PCN Pharmacy Technician in Worcester

In partnership with Herefordshire & Worcestershire Local Medical Committees, the role supports the Primary Care Network in maximising clinical outcomes for patients from medicines with an emphasis on safety, governance, professional collaboration, and patient engagement. The role holder will also help to deliver the MOCH Contract as part of the Care Home Team.

The core themes are based on:

• Integrate care around the patient
• Design, implement and facilitate clinically led medicine optimisation services
• Improve the productivity and affordability of service
• Advise, engage and train health care professionals (where appropriate)
• Improve patient safety and reduce risk
• Empower patients through education and engagement
• Deliver improved patient outcomes
• Manage medication safety within the Worcester City Care Homes via annual audits and reviews
• Medication reconciliations of community patients and Care Home Residents when appropriate

Key Responsibilities:

Pharmacy technicians play an important role, complementing clinical pharmacists, community pharmacists, and other members of the PCN multi-disciplinary team. Pharmacy technicians are different from clinical pharmacists as they are not able to prescribe or make clinical decisions, instead working under the supervision of GPs and Clinical Pharmacists to ensure effective and efficient use of medicines. Pharmacy technicians' core role responsibilities will cover clinical, technical, and administrative categories within surgeries and Care Homes.

The purpose of the role is to lead improvements to maximise safe, cost-effective best practice in prescribing to improve the quality of patient care. The post holder will help patients to get the best from their medicines by switching medications to agreed and approved protocols, improving repeat prescribing processes in General Practice, including promotion of repeat dispensing and online ordering, minimising clinical risk, and aiming to reduce wasted medicines. In addition, the post holder will be responsible for encouraging the development of a better understanding of the principles of medicines optimisation throughout the practice teams and promoting good practice in line with therapeutic developments. This will involve assisting the PCN in achieving national requirements, NICE implementation, and utilisation of medicines optimisation initiatives.

Clinical Responsibilities:

• Undertaking patient-facing and patient-supporting roles to ensure effective medicines use, through shared decision-making conversations with patients and carers.
• Carrying 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.
• As determined by the PCN, supporting medication reviews and medicines reconciliation for new care home patients and synchronising medicines for patient transfers between care settings, linking with local community pharmacists, and referring to the pharmacist for structured medication reviews.
• Providing 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.
• Taking a central role in the clinical aspects of shared care protocols and liaising with specialist pharmacists for more complex patients.
• Supporting initiatives for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing.

Technical and Administrative Responsibilities:

• Working with the PCN multi-disciplinary team to ensure efficient medicines optimisation, including implementing efficient ordering and return processes and reducing wastage.
• Providing training and support on the legal, safe, and secure handling of medicines, including the implementation of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS).
• Developing relationships with other pharmacy technicians, pharmacists, and members of the multi-disciplinary team to support integration of the pharmacy team across health and social care including primary care, community pharmacy, secondary care, and mental health.
• Supervising practice reception teams in sorting and streaming general prescription requests, so as to allow GPs and clinical pharmacists to review the more clinically complex requests.
• The role will also require pharmacy technicians to support the implementation of national prescribing policies and guidance within GP practices, care homes, and other primary care settings. 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.
• In addition, pharmacy technicians will assist in the delivery of medicines optimisation incentive schemes (e.g. medicines switches) and patient safety audits. Pharmacy technicians will provide leadership for medicines management systems across PCNs, supporting practices with a range of services to get the best value from medicines by encouraging and implementing Electronic Prescriptions, safe repeat prescribing systems, and timely monitoring and management of high-risk medicines.

General:

• To maintain the integrity of medicines delivery for the PCN.
• Maintain a positive demeanour that supports a happy working environment, and remain flexible and professional at all times.
• Treat other staff as one expects to be treated oneself.
• Be a good ambassador for the PCN in any external dealings.
• Undertake continuing professional Development (CPD) in line with the relevant institute requirements.
• Undertake any other duties as directed by the Clinical Director and PCN Board.

Person Specification:

• Good understanding of medicines safety, governance, and error prevention.
• Understanding of prescribing and repeat medication processes in primary care.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and manage workload across multiple tasks or practices.
• High level of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Confident use of IT systems and electronic records.
• Understanding of confidentiality, information governance, and safeguarding.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team.

• Experience working as a qualified, registered Pharmacy Technician.
• Experience maintaining accurate medicines-related or clinical records.
• Experience working collaboratively with healthcare professionals.
• Experience working in primary care (GP practice or PCN).
• Experience supporting medicines optimisation activities.
• Experience liaising with community pharmacy, secondary care, or other interfaces.

• Registered Pharmacy Technician with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
• BTEC/NVQ Level 3 Diploma in Pharmacy Services (or equivalent).
• Evidence of ongoing CPD relevant to pharmacy technician practice.
• Completion of CPPE Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway (or willingness to complete).
• Additional training in medicines optimisation or long-term condition management.

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.