Pharmacy Assistant | Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Are you ready to unlock your potential within a challenging, creative and fast paced work environment? Do you want to work with people to build positive and productive lives, whatever their past? This is an excellent opportunity for a pharmacy assistant to join our team of diverse, talented healthcare professionals to deliver care that is not only efficient but deeply centred on the patient.

Our healthcare team have a real impact on promoting health and well-being to those in prison and we pride ourselves on using skills and strategies that instil hope for patients’ future resettlement back into the community. We directly deliver Mental Health, Physical Health, Pharmacy and Clinical Substance Misuse in an integrated healthcare delivery model to provide effective and responsive care to improve wellbeing and support better outcomes in the future.

This position isn’t just a job; it’s a chance to blend your clinical knowledge, personal skills and a commitment to delivering the highest standards of care in an environment that is as rewarding as it is challenging.

As a Pharmacy Assistant, you will contribute towards the smooth and efficient running of the pharmacy service on site within the prison. This will include all aspects of stock control (routine ordering, receipt of goods, computer input, storage of medicines), dispensing clinically screened prescriptions and dispensing weekly/monthly in possession medication to patients. You will work out of Medication Administration Points (Meds hatches) on the wings and in the healthcare department, acting as the second checker for controlled drug administration.

Ideally applicants will have an NVQ Level 2 in Pharmacy Services, however we will accept applicants who have healthcare experience and are interested in being put through the NVQ L2 by Oxleas.

To be responsible for the day-to-day ordering, receiving, and unpacking of pharmaceutical products from suppliers according to GDP and departmental SOPs.

• To ensure that medicines are sourced in a timely manner.
• To accurately use the pharmacy computer system to receive goods into the pharmacy store according to departmental SOPs.
• To act as second checker for administration of Controlled Drugs by registered healthcare professionals.
• To carry out regular stock checks, expiry date checks and other monitoring procedures such as logging fridge and ambient temperatures and dealing with any anomalies in accordance with GDP and departmental procedure.
• To ensure high standards and accuracy of work and to ensure all Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are read and adhered to.
• To ensure medicines returned from clinical areas are sorted and either returned to stock or disposed of safely and appropriately in accordance with GDP, Trust guidelines and departmental procedures.
• To undertake administration of weekly and monthly In Possession medication to patients.
• To ensure that all work carried out in procurement is done in accordance with current legislation, including GDP and departmental and Trust financial procedures.
• To manage work Medicines Optimisation work in treatment areas ensuring tasks are carried out in a timely manner and orders are received on time.
• To communicate routinely with the Pharmacy/Healthcare department to place orders, chase receipt of goods and to query discrepancies.
• To deal with telephone queries and staff visiting the department, as first point of contact, dealing with them or referring to others if required according to SOPs.
• To communicate, as necessary, with external regulatory bodies, information pertaining to the WDL or other requests.

Post holders will need to undertake a prison security check (level 2) prior to being employed, as well the standard NHS recruitment checks. To appreciate the secure environment you are working in and to adhere to all prison procedures as necessary. To undertake any other tasks at the request of the senior prison services pharmacist.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE READ: All applicants must be willing to undertake National Security Vetting in order to work in a Prison Setting. This will be completed as part of the pre-employment checks through Oxleas and the prison vetting team.

You will need to provide:

• Proof of right to work documentation
• Proof of ID, needs to include 1 photographic ID
• Proof of address documentation
• Non-UK passport holders will need to have correct documentation (right to work in the UK) and a Home office Share code.
• 5 years address history will be needed.
• Applicants that are not UK Passport holders who provide less than 5 years UK address history will need to provide a Police Certificate which must be in English from where they resided previously.
• Applicants who are UK Passport holders who have lived abroad for a period of more than six months during the last three years will need to provide a certificate of good conduct or an overseas police check in English from the countries resided in or visited.

In order to assist you in obtaining a Police Certificate, guidance can be sought from: Criminal Records Checks for Overseas Applicants. If the country you have resided in is not listed here, you can obtain the necessary information by contacting the relevant Embassy or High Commission for that Country. Their contact details can be found on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website.