Lead Pharmacy technican Clinical trials and dispensary leadership

Job description

Job responsibilities

Clinical Trials:

Planning and organising the daily clinical trials technical pharmacy workload to ensure a prompt and responsive service to patients, medical and nursing staff under the professional direction of the pharmacist responsible for clinical trials, ensuring the workload is risk managed and allocated appropriately.

Ensuring all medicines supplied as part of clinical trials meet the national and trial specific requirements of the trial and that this is clearly documented in the trial specific SOPs.

Assist the lead clinical trials pharmacist in the assessment of new clinical trials and the ability of the department to fulfil the trial requirements.

Organise and update trial specific clinical trial folders.

Manage IMPs and non NIMPs stock following the trial specific instructions.

Train and assess technical staff on the general and specific requirements for the supply of drugs in each clinical trial.

Reviewing trial amendments under the direction of the lead pharmacist, evaluating the impact of amendments and updating associated clinical trials documents

To supervise monitoring visits for clinical trials and respond to requests for information and documents

To receive, complete or handover post-monitoring visit tasks and ensure their completion by stipulated deadlines

Reviewing and updating clinical trials procedures to ensure the safe and effective delivery of Clinical Trials of Investigational Medicinal Products (CTIMPs) in accordance to Good Clinical Practice (GCP)

Accuracy checking, dispensing and labelling medicines including IMPs and NIMPs under a busy and time pressured environment

To represent the pharmacy department in quarterly R&D meetings, providing support to resolve trust wide research issues and raising pharmacy issues that require the support of R&D and other specialist research teams

Attend Clinical Research Network meetings to keep up to date on national regulations and contribute to the clinical research service development at a regional level.

Investigate technical errors within the area of clinical trials as allocated by the lead pharmacist.

Dispensary in conjunction with the dispensary manager:

Undertaking within SOPs the checking of dispensed medicines

Liaising with the AH based Pharmacy Medicines Procurement Team to ensure the correct quantity of medicines are ordered and stocked at WRH dispensary.

Leading and motivating the team of staff allocated to the WRH dispensary, ensuring that the team members actively and effectively contribute to the aims of the service, and that they are trained to enable them to do so, and that they are aware of the expectations of them.

Ensuring that all SOPs, policies and guidelines relating to dispensary and distribution services are implemented, and complied with as an integral element of the pharmacy directorate clinical governance and risk management strategy.

Assisting with the implementation of the Trusts performance management system for the WRH dispensary staff and services to ensure that these services are of the highest standard, are risk managed and that all technical elements of the departmental dispensary business plan are achieved.

Assisting in the development of training and educational programmes for technical staff which are competency-based, in line with national and regional standards, and internally accredited for quality assurance, risk management and indemnity.

Financial Responsibilities

Purchasing, equipment and consumables required by the Clinical Trials unit according to identified need, from approved suppliers and within the departmental non-pay budget.

Liaising with the WRH based Pharmacy Medicines Procurement Team to ensure that re-order levels and re-order quantities for locally sourced IMPs are managed so that an appropriate quantity of IMPs are ordered and stocked at WRH to minimise stock-outs and waste due to over stocking.

Ensuring there is a complete financial audit trail, using the Pharmacy Computer System, for all medicines issued from the Clinical Trials unit and medicines are accurately charged to wards, departments, consultants, and any other areas where appropriate.

Setting up systems to investigate and account for discrepancies between the actual stock of IMPs and NIMPS and the Pharmacy Computer System recorded stock or stock on trial specific documents as appropriate.

Use EDGE to keep accurate record of trial activity and to assess invoices against trial activity to ensure the income in to the clinical trial cost code is accurate and up to date.

Training and Staff Development

Developing and delivering structured, competency-based training programmes in line with national or regional standards for technical staff in clinical trials in conjunction with the Lead Pharmacist and Chief Technician. The post holder will design training to ensure that it is both relevant to the competencies required of any external training programmes.

Ensuring that all technical staff have been appropriately trained, assessed and considered competent to undertake the duties required of them.

Being a role model for clinical trial, and to train all new staff in all aspects of departmental procedures.

Delivering training to students and pharmacists undergoing rotation into both units as delegated by the Specialist Lead Pharmacist or chief technician.

Undertaking the personal training and development required to ensure the quality of the service.

Formally assessing and providing feedback to allocated students against departmental and external accreditation schemes and pro-actively gaining feedback on teaching and training methods to ensure training delivery and content is continually reviewed and improved.

Service and Project Development

Advising the Lead Specialist Pharmacist on amending working practices and documentation to improve the running of the service, including quality, efficiency and Health and Safety issues.

Assisting the Lead Specialist Pharmacist in the preparation and development of key documentation to support service and project development.

Assisting the Lead Specialist Pharmacist in the development of new services for the Trust according to the business plan of both the pharmacy department and the Trust as a whole.

Proposing and implementing changes to clinical trial pharmacy services, providing costed and or detailed proposals whilst considering the impact on delivery of other pharmacy services.

Participating in senior clinical team meetings reviewing and developing the clinical trial and service provision at WRH.

Organising and effectively utilising patient and staff forums to pro-actively gain patient and staff feedback on current service delivery, ensuring that user need steers future improvements and service developments.

Operational Service/Managerial Responsibilities

Be expected to undertake any element of the dispensary and distribution service delivery within the WRH pharmacy department listed on technical staff job descriptions in order to meet the needs of patients taking account of workload and staffing resources. This will include the accurate dispensing of drugs for patients with no margin for error.

Hold the nationally accredited checking technician qualification.

Undertake within SOPs the final accuracy checking of dispensed medicines.

Report errors or omissions made during the dispensing process to dispensing staff in a constructive manner completing, where appropriate, the Trust Risk Report and ensure the corrective action required is explained and supervised.

Contribute to technical staff recruitment/retention in line with workforce planning requirements and developments, in conjunction with the Chief Technician.

Conduct interviews for technical staff.

Help implement the departmental performance management system ensuring that all technical service-based staff are performance managed, receive annual appraisals and appropriate associated development plans to deliver the pharmaceutical requirements of the Trust.

Assist the Chief Technician in managing the departmental sickness/absence policy for technical staff and any subsequent capability/disciplinary action, acting in the best interests of the department, Trust and patients.

Participate in the Trusts Skills Development Review process on at least an annual basis, preparing for and pro-actively contributing to the annual review. This will include following the Personal Development Plan (PDP) devised and the maintenance of personal CPD records as agreed.

Participate in the operational Saturday and Bank Holiday rotas, which are mandatory.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• NVQ Level 3 and BTEC in pharmaceutical science or equivalent. Registered with the GPhC Current in-date accreditation as a Checking Technician Meeting GPhC requirements for CPD

Desirable

• GCP training for clinical trials Has undertaken a mentoring/coaching course . Has undertaken leadership training

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working in the area of clinical trials in the supply of IMP and NIMPs following local SOPs Significant current experience of providing operational pharmacy services in an acute hospital trust setting. Significant recent experience of successfully supervising the technical services for a section of a large pharmacy department or a smaller team. Experience of organising and managing in a busy and potentially stressful environment. Experience of working with healthcare IT systems and automation. Experience in writing papers and reports.

Desirable

• Experience in providing training pre-registration pharmacy graduates and pharmacists Proven experience of successfully supervising staff (including dealing with simple HR issues such as sickness, personal development reviews), implementing service improvements or change. Experience at representing pharmacy or a pharmacy team at Trust meetings/forums Experience in conducting audits.

knowledge and skills

Essential

• Proven ability to dispense medicines accurately without making errors. Proven ability to check medicines dispensed by others and to detect any errors that have been made. Standard key-board skills for using the Pharmacy Computer System, and other software, to prepare reports, analyses, label medicines etc. Skilled at using Microsoft Office to produce word-processed documents e.g. SOPs (MS Word), compile reports and plan work schedules (MS Excel), (MS Access) and prepare and deliver training presentations (MS PowerPoint). People management and change management skills. Ability to react to and manage the changing situation within the service on a daily basis and to motivate and inform staff accordingly. Able to work with initiative and innovation. Able to set priorities, meet deadlines and manage time effectively within a pressurised environment A good team worker, functions as a role model for colleagues. Excellent time management skills Excellent communication and organisational skills Skilled at teaching and mentoring junior pharmacists, technical staff and students.

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

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

Address

Charles Hastings Way

Worcester

Worcestershire

WR5 1DD

Employer's website

https://www.worcsacute.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)