Job responsibilities
Community
Pharmacy responsibilities:
Work
under the direct supervision of a registered pharmacy professional and liaise
effectively with other members of the pharmacy team.
Consistently
adhere to all Standard Operating Procedures in the pharmacy setting.
Gain
a thorough understanding of Medicines Optimisation and the valuable role
Pharmacy Technicians play in delivering Community Pharmacy services through
direct patient interaction.
Assist
the Pharmacist in the retrieval and handling of electronic prescriptions,
following SOP guidelines.
Receive
prescriptions, verify their legality and validity, and guide patients in
completing relevant declarations.
Use
the pharmacys dispensing system to maintain accurate Patient Medication
Records and generate labels.
Dispense
a range of prescriptions, including NHS, private prescriptions, and
monitored dosage systems, ensuring accuracy in line with community
pharmacy SOPs.
Hand
out medications and provide clear patient counselling on appropriate medicine
usage.
Safely
manage the disposal of returned or unwanted medicines in compliance with
disposal protocols.
Record
controlled drugs in the CD register and perform regular balance checks
according to legal and procedural requirements.
Manage
stock processes including ordering, receiving, storing, and maintaining
inventory in line with SOPs.
Support
the Pharmacist in conducting medicines reconciliation, ensuring accurate and
up-to-date patient medication records, particularly during care
transitionsliaising with GP practices where necessary.
Conduct
over-the-counter sales and offer advice for common minor ailments under
supervision.
Assist
the Pharmacist in delivering key pharmacy services such as the Medicines Use
Review, New Medicines Service , and Community Pharmacist
Consultation Service.
Contribute
to the provision of commissioned enhanced services e.g., smoking cessation
support, under the supervision of the Pharmacist or trained pharmacy staff.
Communicate
effectively with General Practice teams to resolve prescription-related queries
and support seamless patient care.
General
Practice Responsibilities
Work
under the direct supervision of a registered pharmacy professional and liaise
effectively with other members of the practice team.
Always
Adhere to all relevant Standard Operating Procedures within the
workplace.
Gain
an understanding of Medicines Optimisation and the role of Pharmacy Technicians
in General Practice, including working in both face-to-face and telephone-based
patient interactions.
Use
the clinical IT system to accurately document consultations, conduct searches,
and communicate via tasks with other healthcare professionals.
Process
prescription requests from patients, care home staff, community pharmacists,
and GPs within 48 hours for routine prescriptions and on the same day for
urgent requests. This may include directing prescriptions to out-of-hours
pharmacies where necessary.
Develop
knowledge and support the use of practice templates for monitoring high-risk
medication.
Learn
to manage blood test monitoring, recalls, and reviews in line with established
protocols, involving appropriate clinicians as needed.
Review
hospital discharge summaries and clinical letters to reconcile medications,
identify discrepancies, and escalate concerns to the pharmacist or designated
GP under supervision.
Contribute
to the effective management of prescribing budgets through regular audits, data
analysis, and by supporting the implementation of cost-effective prescribing strategies remaining aware of current incentive targets.
Assist
pharmacists and clinical staff with annual medication reviews e.g. for
asthma, ensuring patients are prescribed the most cost-effective formulary
items and demonstrate correct usage e.g. inhaler technique, under
supervision.
Perform
regular audits of medicine storage to ensure compliance with local and national
guidelines, reporting any issues to the appropriate manager.
Ensure
regular checking of in-practice medicines, identifying and appropriately
disposing of expired stock in accordance with SOPs.
Promote
medicines waste reduction through the use of appropriate resources and patient
education.
Carry
out patient interventions both face-to-face and via telephone as directed by
the pharmacist, and ensure all consultations are properly documented and
reported to the relevant clinician.
Undertake
prescribing audits to assess practice or Primary Care Network prescribing
patterns, benchmark against national and local targets, and identify areas for
improvement.
Support
prescription clerks by assisting with queries related to medication requests.
Contribute
to the ongoing development and safety of the prescription process by resolving
queries and ensuring prescriptions are issued within agreed timelines, in
collaboration with the practice pharmacist.
Assist
the pharmacist in managing drug recalls, safety alerts e.g., MHRA, and
medicines supply issues.
Promote
seasonal health promotion initiatives e.g., Stoptober, Antibiotic Awareness
Week, Flu Campaigns, including the creation of informative patient-facing
displays.
Encourage
the use of digital health tools such as Patient Access, the NHS App, and
Electronic Repeat Dispensing , promoting these to patients and staff as
directed by the Practice Manager.
INFORMATION SUPPORT AND
RECORD KEEPING
To keep an accurate record of all activity
undertaken within practices and community pharmacy.
To ensure all patient interventions are recorded on
the practice/community pharmacy computer in accordance with the working
procedures developed with the practice/community pharmacy.
To be responsible for keeping accurate retrievable
records of all formal queries, data collection exercises, and audits.
To be confident and competent with using the
pharmacy and practice computer systems, always complying with confidentiality
and the data protection act.
To understand and be able to use Word, Msteams,
Excel, internet explorer and email.
TRAINING AND EDUCATION
Successfully complete a General Pharmaceutical
Council -accredited course, GPhC-recognised qualification, or
GPhC-approved apprenticeship pathway to meet the eligibility criteria for
registration as a Pharmacy Technician.
Dedicate one day per week or equivalent time to
structured study using online learning platforms and resources.
Commit to independent study outside of working
hours as required to support learning and progression.
Complete all mandatory and statutory training
relevant to each workplace setting.
Undertake and complete local competency-based
assessments as required.
Ensure the minimum required hours of work-based
experience are achieved, in line with GPhC standards, to support successful
registration as a qualified Pharmacy Technician.
PLANNING AND
ORGANISATION: FREEDOM TO ACT
Work under the direct supervision of a registered
Pharmacist or qualified Pharmacy Technician at all times, whether based in a
community pharmacy or primary care setting.
All duties must be performed in line with Standard
Operating Procedures, local policies, and the scope of practice as
defined by the training programme and relevant regulatory standards.
The PTPT is not authorised to act independently in
any clinical or dispensing role until deemed competent in specific tasks
through assessment and sign-off, in accordance with the training programme.
As competencies develop, certain responsibilities
may be carried out with reduced direct supervision, provided this is formally
agreed with the supervising pharmacist or technician.
The PTPT is expected to maintain professional
behaviour and adhere to GPhC guidance, reporting concerns, errors, or
uncertainties to their supervisor immediately.
The level of autonomy will gradually increase only
as competence is demonstrated and documented through the accredited training
and assessment process.
COLLABORATIVE WORKING
ARRANGEMENTS
Participate in the PCN
MDT
Foster and maintains
strong links with all services across the PCN
Explore the potential for
collaborative working and takes opportunities to initiate and sustain such
relationships
Attend ICB Medicine Optimisation
Team meetings and peer groups
Attend ICB Medicine
Optimisation Team training and development sessions
Liaise with colleagues
including ICB Medicine Optimisation Team on prescribing matters to ensure
consistency of patient care and benefit
Participate in the ICB
Medicine Optimisation Team medicines related projects and workstreams
Liaise and integrate with
colleagues in the ICB Medicine Optimisation Team to benefit from peer support
Work with primary care to
ensure practices are compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved
To support public health
campaigns and to provide specialist knowledge on all public health programmes
available to the general public
KEY RELATIONSHIPS
Liaise with other stakeholders as needed for
the collective benefit of patients, key relationships include (but are not
limited to):
Patients and their
representatives
GPs, nurses and other
practice staff
Social prescribers, first
contact physiotherapists, physician associates and paramedics
Community pharmacists and
support staff
ICB Medicine Optimisation
Team including pharmacists and technicians
Locality/GP prescribing
lead
Locality Managers
Community nurses and
other allied health professionals
Hospital staff with
responsibilities for prescribing and medicines optimisation
