Pharmacy Technician in Bristol

This is an exciting opportunity to develop your career as a Pharmacy Technician within our well-established and highly skilled practice employed pharmacy team. This vacancy has arisen following the resignation of our current Pharmacy Technician who is leaving to pursue a slightly different role outside primary care. The post would be based at Air Balloon Surgery, although funded through the FABB PCN Addition Roles Reimbursement Scheme. The post would suit a GPhC registered pharmacy technician who wishes to progress their career in a knowledgeable and supportive environment within primary care, and who has either enrolled in or has qualified through an approved pathway such as the Primary Care Pharmacy Educational Pathway (PCPEP) or Medicines Optimisation in Care Homes (MOCH) or is willing to undertake such training.

Main duties of the job

The successful post holder will work with our three Practice Clinical Pharmacists to undertake patient-facing and patient-supporting roles to ensure effective use of medications, including medicines optimisation tasks, and supporting medication reviews.

Hours

Ideally the post holder would work full time over five days, Monday to Friday, but we would be happy to consider a part-time role for the right candidate.

Pay and conditions

Pay to be discussed, dependent on experience. Includes NHS Pension Scheme and 5.6 weeks pro-rata paid holiday, not including bank holidays. We reserve the right to close this post before the closing date should we have received sufficient suitable applications.

About us

We are supportive, friendly and innovative and value team players with a can-do attitude to join our close-knit team. We have an excellent track record for supporting the development of individuals in specialist posts.

• 4 Partners and 6 Associate GPs
• Home Visits done by Frail Care Physiotherapist
• Extensively skilled nursing team, including Urgent Care Nurses and nurse prescribers
• Three clinical practice pharmacists including two prescribing
• Extremely supportive and highly-trained Care Navigator team.
• CPD well supported in-house and with external training
• GP Training practice
• We are a registered Park-Run Practice.
• Achieved overall good CQC rating

Job responsibilities

Job Summary: To work under the supervision of the Practice Pharmacists to ensure the safe, accurate and timely supply of prescriptions to patients. To provide technical and administrative support to the Clinical Pharmacists and Clinicians. Support the Care Navigator team with complex queries around medication from patients. Complete audits around patient safety and cost-effective prescribing and present the information for sharing with the clinical team.

Clinical responsibilities

• Undertake patient facing and patient supporting roles to ensure effective medicines use, through shared decision-making conversations with patients.
• Carry out medicines optimisation tasks including effective medicine administration (e.g. checking inhaler technique), supporting medication reviews, and medicines reconciliation. Where required, utilise consultation skills to work in partnership with patients to ensure they use their medicines effectively.
• Support medication reviews and medicines reconciliation for new care home patients and synchronising medicines for patient transfers between care settings and linking with local community pharmacists.
• Provide specialist expertise, where competent, to address both the public health and social care needs of patients, including lifestyle advice, service information, and help in tackling local health inequalities.
• Support initiatives for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing.
• Assist in the delivery of medicines optimisation and management incentive schemes and patient safety audits.
• Support the implementation of national prescribing policies and guidance. This will be achieved through undertaking clinical audits (e.g. use of antibiotics), supporting quality improvement measures and contributing to the Quality and Outcomes Framework and enhanced services.

Management responsibilities

• Work with the practice multi-disciplinary team to ensure efficient medicines optimisation, including implementing efficient ordering and return processes, and reducing wastage.
• Supervise practice Care Navigation team in sorting and streaming general prescription requests, so as to allow GPs and clinical pharmacists to review the more clinically complex requests.
• Support initiatives for medicines optimisation systems to get the best value from medicines by encouraging and supporting Electronic Prescriptions, safe repeat prescribing systems, and timely monitoring and management of high-risk medicines.
• Provide training and support as requested, on the legal, safe and secure handling of medicines, including the implementation of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS).
• Under the supervision of the Senior Practice Pharmacist, manage and action MHRA drug alerts, recording actions and working within required time frames.
• Support the practice to meet local prescribing budgetary targets and performance schemes.

Person Specification

Skills and Personal Attributes

• Empathic, approachable, polite and confident
• Can demonstrate ability to work under pressure and recognise own limitations
• Able to manage clinical risk
• Shares practices core values which include teamwork, patient-centred and innovation
• Able to prioritise own work
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrate the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information in an understandable form to a variety of audiences (e.g. patients)
• Able to satisfy government or statutory requirements for infectious disease vaccination status
• Willing to work at times outside core hours
• Full driving licence

Qualifications

• NVQ Level 3 Diploma in Pharmacy Service Skills (QCF) plus Level 3 QCF Diploma in Pharmaceutical Science or GPhC accredited equivalent prior to July 2011.
• Is registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
• Meets the specific qualification and training requirements as specified by the GPhC criteria to register as a Pharmacy Technician.
• Enrolled in, undertaking, qualified from, or willing to enrol in and undertake an approved training pathway. For example, the Primary Care Pharmacy Educational Pathway (PCPEP) or Medicines Optimisation in Care Homes (MOCH).

Experience

• Completion of 2 years consolidation of learning period post qualification
• Broad range of clinical experience
• Able to work independently
• Demonstrates ability to manage clinical risk
• Community or primary care working
• Evidence of clinical evaluation and audit work
• Knowledge of Emis software

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Depending on experience, pay rate to be discussed. NHS Pension Scheme.