Practice Dispenser

BOURNE GALLETLY MEDICAL PRACTICE

POSITION: Dispenser

PENSION SCHEME: NHS Occupational Pension Scheme (optional)

REPORTS TO: Dispensary Manager/GP Partner

**MAIN PURPOSE**
- To dispense medications as directed by GPs and prescribing nurses, ensuring accuracy in labelling of drug name, strength, quantity and direction for use
- To produce FP10 repeat medication prescriptions as directed by GPs and prescribing nurses.
- To keep accurate patient records and be responsible for overseeing all administration within the dispensary
- To adhere to the strictest confidentiality when handling medical records and other information pertaining to patients and staff
- To produce, order and make-up dressings requests from District Nurses, residential and nursing homes.
- To work in line with surgery SOP’s.

**KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES**

Duties may vary under the direction of the Dispensary Manager depending on workload and staffing levels and may include the following:

- Ensuring that all dispensed medications are correct and include all relevant information for the patient; any uncertainty as to the item, dose or labelling to be checked with authorising GP or dispensing nurse
- Collecting prescription charges and ensuring all relevant paperwork, including the declaration on the reverse of the FP10, is signed by the patient
- Recording and banking all financial transactions within the dispensary
- Dispensing dosette boxes to patients
- Adhering to practice policies for controlled drugs, providing a second check on all medication as issued
- Maintaining stock levels within the dispensary and reordering when necessary
- Checking expiry dates on medications and ensuring proper storage conditions are observed
- Accepting deliveries of medication and forwarding invoices to the Dispensary Manager
- Maintaining up-to-date marketplace knowledge by checking prices with suppliers
- Endorsing all prescription forms as appropriate, collating and submitting forms to the PPA to process reimbursement along with any accompanying forms such as the FP34D
- Promptly notifying the authorising GP of returns or feedback from PPA should action need to be taken
- Effectively controlling stock levels, ensuring sufficient stock for all Practice needs while minimising wastage
- Creating a log-book for all refrigerated items and ensuring these are stored at their appropriate temperature
- Taking informed and appropriate action should any drug alert bulletins be received
- Ensuring thorough familiarity with the clinical computer system to ensure all relevant patient information is recorded and resolving any problems that arise
- Safely disposing of returned, incorrect or out-of-date medications
- Reordering stationery and other non-medical supplies when necessary
- Issuing repeat prescriptions to patients according to agreed time-scale and directions of authorising GP or dispensing nurse
- Aiding patients with the completion of exemption criteria on the reverse of the prescription form if necessary
- Process online/phone and paper prescription requests emptying the prescription box at reception on a regular basis.
- Ensure review dates are current and if not send messages in line with the medication review protocol.
- Check to ensure PDS is active and prescription destination is as requested on the repeat prescription, changing notification if required.
- Requesting repeat items via the EMIS system, sending tasks to GPs if items requested are in acute or past drugs, ensuring wherever possible reasons are received and forwarded in task for these requests.
- Checking items are due for issue and recognise when patients may be ordering erratically or too often and alerting GPs via medicine management tasks.
- Ordering controlled drugs and ensuring they are put in the basket for signing. Annotating scripts with ‘CD’ to ensure when they have been signed the reception team register them in the log books in reception for pharmacies/patients to sign on receipt.
- Ordering appliances from designated companies, checking these are not duplicate orders and researching new items on the EMIS system, before requesting from appropriate GP.
- Ordering dressings and appliances in line with the surgery formulary for District nurses, nursing homes and residential homes.
- Collating the orders when they arrive from Wardles and distributing them to the appropriate destination.
- Taking telephone requests from patients between 10 am and 12 pm and dealing with other medication queries from pharmacies and patients at other times.
- Ensuring shredding is cleared after each shift and placed in the correct shredding bins, making sure prescriptions which have patient information on but not required are voided correctly by either tearing in half or writing.
- Action tasks returned from GPs, to include ringing patients to advise outcome of tasks or sending letters if required to advise patients to contact the surgery if unable to contact via the phone.
- Assisting w