PCN Pharmacy Technician

Integrated Care System; Goole; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company is seeking a Pharmacy Technician to play a vital role within the Primary Care Network. This position involves ensuring the effective and efficient use of medicines, supporting patients in managing their medications, and contributing to clinical and administrative tasks alongside a multidisciplinary team.

Qualifications

• Experience of working as a qualified, registered pharmacy technician in primary care, community or hospital pharmacy.
• Evidence of continued professional development (CPD) is preferred.
• Working on the Primary care pharmacy education pathway is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Maximise safe, cost-effective prescribing to improve patient care quality.
• Undertake patient-facing roles to ensure effective medicines use.
• Support the clinical pharmacist in structured medication reviews.

Skills

Attention to detail

Analytical thinking

Excellent communication skills

Education

BTEC/NVQ Level 3 or equivalent in pharmaceutical sciences

Professional registration with GPHC

Tools

EMIS/Systmone

Microsoft Office

Job description

Clinical Pharmacy in General Practice is part of an exciting programme of transformation to develop a new model of care across the Primary Care Network. This model is supported by national policy including the Five Year Forward View and GP Forward View to better utilise the role of pharmacy professionals within the wider healthcare team. Overarching goals are to help keep patients safe and well, out of hospital and reduce the demands on general practice regards medicine use.

Pharmacy Technicians play an important role, complimenting clinical pharmacists, community pharmacists and other members of the PCN multi-disciplinary team. While Pharmacy Technicians do not prescribe nor make clinical decisions, they do work under supervision to ensure the effective and efficient use of medicines. In the PCN, their core responsibilities cover clinical, technical, and administrative roles.

Main duties of the job

The purpose of the role is to maximise safe, cost-effective, prescribing to improve the quality of patient care.

The post-holder will help patients get the best from their medicines, use existing protocols to maximise cost-effective preparations, improve repeat prescribing processes (including use of electronic repeat dispensing and online ordering), minimising clinical risk and reducing avoidable wasted medicines. As well, the post-holder will develop and encourage a positive culture of medicines optimisation principles to assist the PCN in achieving local and national medicines-related objectives.

The pharmacy technician will complete audits around patient safety in the prescribing of medication and present the information for sharing with the clinical team.

About us

CygnetPCN covers a large geographical area within the East Riding of Yorkshire. Our network covers over 51,000 patients and is made up of the five following GP Practices:

• Bartholomew Medical Group
• Snaith & Rawcliffe Medical Group
• Montague Medical Practice
• Howden Medical Centre

PCNs build on existing primary care services and enable greater provision of proactive, personalised, coordinated and more integrated health and social care for people close to home. Our PCN are proactively providing care and services for the people and communities we serve.

New roles are being introduced to the network as we are expanding into different areas of healthcare.

The network provides a single point of access for nursing, residential and learning disability homes in the area.

Our team is passionate and committed to making a difference to patient care.

Job responsibilities

Clinical

• Undertake patient-facing and patient supporting roles to ensure effective medicines use, through shared decision-making conversations with patients.
• Carry 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.
• Support medication reviews and medicines reconciliation for new care home patients and synchronising medicines for patient transfers between care settings, linking with local community pharmacies.
• Support the Clinical Pharmacist in Structured Medication Review (SMR), organising necessary monitoring tests prior to SMR.
• Provide expertise to address both the public health and social care needs of patients, including lifestyle advice, service information, and help in tackling local health inequalities.
• Manage shared care protocols and liaise with Clinical Pharmacists for more complex patients.
• Support initiatives for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing locally.

Technical and Administrative

• Support the PCN multi-disciplinary team to ensure efficient medicines optimisation processes are being followed.
• Implement efficient ordering and return processes and reduce medication wastage.
• Provide training and support on legal, safe, and secure handling of medicines, including the implementation of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS).
• Promote Electronic Repeat Dispensing (ERD) and online ordering.
• Develop relationships with other pharmacy professionals and members of the multi-disciplinary team to support integration across health and social care including primary care, community pharmacy, secondary care, and mental health.
• Support practice teams in streaming general prescription requests, so as to allow GPs and clinical pharmacists to review the more clinically complex requests.
• Support the implementation of national prescribing policies and guidance within GP practices, care homes and other primary care settings.
• Support the PCN to deliver on QIPP agenda, QOF and locally commissioned enhanced services.
• Support the PCN in reviewing and developing practice policies for CQC requirements.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Professional registration with GPHC
• BTEC/NVQ Level 3 or equivalent in pharmaceutical sciences
• Working on the Primary care pharmacy education pathway (desirable)
• Evidence of continued professional development (CPD)
• Experience of working as a qualified, registered pharmacy technician in primary care, community or hospital pharmacy
• Demonstrate ability to influence and persuade partners and stakeholders of the respective merits of different options, innovations, new opportunities, and challenges

Experience

• Computer literate with an ability to use the required GP clinical systems EMIS/Systmone (desirable) and Microsoft Office packages (essential)
• Understand the aims of current healthcare policy within the PCN
• Able to analyse and interpret prescribing data
• Attention to detail, able to work accurately, identifying errors quickly and easily
• Able to effectively manage allocated resources
• Organised with an ability to prioritise workload to meet deadlines
• Analytical thinking; anticipating obstacles and thinking ahead; using techniques to draw logical solutions to problems
• Excellent communication skills, verbal and written, adaptable to audience
• Influencing and negotiating skills
• Understanding of data protection and confidentiality issues

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and requires a DBS check for any previous criminal convictions.