Bank Senior Prison Services Technician - HMP Elmley | Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust; Greater London, Sheerness; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS healthcare provider is seeking a Senior Prison Services Technician. This role involves managing medicines for a designated prison, overseeing prescriptions, and advising patients. The ideal candidate should possess relevant pharmaceutical qualifications and have experience in a healthcare setting. This is a full-time position offering a unique opportunity to contribute to healthcare in a secure environment.

Qualifications

• Must have accreditation as a checking technician.
• Experience with prison healthcare is favored.
• Strong understanding of medications and prescriptions is required.

Responsibilities

• Provide daily medicines management service.
• Oversee repeat prescriptions ordering/supply.
• Supervise primary care staff on medication administration.

Skills

Medicines management

Pharmaceutical knowledge

Stock management

Patient advising

Record keeping

Education

Relevant pharmaceutical qualifications

Tools

System1

Job description

Thank you for taking an interest in our Senior Prison Services Technician.

We hope that you find this overview useful and look forward to receiving your application.

We are looking for bank staff who will be able to pick up regular shifts at HMP Elmley Isle of Sheppey ‘B’ Remand 1,200 (male) 24/7.

Our healthcare departments operate across seven prisons each of which require a bespoke service responding to the prisoner and prison needs:

Prison | Location | Category | Population | Healthcare

HMP Elmley Isle of Sheppey ‘B’ Remand 1,200 (male) 24/7

HMP Swaleside ‘B’ High Security 1,200 (male) Inc. Inpatient Unit

HMP Standford

Hill ‘D’ Open 500 (male) Standard

HMP Rochester

HMP Cookham

Wood Rochester ‘C’ 650 (male) 24/7

HMP Maidstone Maidstone ‘C’ 500 (male) 24/7

HMP E Sutton

Park ‘D’ Open 100 (female) Standard

The seven prisons are located across three estates, Isle of Sheppey, Rochester and Maidstone, with the Isle of Sheppey prisons being within a few minutes’ walk from each other and East Sutton Park approximately 7 miles from Maidstone.

Oxleas – About Us

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children’s centres, schools and people’s homes.

We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

• We’re Kind
• We’re Fair
• We Listen
• We Care

Key Task and Responsibilities

1. To provide a medicines management service to the allocated prison(s) on a daily basis with the professional support of a prison services pharmacist.
2. To oversee the ordering/supply of repeat prescriptions.
3. To utilise stock supplies and out of hours supplies when patients own medication is not available.
4. To have accreditation as a checking technician and/or medicines optimistation.
5. To ensure high standards of work and that Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are read and adhered to.
6. To facilitate the medication supply on repeat prescriptions (using System1), this will include tasking GP’s/NMP’s to generate repeat prescriptions, ensure they are signed and given to pharmacy promptly with in the Repeat Prescription management process.
7. To supervise and assist primary care staff to ensure prompt medicine administration times are adhered to.
8. To be competent in advising patients in all aspects of their medication to ensure adherence and compliance. This should, include but not be exclusive to, inhaler technique, interaction, mechanism of drug action/normal doses regimen, side effects.
9. To ensure high standards of work in Primary Care and to ensure all Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Oxleas and Oxleas Prison Services Policies including – Standards of Medicine Management, IP Policy, Homely Remedies Policy are read, understood, and adhered to.
10. To have, or work towards, an awareness/knowledge of medicines information to support adherence and compliance by using BNF, BNF‑e, e‑MC, Medicines information line and other recognised sources of information.
11. To elevate any concerns about patients and their medication – including non‑compliance – to appropriate staff and within confidentiality guideline, including concerns of patients who need support from the Mental Health Team, Substance mis‑use team or Prison staff.
12. Controlled Drugs – to order, monitor and maintain all legal paperwork concerning medication patients with controlled drugs in accordance with local policy.
13. Cool chain management and administration of fridge line medication – to ensure daily fridge temperatures checks are completed and recorded and any breaches of the cold chain are escalated according to SOP/Policy.
14. To use System1 to document any information about patients and their medication‑ non‑compliance/non‑ attendance (intentional and unintentional), allergies and raise concerns with appropriate staff/teams.
15. To use System1 to create ledgers and call up lists for patients to attend Healthcare/Houseblock treatment rooms to facilitate medicines administration daily.
16. Record keeping – to ensure all policies and protocols are adhered to and documented on S1 as well as keeping meticulous paper records.
17. To Administer medicines to offenders against a valid prescription on the house blocks/Healthcare safely and promptly whilst adhering to all policies and SOP’s using S1 to facilitate this.
18. To use Datix to report any incidents or concerns.
19. To have knowledge of the Critical medication List – to administer critical medication when required and report any concerns/non‑compliance to appropriate teams /staff.

Management responsibilities

1. To manage the entire medicines management process at dedicated prison.
2. To manage and coordinate repeat prescriptions.
3. Supervise Band 5 MM technicians and complete Supervisions and PDR appraisals and objectives with them with guidance from senior pharmacy managers.
4. Be involved in the development and implementation of SOP’s that impact the area of work.
5. To review and share lessons learned from Datix reports.
6. Organise delivery of training including supporting new staff with inductions.
7. Liaison with the admin team for Cardea ordering.

Leadership

1. To assist with annual appraisals of the Band 5 Medicine Management Technicians and assist and support primary care team members with training.
2. To mentor and train medicines optimisation staff using specialist knowledge and experience, to ensure all staff are working to high standards.
3. To develop personal development planning for junior staff including managing performance issues and ensuring mandatory training is completed.

Clinical

1. Medication Administration services as allocated for the prison.
2. Participate in monthly clinical visits to the allocated prison(s), under the professional supervision of a pharmacist. Undertake a stock top‑up service for all areas in which medicines are stored.
3. Review the expiry dates and storage facilities for all such medicines and report any deficiencies to the prison service pharmacist for that prison.
4. Assist the prison service pharmacist to provide advice to prisoners and staff about the appropriate use of medicines.
5. Undertake 3‑monthly controlled drugs stock checks, when necessary and report any issues to the Lead Pharmacy Technician and Lead Pharmacist under the supervision of Oxleas Prisons Pharmacy (OPS).
6. Undertake monthly medicines management audits using AIM electronic system, when necessary under the supervision of Oxleas Prisons Services (OPS).
7. Promote healthy lifestyles for offenders in line with local and national guidelines or promotions.
8. Administer medicines to offenders against a valid prescription on the house blocks. Recognise clinical signs of withdrawal, under the influence, overdose, being aware of needs of medication omitting for clinical reasons.
9. Complete in possession risk assessment (IPRA) and be aware of policies and procedures in place to monitor.
10. Adhere to ACCT (Assessment in Care and Custody Team Working) policies and procedures and attend review meetings.
11. Deliver accurate and timely record keeping with basics keyboard skills using System1 templates and processes.
12. To demonstrate on‑going continual professional development (CPD) and be responsible for self‑development and learning within the field of pharmacy or other specialty where appropriate.
13. Support junior staff in a leadership role with any clinical issues or concerns.
14. Share lesson learned from any incidents.
15. To develop and maintain analytical skills and professional judgement support junior colleagues and enhancing own skill.

Research

1. To participate in clinical audits and departmental audits as required.
2. To participate in any quality improvement projects.
3. Develop and lead on any implementation of new ideas and updates to SOP’s.

On Call/Unsocial Hours

This post does not require on call hours.

Custodial Responsibilities

• Assume personal responsibility for the security of issued keys.
• Understand and comply with prison orders, procedures, and instructions in your area of work.
• Comply with all security requirements.
• Respond to any situation or circumstance that might indicate a threat to security of the establishment or to the safety of an individual, completing Incident, Security, Injury, or other reports as appropriate.
• Report breaches of order and discipline including reporting and recording untoward incidents according to local protocol.
• Contribute to effective risk assessment and management procedures.

This advert closes on Monday 8 Dec 2025