategic objectives
- Promote equality and diversity in all aspects of the role and ensure that the rights and needs of patients, carers and colleagues are recognised
- Stay up to date with best practice and develop proposals for ongoing development and improvement of the dispensary service
Financial Management
- Monthly checking of the drug tariff for price and category changes, checking MIMS for new or discontinued drugs, and following up changes with drug company representatives where necessary
- Effective stock management
- Retention of dispensing patients
- Maximising financial claims and income from incentive and medicines optimisation schemes
- Liaising with wholesalers to ensure appropriate discounts and deals are obtained
- Verify dispensary invoices against delivery notes
- Compare credit notes with returns and follow up on outstanding credits.
- Policies & Procedures
- Working with the Pharmacy team to develop and implement robust policies and procedures to ensure errors are minimised and patient safety is maintained as a priority
- Support the development Dispensary Standard Operating Procedures, ensuring they are current.
- Ensure that dispensary teams operate at all times within Standard Operating Procedures
- Maintain accurate stock levels in line with the formulary for the practice, ensuring accurate stock rotation.
- Carry out all monitoring checks to ensure compliance with CQC regulations, including controlled drugs register.
- Dispense items to patients effectively within the SOPS and Policies and Procedures of the practice.
- Dispense accurately and safely to eligible patients
- Ensure EMIS is fully utilised to support the smooth running of the dispensary
- Preparing reports (e.g., annual DSQS)
- Team Management
- Provide direct line management to Dispensary Team
- Undertake staff supervision and appraisals
- Work with the Practice Manager to ensure effective recruitment, induction and training of new staff within the dispensary team
- Support the professional development of the dispensary team
- Ensure all mandatory training is completed within the time frames
- Promote teamwork and co-operation within the dispensary team and across the wider practice team
- Oversee the management of dispensary team rotas, ensuring that the practice makes best use of available resources across all sites
- Manage plan and approve absence leave, including sickness absence, holidays arranging cover when needed.
- Ensure that all team members consistently check and respond appropriately to electronic communications such as tasks and emails.
- Communication
- Maintain a professional demeanour and uphold high service standards.
- Ensure that a friendly, efficient, professional and consistent service is provided to patients at all sites
- Establish effective communication methods to ensure those within the team and across the whole practice are kept informed of key issues relating to dispensary
- Produce timely and effective communications for patients regarding dispensary services, including any changes to existing services
- Develop effective working relationships within the practice including with the GP lead for dispensary, Lead Clinical Pharmacist and management team colleagues
- Purchasing and stock control
- Ad hoc daily ordering of stock
- Weekly ordering of generic stock
- Weekly checking of DDA stock and ordering as necessary
- Weekly checking of injectables held in the laboratory area and ordering as necessary
- Ensuring goods are correctly delivered
- Checking dispensary invoices against delivery notes and recording items for bonusing
- Passing such invoices for payment
- Checking monthly statements
- Checking credit notes against returns and chasing outstanding credits
- Maintain adequate stocks
Drug company representatives
- Ad hoc liaison with drug company representatives
- Meet regularly with drug company representatives in order to ensure the best possible discount levels
- Analysis of invoices for bonus stock and ensuring bonus stock is received
Destruction of drugs
- Dealing with returned medication from patients
- Dealing with uncollected medication
- Dealing with returned controlled drugs from patients for destruction
- Dealing with out-of-date controlled drugs with the Clinical Pharmacist on site for destruction.
Dispensing
- Overseeing/checking colleagues dispensing
- Dispensing acute prescriptions for practices
- Collecting prescription charges from patients
- Dispensing black-listed medication, pricing and recording
- Re-batching drugs for repeat prescriptions
- Preparing Nomad packs / MDS packs
This job description is neither exhaustive nor exclusive and will be reviewed periodically in conjunction with the post holder. The post holder is required to carry out any duties that may reasonably be requested by the partners or the practice manager. Some of the above duties may be delegated.
Health & safety
The post-holder will implement and lead on the full range of promotion and management of their own and others health, safety and security as defined in the practice health & safety policy, the practice health & safety manual, and the practice infection control policy and published procedures. This will include (but will not be limited to):
- Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines
- Keeping own work areas and general/patient areas generally clean, identifying issues and hazards/risks in relation to other work areas.
- Routine management of own team/team areas, and maintenance of workspace standards
Job description
Job responsibilities
Job responsibilities:
Leadership
- Ensure the smooth running of the dispensary function
- Develop and implement a dispensary work plan that contributes to achievement of the practices overall strategic objectives
- Promote equality and diversity in all aspects of the role and ensure that the rights and needs of patients, carers and colleagues are recognised
- Stay up to date with best practice and develop proposals for ongoing development and improvement of the dispensary service
Financial Management
- Monthly checking of the drug tariff for price and category changes, checking MIMS for new or discontinued drugs, and following up changes with drug company representatives where necessary
- Effective stock management
- Retention of dispensing patients
- Maximising financial claims and income from incentive and medicines optimisation schemes
- Liaising with wholesalers to ensure appropriate discounts and deals are obtained
- Verify dispensary invoices against delivery notes
- Compare credit notes with returns and follow up on outstanding credits.
- Policies & Procedures
- Working with the Pharmacy team to develop and implement robust policies and procedures to ensure errors are minimised and patient safety is maintained as a priority
- Support the development Dispensary Standard Operating Procedures, ensuring they are current.
- Ensure that dispensary teams operate at all times within Standard Operating Procedures
- Maintain accurate stock levels in line with the formulary for the practice, ensuring accurate stock rotation.
- Carry out all monitoring checks to ensure compliance with CQC regulations, including controlled drugs register.
- Dispense items to patients effectively within the SOPS and Policies and Procedures of the practice.
- Dispense accurately and safely to eligible patients
- Ensure EMIS is fully utilised to support the smooth running of the dispensary
- Preparing reports (e.g., annual DSQS)
- Team Management
- Provide direct line management to Dispensary Team
- Undertake staff supervision and appraisals
- Work with the Practice Manager to ensure effective recruitment, induction and training of new staff within the dispensary team
- Support the professional development of the dispensary team
- Ensure all mandatory training is completed within the time frames
- Promote teamwork and co-operation within the dispensary team and across the wider practice team
- Oversee the management of dispensary team rotas, ensuring that the practice makes best use of available resources across all sites
- Manage plan and approve absence leave, including sickness absence, holidays arranging cover when needed.
- Ensure that all team members consistently check and respond appropriately to electronic communications such as tasks and emails.
- Communication
- Maintain a professional demeanour and uphold high service standards.
- Ensure that a friendly, efficient, professional and consistent service is provided to patients at all sites
- Establish effective communication methods to ensure those within the team and across the whole practice are kept informed of key issues relating to dispensary
- Produce timely and effective communications for patients regarding dispensary services, including any changes to existing services
- Develop effective working relationships within the practice including with the GP lead for dispensary, Lead Clinical Pharmacist and management team colleagues
- Purchasing and stock control
- Ad hoc daily ordering of stock
- Weekly ordering of generic stock
- Weekly checking of DDA stock and ordering as necessary
- Weekly checking of injectables held in the laboratory area and ordering as necessary
- Ensuring goods are correctly delivered
- Checking dispensary invoices against delivery notes and recording items for bonusing
- Passing such invoices for payment
- Checking monthly statements
- Checking credit notes against returns and chasing outstanding credits
- Maintain adequate stocks
Drug company representatives
- Ad hoc liaison with drug company representatives
- Meet regularly with drug company representatives in order to ensure the best possible discount levels
- Analysis of invoices for bonus stock and ensuring bonus stock is received
Destruction of drugs
- Dealing with returned medication from patients
- Dealing with uncollected medication
- Dealing with returned controlled drugs from patients for destruction
- Dealing with out-of-date controlled drugs with the Clinical Pharmacist on site for destruction.
Dispensing
- Overseeing/checking colleagues dispensing
- Dispensing acute prescriptions for practices
- Collecting prescription charges from patients
- Dispensing black-listed medication, pricing and recording
- Re-batching drugs for repeat prescriptions
- Preparing Nomad packs / MDS packs
This job description is neither exhaustive nor exclusive and will be reviewed periodically in conjunction with the post holder. The post holder is required to carry out any duties that may reasonably be requested by the partners or the practice manager. Some of the above duties may be delegated.
Health & safety
The post-holder will implement and lead on the full range of promotion and management of their own and others health, safety and security as defined in the practice health & safety policy, the practice health & safety manual, and the practice infection control policy and published procedures. This will include (but will not be limited to):
- Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines
- Keeping own work areas and general/patient areas generally clean, identifying issues and hazards/risks in relation to other work areas.
- Routine management of own team/team areas, and maintenance of workspace standards
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Significant experience of working in a dispensary
- Experience of supervising a dispensary or pharmacy
- Experience of supervising staff
- Experience of designing and implementing policies and procedures
- Experience of audits and quality improvement activity
- Experience of identifying and implementing best practice
- Experience of resolving complaints
- Excellent communication skills (written and verbal)
- Detailed knowledge of all aspects of day-to-day dispensary operations including stock management, ordering, rota planning, customer services, health and safety and infection control, month end procedures etc.
- Problem solving and analytical skills
- Understanding of team dynamics and ability to promote a harmonious working environment
- Excellent customer service skills
Desirable
- Experience of working in a general practice setting
Personal Skills & Attributes
Essential
- Able to work under pressure and manage personal stress
- Self-motivated
- Ability to work flexibly or additional hours when required to ensure delivery of an excellent dispensary service
- Sensitive and empathetic to others, including distressed patients.
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Significant experience of working in a dispensary
- Experience of supervising a dispensary or pharmacy
- Experience of supervising staff
- Experience of designing and implementing policies and procedures
- Experience of audits and quality improvement activity
- Experience of identifying and implementing best practice
- Experience of resolving complaints
- Excellent communication skills (written and verbal)
- Detailed knowledge of all aspects of day-to-day dispensary operations including stock management, ordering, rota planning, customer services, health and safety and infection control, month end procedures etc.
- Problem solving and analytical skills
- Understanding of team dynamics and ability to promote a harmonious working environment
- Excellent customer service skills
Desirable
- Experience of working in a general practice setting
Personal Skills & Attributes
Essential
- Able to work under pressure and manage personal stress
- Self-motivated
- Ability to work flexibly or additional hours when required to ensure delivery of an excellent dispensary service
- Sensitive and empathetic to others, including distressed patients.
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.