PCN - Pharmacy Technician

Job responsibilities

Key duties and responsibilities

1. Patient facing medicines support

Whether via clinics on demand in response to tasks or other workflows methods, stratifying and triaging the need for technical reviews, medicines adherence reviews (including polypharmacy reviews), focal long-term condition/clinical reviews (see section 3) or holistic long-term condition/clinical reviews (structured medication reviews). Provide support for patients with questions, queries, and concerns about their medicines.

2. Medicines related clinical support for care homes

Whilst pharmacists represent the practice and pharmacy team in care home multi-disciplinary team clinical medication reviews, where appropriate and within the scope, technical aspects around this process can be delegated to pharmacy technicians. Work with care home staff and aging well team to optimise medicines management, and support safe and effective prescribing, and medicines use.

3. Long-term condition Clinics

With direct supervision or under a robust SOP, and where in the pharmacy technician's scope of clinic competence, some reviews under the remit of long-term condition planning and review can be delivered by pharmacy technicians. Examples of this include DOAC reviews, statin initiation counselling and asthma reviews.

4. Risk stratification

Identification of cohorts of patients at high risk of harm from medicines through pre-prepared practice computer searches. This might include risks that are patient related, medicine related, or both. This includes prescription services software such as Eclipse Live Radar 500 searches. Wherever possible, technicians will be accountable for reviewing the results of these searches, with clinical pharmacists being responsible for supporting pharmacy technician's where managing high-risk patient's is outside the scope of their competence, or directly covering during leave and exceptional circumstances.

6. Unplanned hospital admissions

With the supervision of a clinical pharmacist, review the use of medicines most commonly associated with unplanned hospital admissions and readmissions through audit and individual patient reviews. Put in place changes to reduce the prescribing of these medicines to high-risk patient groups.

7. Management of medicines at discharge from hospital

Reconcile medicines following discharge from hospitals, intermediate care and into care Homes, including identifying and rectifying unexplained changes and working with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge. With the supervision of a clinical pharmacist, set up and manage systems to ensure continuity of medicines supply to high-risk groups of patients (e.g., those with medicine compliance aids or those in Care Homes).

8. Medicine information to practice staff and patients

Answers relevant medicine-related enquiries from GPs, other network staff, other healthcare teams

(e.g., community pharmacy) and patients with queries about medicines. Suggesting and recommending solutions, seeking support from a clinical pharmacist where needed. Providing follow up for patients to monitor the effect of any changes.

9. Signposting

Ensure that patients are referred to the appropriate healthcare professional for the appropriate level of care within an appropriate time period e.g., pathology results, common/minor ailments, acute conditions, long term condition reviews etc.

10. Repeat prescribing

Manage the repeat prescribing reauthorisation process by reviewing patient requests for repeat prescriptions and reviewing medicines reaching review dates and flagging up those needing a review. Ensure patients have appropriate monitoring tests in place when required.

11. Service development

Contribute technical pharmaceutical advice for the development and implementation of new services that have medicinal components (e.g., advice on treatment pathways and patient information leaflets).

12. Information management

Analyse, interpret and present medicines data to highlight issues and risks to support decision making.

13. Medicines quality improvement

Undertake clinical audits of prescribing in areas directed by the GPs and the PCN team, feedback the results and implement changes in conjunction with the relevant practice team, and with the supervision and support of a clinical pharmacist as necessary.

14. Medicines safety

Implement changes to medicines that result from MHRA alerts, product withdrawal and other local and national guidance, with the supervision and support of a clinical pharmacist as necessary.

15. Implementation of local and national guidelines and formulary recommendations

With the supervision of a clinical pharmacist, monitor practice prescribing against the local health economys RAG list and make recommendations to GPs for medicines that should be prescribed by hospital doctors (red drugs) or subject to shared care (amber drugs). Assist practices in seeing and maintaining a practice formulary that is hosted on each practices computer system.

Auditing practices compliance against NICE technology assessment guidance.

Provide newsletters or bulletins on important prescribing messages.

16. Education and Training

With the supervision of a clinical pharmacist, provide education and training to primary healthcare team on therapeutics and medicines optimisation.

17. Care Quality Commission

With the supervision of a clinical pharmacist, work with the general practice teams to ensure the practices are compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved.

18. Public health

Support public health campaigns

19. Collaborative working arrangements

As part of an integrated pharmacy team, foster and maintain collaborative working relationships with practice teams, ICB colleagues including medicines management pharmacy professionals, the aging well team and social prescribing team, and all other relevant services across the PCN and other stakeholders as needed for the collective benefit the practice and its patients.

Qualifications

Essential

• Mandatory registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council as pharmacy technician
• Demonstrates understanding of, and conforms to, relevant standards of practice
• Follows professional & organisational policies/procedures relating to performance management

Desirable

• Membership Royal Pharmaceutical Society
• Foundation training in primary care

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• A comprehensive understanding of the role of a pharmacy technician in the larger clinical workforce, and the inherent limitations the role carries, including the need for direct supervision or adhering stringently to the processes outlined in a robust SOP
• An appreciation of GPs and General Practice, including the relationship between GP, PCNs and ICBs in the context of the larger NHS and NHS funding.
• Awareness of common acute and long-term conditions that are likely to be seen in general practice
• Excellent Interpersonal, influencing & negotiating skills, to make shared decisions in situations where barriers to this may be present
• Excellent verbal & written communication skills, including appreciation of different communication needs and skills
• Demonstrate the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information in an understandable form to various audiences (e.g. patients)
• Knowledge of IT systems, including ability to use clinical systems, word processing skills, spreadsheets and emails to communicate effectively, document consultations and code accurately and safely, and produce timely and accurate reports
• Able to obtain and analyse complex technical information with accuracy, appropriate management of errors and logical innovation of solutions
• Recognises priorities when problem solving and identifies deviations from the normal pattern and able to recognise limitations of own competence, referring to more senior clinical colleagues when appropriate
• Able to work under pressure and meet deadlines, including prioritisation, time-keeping and sustainable working, including when resource levels change
• Work effectively independently and as a team member
• Able to recognise personal and professional limitations, and refer to more suitable colleagues when appropriate
• Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when working with individuals

Desirable

• Therapeutic & clinical knowledge and an understanding of evidence-based medicine, clinical terminology, medicines optimisation and shared decision-making
• Able to manage, monitor, advise & review general medicines optimisation issues in core areas for long term conditions with direct supervision, or under a robust SOP
• Understand the systems of research governance
• Demonstrates accountability for delivering professional expertise and direct service provision

Other

Essential

• Adaptable and self-motivated
• Appropriate Immunisation Status
• Meets DBS reference standards and has a clear criminal record, in line with the law on spent convictions
• Access to own transport and ability to travel across the locality on a regular basis, including to visit people in their own homes

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working as a qualified, registered pharmacy technician in primary care, community or hospital pharmacy

Desirable

• Experience of working in Primary Care
• Experience of collaborative working and building relationships across a variety of organisations

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).