Outpatient Pharmacy Dispensing Assistant

PLEASE NOTE THIS JOB DOES NOT FALL UNDER AGENDA FOR CHANGE.

The Pharmacy Dispensing Assistant plays a key role in ensuring efficient and high quality customer experience is maintained. Qualified to NVQ2 in Pharmacy Services (or equivalent) or working towards this qualification. Duties include: Making sales of OTC and pharmacy only medicines to patients and customers along with associated advice. Stock management

**including**: receipt, storage, date checking and stock house-keeping. Assembly of prescribed items, through to counselling patients on the use of medication. Opportunity to complete Pharmacy technician course.

We’re Hiring -FULL TIME (40 hours per week) Pharmacy Dispensing Assistant

We have a vacancy for this exciting new venture, and are looking to recruit a Pharmacy Dispensing Assistant. Whether dispensing medication, providing pharmacy services, recommending products and making sales, you will be providing personalised solutions to help people lead healthier lives - this is work with real purpose. You would be expected to help develop and drive forward services to meet the needs of our patients, staff and the local community.

Please note that this post does not fall under NHS Agenda for Change as Whittington Pharmacy is a Community Interest Company

Medical services have been delivered on the Whittington Hospital site for over 500 years. On 1st April 2011, Whittington Health was launched as a new Integrated Care Organisation (ICO) comprising The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust, NHS Islington and NHS Haringey. The Whittington and the community health services in Islington and Haringey are award winning organisations, delivering acute and community based health services to a population of 443,000 people.

The organisation is the biggest employer in the area, with over 4,500 staff; delivering healthcare not only on the acute hospital site which has 420 beds, but also from a variety of other community based health centres and through visits to patients homes across the boroughs to address the health needs of the local population. Whittington Health also works with other health, social care and voluntary sector partners to support patients and service users from their initial appointment whether it be with a community health team or at the hospital, all the way through to treatment and tailored after care.

We are one of the three main teaching campuses for the Royal Free and University College Medical School.

Our ICARE (Innovation, Compassion, Accountability, Respect and Excellence) Values not only help us shape what we do, but also how we do it and why. They are fundamental to the way we do business and care for our patients.

Key Job Responsibilities

Dispensing
- Prepare labels using the pharmacy computer system and correctly assemble prescriptions, ensuring each item is accurately dispensed and in the correct packaging, according to standard operating procedures (SOP).
- To make simple dilutions as determined by the pharmacist.
- Organise the timely supply of out of stock medication to patients.
- Communicate any delays in supply to the appropriate person..
- Counsel patients on the use of their dispensed medications, offering advice and answering any queries they may have. Refer any queries to a pharmacist when appropriate.

**Ordering and Stock Management**:

- Receive deliveries from suppliers and manufacturers.
- Check delivery for accuracy against paperwork.
- Query discrepancies and damaged stock with supplier/senior staff member.
- Securely store stock into the allocated areas ensuring rotation of stock.
- Ensure stock is accurately loaded into the robot.
- Enter products onto the Pharmacy computer system.
- Query computer stock level discrepancies with a senior member of staff.
- File paperwork and keep relevant documentation.
- Remove expired, unwanted and overstocked drugs and inform a senior member of staff.
- Empty the returned patient/ or unwanted medication and sort drugs for destruction or recycling whilst following COSHH regulations and SOP.
- To assist with stock control and the maintenance of reasonable stock levels within the retail environment.
- Order stock from suppliers and manufacturers in accordance with the ordering procedures and order of delegation/financial instructions.

**Customer Service and Communication**:

- Engender a “customer first” culture across the organisation ensuring high standards of professional customer service are delivered at all times within the pharmacy.
- To respond to telephone and face-to-face queries of a routine pharmaceutical nature from patients or their representatives and to refer queries to the pharmacist when appropriate.
- Receive prescriptions/orders and process on to the pharmacy prescription tracking system ensuring accurate data entry.
- Receive prescription fees from outpatients (NHS and private), or complete exemption declaration forms and assist outpatients to determine their prescription charge exemption.
- To res