Band 4 – 5 Progression Pharmacy Technician

Job summary

The Pharmacy team at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (site: Barnet Hospital) have an exciting opportunity to start a career path in hospital pharmacy. We are looking for motivated Pharmacy Technicians who are keen to expand their experience and are interested in working in a supportive and forward-thinking department committed to delivering high quality patient care.

The post holder will successfully meet set competencies designed to develop the qualities, skills and knowledge expected to move to a Band 5 level. Length of competency training will be dependent on what qualification/ experience the staff member has achieved already but the following would be expected to be met in a maximum of 18 months:

Accredited Checking Pharmacy Technician (ACPT) qualification Accreditation in Medicines Management (AIMM) qualification / Medicines Optimisation Program (MOP) Contribution to service development completion of either an audit, service evaluation, quality improvement project or development of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Accreditation in Training Skills (ATS) qualification / Educational Supervisor / Practice Supervisor(completed or currently enrolled) Leadership qualification(Edward Jenner)

Appraisal score of 3 or above

The post holder will support training and staff development by acting as a mentor / trainer for apprenticeships, in-house and external training/ accreditation and support the Pharmacy Technician Specialists in each of the rotations.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will ensure that Medicines Management, Dispensary and Distribution services are delivered in a safe, effective, economic, and timely manner. The post holder will be responsible for ensuring that all procedures are carried out in accordance with current legislation and guidelines.

Dispensary and distribution duties will include in-patient, out-patient and ward-based dispensing, counselling and controlled drugs dispensing, ward top up and distribution of drugs to wards and departments. They will be responsible for managing stock, investigating, and resolving discrepancies to improve stock holding within the department.

Medicines Management will include supporting the Pharmacy Technician Specialist MMT in developing and maintaining the medicines management service at ward level. This will include the assessment of PODS, medicines reconciliation, original pack dispensing, counselling patients about their medicines and co-ordinating supply of discharge medicines. The post holder will also support the induction and training of a range of staff, including (but not limited to) Pharmacy technicians, Pre-registration Trainee Pharmacy Technicians and Trainee Pharmacists.

The post holder will support training and staff development by acting as a mentor / trainer for apprenticeships, in-house and external training/ accreditation and support the Pharmacy Technician Specialists (Lead Pharmacy Technicians) in each of the rotations.

About us

The Pharmacy Service at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust comprises of Inpatient and Outpatient dispensary services, ward based clinical pharmacy services, Medicines Information, aseptic and non-sterile production services, pharmacy stores & distribution, procurement, and homecare services. We cover a range of clinical specialties including HIV, general medicine, emergency services, surgery, rheumatology, hepatology, anti-coagulation, oncology & haematology, women's health, paediatrics, and infection control.

We are an ambitious and quality improvement focused team who are committed to optimising the use of medicines and providing the best pharmaceutical care to our patients. We are proud to lead the way in integrated training partnerships, digital transformation, and financial improvement programmes (FIP).

For more information about our organisation, please follow the link

Job description

Job responsibilities

To support the Pharmacy Technician Specialist MMT in managing an efficient, accurate and flexible near patient service to the hospital wards.

To support the maintenance of medicines management policies, procedures and standards and ensure that all relevant staff read them, either as a new staff member or when procedures are written/updated.

To support the development and monitoring of the ward top-up service to the wards, including the updating of ward top up stock sheets on a regular basis.

Assists the pharmacists in the implementation and monitoring of the self- administration programme for patients in designated clinical areas

Assists the pharmacists in providing a comprehensive patient counselling service to in-patients, particularly regarding their discharge medication.

To liaise with pharmacists each day to review activities and provide feedback on any clinical issues.

To provide medicines management duties to allocated wards, checking and assessing of Patients Own Drugs (on meeting MMT competencies); drug history taking of new patients; near patient dispensing, counselling services, ordering of in-patient and one stop medicines and annotating of drug charts (as per SOP). These activities will be supervised, and assessments will be carried out on performance until candidate completes in house training and competencies.

To manage the transfer or return of medicines, following patient transfer or discharge, by liaising with ward staff and/or by checking Cerner on the Trust computer system.

To participate in and support data collection and analysis, including clinical audits, as requested

To support the development of ward-based projects, including training of ward and pharmacy staff.

To support the implementation and setting up of satellite dispensing on the wards to help facilitate effective patient discharges and support near patient dispensing.

2. DISPENSARY RESPONSIBILITIES

To support the co-ordination of the day to day running of the dispensary and its staff, with particular attention to workflow, patient waiting times and priority of workload.

To support and direct the work of all dispensary staff, ensuring standard operating procedures are followed and standards maintained.

To supervise and participate in all dispensary duties, including reception, answering queries and collecting prescription fees (BH site only).

To supervise the preparation of the delivery bags according to the porters schedule.

To participate in the dispensing of a wide range of medicines ensuring labelling standards are followed, including named patient/unlicensed medicines, cytotoxics and HIV medicines.

To dispense prescriptions for in-patients and out-patients (BH site only), and to counsel patients regarding all aspects of the usage of medicines supplied to them.

To fill Medicine Compliance Aids with patients discharge medications as required.

To query prescriptions with other health care professionals as necessary, under the supervision of a pharmacist.

To dispense, order, receive into stock, return, and destroy controlled drugs according to procedures. To complete all associated records accurately, and to investigate any discrepancies promptly.

To carry out final dispensing accuracy checks on prescriptions which have previously been screened by a pharmacist, (on attaining ACPT status).

To maintain an efficient system for the storage and retrieval of uncollected prescriptions.

To assist in maintaining a set of written standard operating procedures for all activities involved in the dispensing of medicines.

To assist in the completion of the end of day tasks check list.

To deputise for the Pharmacy Technician Team Manager (Chief Pharmacy Technician) for Dispensary and/or Distribution Services in their absence.

3. STORES DISTRIBUTION RESPONSIBILITIES

To co-ordinate the daily activities in the distribution store, ensuring work is prioritised effectively, daily deadlines achieved, and the workload tracker system is up to date.

To carry out stock control duties as requested, including stock counts, investigations, to-follow processing and allocating monthly expiry checks

To supervise and assist in the assembly of stock for wards and departments.

To supervise and assist in the ward stock topping up service provided to wards and departments.

To support the Pharmacy Technician Team manager (Chief Pharmacy Technician) in the development of the distribution service.

To assist in monitoring, reviewing and documenting errors within distribution

To ensure a final check of stock items issued is carried out before delivery to wards/ departments for un-certificated staff.

To assist the Technician Team manager in enabling distribution staff to complete the certificate of competency and checking that competence is maintained according to procedures.

To complete other tasks within the distribution/store as required by the Technician Team manager.

To assist as necessary with the ordering, receipt, issue, and safe storage of medicines for the Dispensary and Distribution areas.

To assist in quality control checks as directed when required.

To deal with complaints and queries according to procedures and to ensure Technician Team manager is informed where appropriate.

To assist in maintaining the security of the distribution store.

4. STOCK CONTROL RESPONSIBILITIES

To assist in the management of good stock control and participate in the procurement of pharmaceutical products for The Royal Free London Foundation Trust.

To supervise the supply of outstanding prescriptions. To ensure the ward pharmacists are informed, and the items are ordered, dispensed, and delivered to wards/patients according to procedures.

To supervise and participate in regular expiry date checks of dispensary and satellite stock, and to ensure all expired stock is removed from stock according to procedures.

To supervise and participate in regular stock level checks of dispensary stock, and to investigate of stock discrepancies using the pharmacy computer system.

To supervise and participate in the safe processing of medicines returned to the pharmacy department, in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedures for this process

5. OTHER DUTIES

To attend all relevant meetings.

To supervise and participate in the duties of the out-patient pharmacy, including deputising for the Pharmacy Technician Specialist (Lead Pharmacy Technician) as required.

To liaise with the Technician Team manager as appropriate regarding any issues, problems, errors, or complaints beyond limitations.

To be proactive and to support the implementation of change

To participate in the training of pharmacy technicians, pharmacy support staff, students, and ward staff.

To participate in the induction of new staff.

To maintain satisfactory personal performance and professional standards and to achieve, where possible, agreed objectives described in the annual staff appraisal system undertaken by the line manager.

To contribute to the pharmacy technician development forum and act as a champion for workforce development

To help develop and support the pharmacy wellbeing forum and promote healthy lifestyles and work/life balance.

To support the green agenda within the department and aim to reduce the departments carbon footprint.

To complete the HEE commissioned Practice/ Educational Supervisor course (or equivalent) to gain the necessary knowledge and skills to support staff development within the department.

6. ALL AREAS

To answer the departmental telephones in a prompt and courteous manner. To direct enquiries to suitable departments or individuals

To assist with tracking activities and maintaining appropriate audit trails

Maintain high standards of cleanliness and tidiness in working areas at all times

To assist in maintaining departmental security at all times.

Observe safe working practices to avoid placing themselves, other staff, patients or visitors at risk by their actions

To comply with all departmental procedures at all times and to ensure they are followed by junior staff

To uphold the principles of clinical governance within the Trust

To be aware of and apply relevant legislation such as Health and Safety at Work Act, COSSH, Medicines Act, GMP.

To communicate and liaise with other pharmacy staff effectively and clearly

To provide a high standard of customer service and deal with all trust staff, patients and their relatives in a respectful, polite and courteous manner at all times

To participate in the pharmacy late duty service, weekend service, and bank holiday service on a rota basis

To undertake any other relevant duties, as may be required by the Pharmacy Technician Specialist (Lead Pharmacy Technician) or Pharmacy Technician Team Manager (Chief Pharmacy Technician).

Person Specification

Education & professional Qualifications

Essential

Holds an NVQ Pharmacy Service Level 3 / with accredited underpinning knowledge (BTEC Level 3 Diploma in the Principles and the Practice of Pharmacy Technicians) or equivalent. Registered with the GPhC as a Pharmacy Technician Knowledge of the GPhC Standards of conduct, ethics and performance

Desirable

Accreditation in Training Skills (ATS) qualification / Educational Supervisor / Practice Supervisor or working towards Accredited Checking Pharmacy Technician (ACPT) qualification or working towards Accreditation in Medicines Management (AIMM) qualification / Medicines Optimisation Program (MOP) or working towards Leadership qualification (Edward Jenner, Mary Seacole, CPPE Leading for change etc.)

Values

Essential

Demonstrable ability to meet the Trust Values

Experience

Essential

Portfolio demonstrating competence of previous and current pharmacy practice skills, knowledge, and CPD Experience of stock management

Desirable

Previous experience of delivering induction and competency-based training Demonstrated ability to accurately complete complex routine and non-routine tasks as indicated in the job description Previous experience of developing Standard Operating Procedures Previous experience of medicines management at ward level Medicines Management/ Medicines Optimisation in hospital setting Post qualification experience of hospital pharmacy

Skills and aptitudes

Essential

Effective leadership and organisational skills Time management of self and of others Able to respond to unpredictable work patterns. Able to manage own workload. Able to resolve conflict. Able to work under pressure accurately within the departmental SOP's to maintain quality standards. Able to work without supervision Able to prioritise workload effectively Familiar with computer systems and basic keyboard skills

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