Assistant Technical Officer

Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust; Northampton; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 26,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking NHS trust as an Assistant Technical Officer in the Homecare Support team. This role is pivotal in ensuring the smooth transition of care for patients accessing homecare services. You'll work closely with multidisciplinary teams to dispense prescriptions and provide essential administrative support. With a commitment to patient safety and quality care, this position offers the chance to develop your skills in a dynamic environment. If you're enthusiastic and self-motivated, this is an exciting opportunity to contribute to a vital healthcare service while advancing your career in pharmacy.

Qualifications

• Experience in pharmacy services is desirable but training will be provided.
• Must have strong communication and attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Dispense homecare prescriptions and process invoices.
• Provide administrative support to the Homecare service.
• Ensure timely and efficient service for homecare medicines.

Skills

Excellent communication

Attention to detail

Ability to work under pressure

Teamwork

Systematic work approach

Prioritization skills

Education

Four GSCEs at grade C or above

NVQ2 in Pharmacy Services

Boots or NPA dispensing qualification

Tools

EMIS pharmacy system

Computerised stock control systems

Job description

Main area: Pharmacy

Grade Band: 3

Contract: Permanent

Hours:

• Full time
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week (Saturday and Bank Holiday working on rotation)

Job ref: 265-6835693

Site: Northampton General Hospital

Town: Northampton

Salary: £24,071 - £25,674 Per annum / pro rata

Salary period: Yearly

Closing: 02/01/2025 23:59

Interview date: 08/01/2025

Job overview

Assistant Technical Officer - Homecare Support

Northampton General Hospital is an acute NHS trust with a highly respected pharmacy service. As a Trust, we pledge to provide the best possible care with patient safety and quality at the heart of all we do.

We have an exciting opportunity for an Assistant Technical Officer to join the team. The Homecare department has seen significant growth with over 2500 patients accessing homecare services across an array of therapeutic indications. The successful candidate will be working closely with multi-disciplinary teams across the Trust to maintain current relationships by providing their expertise in ensuring a smooth transition of care for patients between hospital and homecare services.

The role will suit an innovative and progressive individual who will be fundamental in the development of department processes. They will be integrated within a team tasked with delivering on our responsibilities to ensure the cost-effective and appropriate prescribing of homecare medicines.

Previous homecare and high-cost medicine experience is desirable but full training will be provided.

If you are an enthusiastic, self-motivated, committed individual who is keen to develop your skills further then we would like to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

• The post holder will be expected to dispense homecare prescriptions, process invoices, reconcile account statements and highlight discrepancies.
• To accurately perform (under the supervision of qualified staff) a range of routine and non-routine tasks in the Pharmacy which do not require the knowledge, skills and training of a BTEC/NVQ 3 qualified Pharmacy Technician.
• To provide administrative and clerical support to the Homecare service.

Working for our organisation

Northampton General Hospital is one of the largest employers in the area and we are on an exciting journey. All of our divisions are committed to doing things better, with more efficiency as we update, modernise, and advance. We have also entered into a Group Model with neighbouring Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and become University Hospitals of Northamptonshire.

Our Excellence Values:

• Compassion
• Accountability
• Respect
• Integrity
• Courage

We want to recruit the best people to deliver our services across the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire and help to unleash everyone’s full potential. As an organisation, we value how we communicate and promote our vacancies to all communities.

We are a Defence positive trust, supporting our reservists, veterans, spouses and partners.

The Hospital Group encourages applications from people who identify from all protected groups, especially those from BAME, Disabled and LGBTQ+ backgrounds as these are underrepresented in our hospitals.

We understand that we need to work with colleagues from diverse backgrounds and make sure the environment they work in is inclusive and collaborative.

We have active Networks that promote and support colleagues from all backgrounds. This ensures everyone feels supported and has a sense of belonging working for Kettering and Northampton General Hospitals.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To dispense homecare prescriptions, process invoices and highlight discrepancies.
• To collect prescriptions from clinical teams.
• To raise orders and ‘virtually’ dispense items supplied via homecare items using the EMIS pharmacy system.
• To check prescription renewals against the pharmacy homecare database to ensure appropriate and timely processing.
• To forward prescriptions to homecare providers, recognising the need to arrange urgent deliveries.
• To progress chase prescriptions/deliveries/invoices to ensure a timely and efficient service is provided, escalating issues to the Homecare and High-cost Medicines Support Officer as necessary.
• To ‘virtually’ receive and book in homecare goods.
• To check proof of delivery against prescription and invoice and resolve discrepancies where appropriate.
• To highlight any discrepancies to the Homecare and High-cost Medicine Support Officer.
• To contact service users or providers to resolve queries, referring to Homecare Pharmacy Technicians as necessary under the direction of the Advanced Pharmacy Technician.
• To maintain invoice log and filing system.
• To reconcile monthly homecare provider statements.
• To monitor homecare inbox and respond to stakeholders as appropriate.
• To assist in the provision of medicines for the treatment of patients.
• To accurately and promptly dispense medicines for patients whose prescriptions have been validated by a Pharmacist.
• To issue prescriptions when this is appropriate.
• To supply Controlled Drugs and keep appropriate records.
• To participate in the Pharmacy Service to Wards and Departments.
• To inform the appropriate Pharmacist of any problems with the supply of medicines ordered.
• To answer the telephone and either deal with the query, take a message or re-direct the call to the appropriate person / area of the department.
• To receive signed requisitions / orders from hospital staff and other customers and to forward these to the appropriate area for processing.
• To assist in the training of staff.
• To maintain and update medicines databases.
• To assist in the maintenance of a clean and efficient environment suitable for the handling of medicine.

Person specification

Education, Training and Qualifications

• Four GSCEs at grade C or above, including English, Maths and Science (or equivalent Level 2 Numeracy and Literacy or CSE grade 1)
• NVQ2 in Pharmacy Services or equivalent course accredited by GPhC relevant to work undertaken
• Boots or NPA dispensing qualification

Knowledge and Experience

• Recent hospital experience
• Awareness of how incidents happen
• Dealing with customers/patients in person or by telephone
• Keyboard work
• Audit
• Working in a community hospital or similar pharmacy
• Other experience in the Medicine Supply Process
• Pharmacy practice and procedures, law and ethics, and drug tariff
• Computerised stock control systems

Skills

• Excellent communication, written and oral
• Ability to work alone and as a team member
• Attention to detail, accurate in work
• Able to work systematically
• Ability to prioritise
• Ability to work effectively under pressure

At Northampton General Hospital we provide general acute services and hyper-acute stroke, vascular and renal services to people living in Northamptonshire. As well as this we are an accredited cancer centre and provide cancer services to a wider population of Northamptonshire and parts of Buckinghamshire.

We celebrate staff achievements and value the importance of working as one big team. That’s why we talk about Team NGH. It’s all about working together to provide the best possible care for our patients and supporting each other to grow and develop our skills. We are driven to helping you to be the best you can be.

We want to recruit the best people to deliver our services across the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire and help to unleash everyone’s full potential. The Hospital Group encourages applications from people who identify from all protected groups, especially those from BAME, Disabled and LGBTQ+ backgrounds as these are underrepresented in our hospitals. We understand that we need to work with colleagues from diverse backgrounds and make sure the environment they work in is inclusive and collaborative.

Apply today and join the largest family in Northamptonshire.

Our Excellence Values:

• Compassion
• Respect
• Integrity
• Courageous
• Accountable

To apply for this post, scroll down to the bottom of this page and select “apply online now”.

In submitting an application form, you authorise Northampton General Hospital to confirm any previous NHS service details via the Electronic Staff Record Inter Authority Transfer process should you be appointed to the post.

Due to the high number of applications received we are unable to respond to each application individually. If you have not been contacted within 4 weeks of the closing date you have been unsuccessful in this application.

Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust recognises that staff of differing backgrounds and life experiences enrich our workforce and bring different skills and knowledge. We therefore encourage and welcome applications for our vacancies from all candidates regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CLOSE VACANCIES PRIOR TO THE ADVERTISED CLOSING DATE WHEN WE ARE IN RECEIPT OF SUFFICIENT APPLICATIONS.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. Please complete and submit your application in good time to avoid disappointment.