Pharmacy Technician

Job description

Job responsibilities

Duties and Responsibilities:

The duties and responsibilities may include any or all of the items in the following list. Duties may be varied from time to time dependent on current and evolving Practice workload and staffing levels:

• Answer day to day medication queries (face to face/phone/email)
• Deal with drug alerts and put structured plans in place to prepare alternatives when supply issues occur
• Complete policies and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the PET team including Prescribing Policy and process for Shared Care Protocols (ESCAs) and Injectables
• Conduct audits on prescribing within the practice as required
• Manage weekly medication prescriptions for pharmacies
• Reconcile medication on hospital discharges
• Process hospital letters with medication requests/amendments
• Audit patients with high levels of medications and look at ways to improve polypharmacy
• Add/amend medication on patient records and ensuring processes are followed to allow relevant checks to be made by clinicians
• Help ensure that the Prescription Enquiry Team and all clinicians are prescribing in the most cost effective way and provide them with up to date information on most cost effective products and ways to do this.
• Assist in annual prescribing/medication projects set out by NHS England and Sussex ICB including Medicines Optimisation Incentive Scheme (MOIS) cost containment projects
• Monitor Drug and Device alerts from the MHRA
• Up keep of patient records to ensure prescriptions are written in line with MEP (Medicines, Ethics and Practice) & GPhC (General Pharmaceutical Council) guidance.
• Liaising with local pharmacies, community nurse teams, local hospitals, local care homes and PCN Pharmacy team
• Set up and roll out the Electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD) process and process eRD prescriptions
• Be a point of contact for local pharmacies and liaising with them about any changes or queries on patients medications who use the eRD system
• Support and train members of the Prescription Enquiry Team as required
• Responding to the needs and wants of the business to ensure excellent patient care
• Conduct clinical sessions with patients either over the phone or face-to-face.

Confidentiality:

• 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 the 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 healthcare 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.

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
• Actively reporting health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
• Reporting potential risks identified
• Demonstrate due regard for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

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 recognises the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with Practice procedures and policies, and current legislation
• Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues
• Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.

Personal/Professional Development:

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

• 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
• Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs
• Effectively manage own time, workload and resources

Communication:

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

• Communicate effectively with other team members
• Communicate effectively with patients and carers
• Recognise peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly

Contribution to the Implementation of Services:

The post-holder will:

• Apply Practice 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

The duties listed above may change in the light of developments in the practice and are subject to review.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Pharmacy Technician (NVQ level 3 or equivalent)
• Good standard of general education (numerate and good standard of English)

Desirable

• Accredited Checking Technician qualification

Experience

Essential

• Experience within a pharmacy, dispensary (or similar)
• Experience of dealing with a wide range of people in different situations

Desirable

• Experience with Primary Care
• Experience of using TTP SystemOne clinical system

Knowledge & Skills

Essential

• Excellent customer service skills
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Excellent computer literacy skills
• Excellent accuracy and attention to detail

Desirable

• Knowledge of medical terminology

Other Requirements

Essential

• Ability to work autonomously as well as part of a team with the insight to acknowledge the limits of own knowledge and when it is necessary to refer
• Ability to work under pressure
• "Can do" attitude to daily tasks, adversity and new ways of working

Desirable

• Willingness to work flexibly to cover holidays and sickness

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

Billingshurst Surgery

Address

Billinghurst Surgery

Roman Way

Billingshurst

West Sussex

RH14 9QZ

Employer's website

http://www.billingshurstsurgery.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)