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).

**Duties include**:
Making sales of OTC and pharmacy only medicines to patients and customers along with associated advice. 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). Organise the timely supply of out of stock medication to patients, prioritise and delegate to other pharmacy team members when necessary. Communicate any delays in supply to the appropriate person. Counsel patients on the use of their dispensed medications, offering advice and answering any queries. Stock management including: receipt, storage, date checking and stock house-keeping.

We’re Hiring - PART TIME(4 hours per week) Outpatient 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

Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.

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 respond to symptoms described by customers by following agreed protocols and using own knowledge and judgement.
- To select and recommend suitable products and provide advice on their correct use.