Dispensary Assistant

**Dispensary Assistant job description & person specification**

**Job Title**

Dispensary Assistant

**Line Manager**

Dispensary Manager

**Accountable to**

Business Manager

**Hours per week**

37

**Job Summary**

To support the dispensary manager in all areas of dispensing, ensuring a high-level of service is delivered at all times, whilst supporting the multi-disciplinary team in line with the strategic objectives of the practice.

**Generic Responsibilities**

All staff at Langport Surgery have a duty to conform to the following:
**Equality, Diversity & Inclusion**

A good attitude and positive action towards ED&I create an environment where all individuals are able to achieve their full potential. Creating such an environment is important for three reasons: it improves operational effectiveness, it is morally the right thing to do, and it is required by law.

**Safety, Health, Environment and Fire (SHEF)**

This practice is committed to supporting and promoting opportunities to for staff to maintain their health, well-being and safety. You have a duty to take reasonable care of health and safety at work for you, your team and others, and to cooperate with employers to ensure compliance with health and safety requirements. All personnel are to comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Environmental Protection Act 1990, Environment Act 1995, Fire Precautions (workplace) Regulations 1999 and other statutory legislation.

**Confidentiality**

This practice is committed to maintaining an outstanding confidential service. Patients entrust and permit us to collect and retain sensitive information relating to their health and other matters, pertaining to their care. They do so in confidence and have a right to expect all staff will respect their privacy and always maintain confidentiality. It is essential that if, the legal requirements are to be met and the trust of our patients is to be retained that all staff protect patient information and provide a confidential service.

**Quality & Continuous Improvement (CI)**

To preserve and improve the quality of our output, all personnel are required to think not only of what they do, but how they achieve it. By continually re-examining our processes, we will be able to develop and improve the overall effectiveness of the way we work. The responsibility for this rests with everyone working within the practice to look for opportunities to improve quality and share good practice.

This practice continually strives to improve work processes which deliver health care with improved results across all areas of our service provision. We promote a culture of continuous improvement, where everyone counts, and staff are permitted to make suggestions and contributions to improve our service delivery and enhance patient care.

**Learning and Development**

**Collaborative Working**

All staff are to recognise the significance of collaborative working. Teamwork is essential in multidisciplinary environments. Effective communication is essential, and all staff must ensure they communicate in a manner which enables the sharing of information in an appropriate manner.

**Service Delivery**

Staff at Langport Surgery must adhere to the information contained with practice policies and regional directives, ensuring protocols are adhered to at all times. Staff will be given detailed information during the induction process regarding policy and procedure.

**Security**

The security of the practice is the responsibility of all personnel. Staff must ensure they remain vigilant at all times and report any suspicious activity immediately to their line manager. Under no circumstances are staff to share the codes for the door locks to anyone and are to ensure that restricted areas remain effectively secured.

**Professional Conduct**

At Langport Surgery, staff are required to dress appropriately for their role. Administrative staff will be provided with a uniform whilst clinical staff must dress in accordance with their role.

**Primary Responsibilities**

The following are the core responsibilities of the dispensary assistant. There may be on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels:

- Acting as the focal point for patients, answering the dispensary phone and hatch
- Collecting prescription charges in accordance with dispensary protocol
- Maintaining stock levels within the dispensary, liaising with the dispensary manager to facilitate reordering
- Receiving and storing supplies in accordance with current policy, ensuring the cold chain is maintained where applicable
- Safe disposal of returned and / or out of date medicines
- Supporting the processing of repeat prescriptions, ensuring a 48-hour turnaround is achieved
- Assisting the Dispensary Manager in the preparation of monthly returns
- Maintaining a clean and safe working environment at all times
- Maintain accurate records at all times,