Pharmacy Technician

Job responsibilities

Primary key responsibilities:

The Pharmacy Technician is to assume the following key responsibilities in delivering health services.

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

b. Conduct medicine optimisation tasks including effective medicineadministration (e.g., checking inhaler technique), support medicationreviews and medicines reconciliation. When required, utilise consultationskills to work in partnership with patients to ensure they use their medicines effectively

c. Support, as determined by the organisation, medication reviews and medicines reconciliation for new care home patients and synchronise medicines for patient transfers between care settings and linking with local community pharmacists

d. Provide specialist expertise, when competent, to address both the publichealth and social care needs of patients including lifestyle advice, serviceinformation and help in tackling local health inequalities

e. Maintain a central role in the clinical aspects of shared care protocols and liaise with specialist pharmacists for more complex patients

f. Support initiatives for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriateantibiotic prescribing

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

h. 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

i. Attend a formal appraisal with your manager at least every 12 months. Once a performance/training objective has been set, progress will be reviewed on a regular basis so that new objectives can be agreed

j. Contribute to public health campaigns (e.g., COVID-19 or flu clinics) through advice or direct care

k. To always maintain a clean, tidy, effective working area

l. Review and carry out necessary audits in relation to MHRA and CAS alerts

m. Carry out CQC searches and as appropriate act on and/or alert Practices pharmacy leads as to any actions required

Technical and administrative responsibilities

The technical and administrative responsibilities of the Pharmacy Technician:

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

b. Supervise 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

c. Provide leadership for medicines optimisation systems 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

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

e. Develop relationships with other Pharmacy Technicians, Pharmacists and members of the multi-disciplinary team within the PCN, or wider afield within the locality to support the integration of the pharmacy team across health and social care including primary care, community pharmacy, secondary care and mental health

f. Support the delivery of QOF, incentive schemes, IIF, QIPP and other quality or cost effectiveness initiatives

g. Undertake any tasks consistent with the level of the post and the scope of the role, ensuring that work is delivered in a timely and effective manner

h. Duties may vary from time to time without changing the general character of the post or the level of responsibility.

i. There may be, on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks. This will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels.

The job description and person specification may be amended following consultation with the post holder to facilitate the development of the role

Skills

Essential

• Ability to communicate complex and sensitive information effectively with people at all levels by telephone, email and face to face.
• Knowledge of IT systems, including the ability to use word processing skills, emails and the internet to create simple plans and reports.
• Good personal organisational skills.
• Effective time management.
• Demonstrate personal accountability, emotional resilience and work well under pressure.

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
• Meets the specific qualification and training requirements as specified by the GPhC criteria to register as a Pharmacy Technician (Training requirements and further information are available at GPhC).
• Qualified from an approved training pathway. For example, the Primary Care Pharmacy Educational Pathway (PCPEP) or Medicines Optimisation in Care Homes (MOCH).

Experience

Essential

• Experience working in a primary care setting.
• Understanding and knowledge of healthcare provision in GP practices, QOF and enhanced services.
• Is working under appropriate clinical supervision to ensure safe, effective and efficient use of medicines.
• An appreciation of the new NHS landscape including the relationships between individual practices, PCNs and the commissioners.

Desirable

• Good clinical system IT knowledge of EMIS/SystmOne.

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Ability to follow legal, ethical, professional and organisational policies/procedures and codes of conduct.
• Ability to use own initiative, discretion and sensitivity.
• Able to get along with people from all backgrounds and communities, respecting lifestyles and diversity.
• Ability to use own initiative, discretion and sensitivity.
• Flexible and cooperative.
• Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when working with individuals.
• Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations.
• Able to finish work tasks.
• Problem solving and analytical skills.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Knowledge of and ability to work to policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance and health and safety.

Other requirements

Essential

• Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check.
• Access to own transport and ability to travel across the PCN on a regular basis, and also to visit people in their own home if required.

Desirable

• Flexibility to work outside of core office hours.

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).