Senior Pharmacy Technician

In CDDFT Pharmacy, we pride ourselves in working at the leading edge of clinical pharmacy practice and medicines management. Our teams achieving national recognition for innovative, high quality patient care.

We have an exciting opportunity for Pharmacy Technicians to join our team at the University Hospital of North Durham. You must be registered, or in the process of being registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and hold a L3 Diploma in the Principles and Practice for Pharmacy Technicians or an equivalent, recognised GPhC qualification.

The posts provide an opportunity to progress from a Band 4 Technician to a Band 5 Technician after completing a training and competency framework over a maximum period of 1 year. For the 1-year training period you will be paid 75% of the top of a Band 5 pay scale. On successful completion of the training the pay reverts to the bottom of the Band 5 pay scale and you will work through the pay progressions as normal. There is also an opportunity to transfer directly onto the Band 5 pay scale for those applicants with the relevant qualifications, experience and competencies.

Main duties of the job

• To work under the management of the lead pharmacy technician and the supervisory pharmacist to ensure a safe and efficient service is maintained.
• To liaise with pharmacy staff and other healthcare professionals to ensure a patient orientated medicines management service is provided.
• To work closely with pharmacists, technicians, pharmacy assistants, pharmacy admin staff and ward staff to adopt a team approach to medicines management.

Job responsibilities

• Provide a medicines reconciliation service to designated wards and community hospitals. This will include compiling medication histories by checking with patients, patients GPs (including the Summary Care Record), patients notes and other appropriate sources of information.
• Ensure that the medication history obtained is reconciled with the electronic inpatient medication chart and any discrepancies are communicated with the pharmacist and/or ward team and documented in the patients notes according to Trust policy.
• Provide a medicines management service to designated wards, including the ordering and issue of relevant drugs. This will include responsibility for the assessment of prescriptions or inpatient medicines charts for completeness and legality, highlighting any problems to the pharmacist or medical staff as appropriate.
• Support the nursing and ward staff in the delivery of an effective and efficient medicines management service.
• Participate actively in ward and multidisciplinary team meetings.
• Assess patients own drugs (PODs) for re-use in accordance with Trust criteria. This requires a sound knowledge of medicines management.
• Carry out and feedback appropriately relevant risk assessments and safe and secure handling of medicines audits.
• Work alongside the ward pharmacists in planning and prioritising workload to ensure a timely and efficient medicines management service is provided.
• Provide advice to patients on the use of the medications and to ensure they understand why they are taking their medication to aid compliance.
• Undertake six monthly stock reviews and controlled drug audits with senior nursing staff to ensure that stock levels are set to an appropriate level.
• Ensure appropriate safe and secure handling of medicines.

Dispensary responsibilities

• Prioritise work according to the demands of the service.
• Takeresponsibility for the receipt, issue, dispensing, and safe storage of medicines according to SOPs and legal requirements. This may include the dispensing of clinical trials, oral cytotoxic regimes and controlled drugs.
• Dispense accurately to fulfil their duty of care to the patient, using the pharmacy computer system.
• Use their knowledge and skills to check allergy status, and updating on computer systems in line with Trust procedures.
• Ensuring that accurate documentation and records are maintained to comply with legal requirements.
• Check the payment status of the patient on receipt of an outpatient prescription and, where appropriate, calculate the prescription charge due and accept payment according to Trust Standard Financial Instructions.
• Issue prescriptions to outpatients (where appropriate) and advise on the correct and safe use of medicines. To counsel patients on their medication to ensure that the patient understands how to take and why they are taking the medicines and to aid compliance. The counselling of patients will be undertaken within the post holder's level of competency.
• Provide information to other healthcare professionals within the limits of knowledge.
• Ensure expiry dates within the pharmacy department are checked on a regular basis and book out expired stock from Ascribe and highlight items that are close to their expiry date.
• Participate in regular stock checks, reporting discrepancies to the Lead Technician.
• Dispose of pharmaceutical waste according to local and national waste guidelines.
• Develop their own robust self-checking technique to ensure accurate dispensing and calculation of doses are carried out prior to passing for a final check.
• Ensure the accuracy of non-stock requisitions supplied directly to wards and departments.
• Ensure stock is booked out under the correct label-type to the correct patient, consultant and ward to aid accurate financial reporting through the pharmacy computer system and that stock levels are correct and sufficient.
• To act as an accuracy checking technician. The post holder will be responsible for the final check of prescriptions that have been professionally checked by a pharmacist as outlined in departmental SOPs. They will have a duty of care and professional responsibility to refer back to the pharmacist any prescription that requires clarification.
• To provide information to other healthcare professionals within the limits of their knowledge.
• Ensure that all emergency and critical medications including emergency boxes/cupboards are supplied/replenished in a timely manner.

Person Specification

• Special Skills & Knowledge
• Meets GPhC requirements for CPD
• Record of personal development
• IT Literate good knowledge of MS Excel and Word; Pharmacy dispensing software.
• Excellent customer care skills
• Evidence of self-development
• Evidence of change management
• Awareness of EMIS/ Cerner/ePMA systems

• Experience
• Experience as a qualified pharmacy technician in a hospital environment
• Experience of Project or developmental work
• Experience of problem solving
• Experience of Policy and or Procedure writing

• Special Requirements
• Team player able to demonstrate own initiative.
• Motivated, enthusiastic
• Good communication and organisation skills
• Ability to work under pressure and to deadlines
• Good time management
• Able to travel across Trust sites to meet the requirements of the post

• Qualifications
• 4 GCSEs at grade C (or equivalent) in Maths, English and Science.
• Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Pharmacy Service Skills (or equivalent qualifications recognised by the GPhC).
• Level 3 Diploma in Pharmaceutical Science (QCF) (or equivalent qualifications recognised by the GPhC).
• The post holder must meet at least one of the following requirements and will be expected to have commenced another within 12 to 18 months of employment:
• CPPE: Accuracy Checking Pharmacy Technician Programme or PETO: Northern Sector Course for Technician Checking of Dispensed Items (PETO Accuracy checkers must be on the northern sector regional technician register)
• North East and North Cumbria Framework for Medicines Management Level 3
• Level 3 Award in Assessing Competence in the Work Environment (or equivalent)
• Supervisory/management qualifications or training

Statutory Registration

• Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)

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.

£32,073 to £39,043 a year per annum, pro rata