Dispenser

Based: Haddenham Surgery but also Staploe Medical Centre when needed

Basis: Permanent, 32 hours per week (FTE = 37 hours per week)

Salary: £25,877 per annum (FTE pro rata for part-time)

Eligibility: You must be eligible to work in the UK.

About Us

Mereside Medical is a flourishing group of three East Cambridgeshire practices in Ely, Haddenham and Soham, together serving c.45,000 patients. As a group, we’ve grown rapidly and now employ more than 170 people across the three practices. We are people‑centred in our approach to work and believe that every contact that a patient has with our staff is as valuable as the next in the patient journey. We believe in clinical excellence, and that general practice is the cornerstone of well‑being in our community. We are innovative and forward‑looking, and we embrace technology to enable more effective, efficient, and connected ways of working to deliver ever better outcomes for our patients. Our goal is to deliver on the ambitions laid out in the NHS 10 year Health Plan for England in a way that is locally relevant, valued by patients, and satisfying for our staff. In addition to our core general practice work we run a large clinical research trials unit and we work closely with the ICB to develop innovative ways to improve local service provision. We are the lead practice for one of the two local PCNs and are represented in both. We are proud to be the host organisation for the NIHR Greater Cambridge & Suffolk Commercial Research Delivery Centre (Primary Care), one of only 14 in England. This prestigious designation recognises our commitment to accelerating commercial clinical research delivery for health and economic benefit across our region.

The Role

To provide an efficient, accurate and timely dispensing service to the registered patients at the practice and to assist the dispensing team in ensuring the dispensary meets national, local and good practice guidelines.

Your Responsibilities

• Assist patients with prescription collections and dispensing queries
• Ensure prescription charges are collected and patient declarations on FP10 forms are signed
• Securely store and record all financial transactions
• Promptly forward invoices and dispensary‑related correspondence to the Dispensary Manager or Supervisor
• Maintain efficient stock control, minimising wastage through expired stock, and ensure all medications are checked as per weekly schedules
• Assist with meeting DSQS requirements for medicine usage reviews and manage tasks in SystemOne, including processing medication requests and ensuring proper checks for alternatives.

Stock Control & Prescription Procurement

• Check deliveries, ensure proper storage of medications, and perform weekly date checks
• Ensure refrigerated items are stored at the correct temperature and maintain accurate temperature logs
• Accurately process repeat prescriptions, pick medications for dispensing, and assist with Monitored Dosage Boxes and CD scripts
• Regularly check and action owing items, run weekly scripts, and assist with patient medication returns.

Miscellaneous

• Maintain high hygiene standards by cleaning shelves and dispensary equipment
• Support the Dispensary Manager/Supervisor with tasks to ensure smooth dispensary operations
• Cover for colleagues during holiday or sick leave when necessary
• Stay up to date with mandatory training and assist with organising uncollected medications monthly.

Management of risk

• Manage and assess risk within the areas of responsibility, ensuring adequate measures are in place to protect staff and patients
• Monitor work areas and practices to ensure they are safe and free from hazards and conform to health, safety and security legislation, policies, procedures and guidelines
• Apply infection‑control measures within the practice according to local and national guidelines
• Advocate for policies that reduce environmental health risks, are culturally sensitive and increase access to health care for all
• Interpret national strategies and policies into local implementation strategies that are aligned to the values and culture of general practice.

Managing Information

• Use technology and appropriate software as an aid to management in planning, implementation and monitoring of care, presenting and communicating information
• Review and process data using accurate read codes in order to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes
• Understand responsibility of self and others regarding the Freedom and Information Act.

Learning and development

• Disseminate learning and information gained to other team members in order to share good practice and inform others about current and future developments (e.g. courses and conferences)
• Assess own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate.

Equality and diversity

• Identify patterns of discrimination and take action to overcome this and promote diversity and equality of opportunity
• Enable others to promote equality and diversity in a non‑discriminatory culture
• Support people who need assistance in exercising their rights
• Monitor and evaluate adherence to local chaperoning policies
• Act as a role model in the observance of equality and diversity good practice
• Accept the rights of individuals to choose their care providers, participate in care and refuse care
• Assist patients from marginalised groups to access quality care
• Undertake any training required in order to meet the needs of the practice.

Confidentiality

In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately. In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post‑holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential. Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.

You should have or be:

• Excellent attention to detail
• Meticulous
• Ability to work in a fast paced environment
• NVQ2 Qualified

It would be an advantage if you also:

• Previous experience of working within Primary Care
• Experience of working in a pharmacy or dispensary.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of duties. The need for flexibility is required and the post holder is expected to carry out any other related duties that are within the employee’s skills and abilities whenever reasonably instructed.