Pharmacy Technician

Job responsibilities

Lead improvements to maximise safe, cost-effective best practise in prescribing to improve the quality of patient care.

Help patients get the best from their medicines by switching medications to agreed and approved protocols, improving repeat prescribing processes in General Practice, including promotion of repeat dispensing, and ordering online, minimising clinical risk and aiming to reduce wasted medicines.

Be responsible for encouraging the development of better understanding of the principles of medicines optimisation throughout the practice teams and promoting good practice in line with therapeutic developments. This will involve assisting the PCN in achieving national requirements, NICE implementation, and utilisation of medicines optimisation initiatives.

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

Carry out medicines optimisation tasks including effective medicine administration (e.g. checking inhaler technique), supporting medication reviews and medicines reconciliation. Where required, utilise consultation skills to work in partnership with patients to ensure they use their medicines effectively.

As determined by the PCN, support medication reviews and medicines reconciliation for new care home patients and synchronising medicines for patient transfers between care settings, linking with local community pharmacies.

Support the Clinical Pharmacist in Structured Medication Reviews (SMR) i.e., organise necessary monitoring tests prior to SMR.

Provide expertise to address both the public health and social care needs of patients, including lifestyle advice, service information, and help in tackling local health inequalities.

Manage shared care protocols and liaise with Clinical Pharmacists for more complex patients.

Support initiatives for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing locally.

Support the PCN multi-disciplinary team to ensure efficient medicines optimisation processes are being followed.

Implement efficient ordering and return processes and reducing medication wastage.

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

Promotion of Electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD) and online ordering.

Develop relationships with other pharmacy professionals and members of the multi-disciplinary team to support integration across health and social care including primary care, community pharmacy, secondary care, and mental health.

Support practice reception teams in streaming general prescription requests, to allow GPs and clinical pharmacists to review the more clinically complex requests.

Support the implementation of national prescribing policies and guidance within GP practices, care homes and other primary care settings.

Support the PCN to deliver on QIPP agenda, QOF and locally commissioned enhanced services.

Supporting quality improvement measures and contributing to the Quality and Outcomes Framework and enhanced services.

Support the PCN in reviewing and developing practice policies for CQC requirements.

Develop a culture that promotes equality and values diversity. The postholder must be aware of and committed to the Equality and Diversity policies of the appointing GP Alliance and comply with all the requirements of these policies and actively promote Equality and Diversity issues relevant to the post.

Ensure the principles of openness, transparency and candour are observed and upheld in all working practices.

The post holder will have, or acquire through training provided by the organisation, the appropriate level of safeguarding and knowledge, skills and practice required for the post and be aware of and comply with the organisations the PCN practices safeguarding protection policies and procedures.

Ensure that any infection prevention and control issues are reported to the line manager/infection prevention and control.

Experience

Essential

• Knowledge of IT systems, including ability to use word processing skills, emails and the internet to create simple plans and reports

Desirable

• Evidence of working autonomously or as part of a team
• Experience working in a primary care setting
• Understanding and knowledge of healthcare provision in GP practices, QOF and enhanced services
• Experience of dealing with a range of clinical conditions
• Good clinical system IT knowledge of EMIS/SystmOne
• Ability to communicate complex and sensitive information effectively with people at all levels by telephone, email and face to face

Personal qualities

Essential

• Good personal organisational skills
• Effective time management
• Demonstrate personal accountability, emotional resilience and work well under pressure
• Ability to use own initiative, discretion, and sensitivity
• Able to get along with people from all backgrounds and communities, respecting lifestyles and diversity.
• Flexible and cooperative
• Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations
• Able to finish work tasks
• Ability to maintain confidentiality

Other requirements

Essential

• Flexibility to work outside core office hours.
• Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check.
• Maintain confidentiality at all times.
• Full UK driving licence.

Qualifications

Essential

• Qualified Pharmacy Technician
• Current registration with General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
• GSCE in Maths, English and science or equivalent

Skills

Essential

• Ability to follow legal, ethical, professional, and organisational policies/procedures and codes of conduct
• Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when working with individuals
• Problem solving and analytical skills
• Knowledge of and ability to work to policies and procedures,
• including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working,
• information governance, and health and safety

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).