Pharmacy Technician

Carnon Downs Surgery; Dobwalls; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 24,000; Part time

Job summary

Coastal PCN is seeking a Pharmacy Technician to join the team based at Perranporth Surgery and St Agnes Surgery. You will work as part of the Pharmacy Technician team supporting medicines optimisation and patient care across four practices, with a collaborative multi-disciplinary approach.

Excellent inter-practice relations and a focus on safe, cost-effective prescribing. The hours are 25 per week and the role offers development of professional skills within primary care, including access to

Qualifications

• CPPE pathway completed or in progress.
• Experience supporting medicines optimisation and medication reviews in primary care.
• Registered Pharmacy Technician with UK GPhC registration.
• Experience in primary care settings is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead medicines optimisation activities to improve prescribing quality.
• Support repeat dispensing, online ordering and patient education.
• Assist with SMR and medicines reconciliation across practices.
• Collaborate with GP and pharmacy teams to promote safe medicine use.
• Help implement EPS and eRD processes.

Skills

Medicines optimisation

Medication reviews

UK Registration

Education

CPPE Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway

GPhC registration

Tools

Microsoft Office

Clinical systems

Job description

Job summary

This is an excellent opportunity for a highly motivated and well-organised individual to join the Primary Care Network team at Coastal PCN as a Pharmacy Technician.

Our PCN has a population of over 30,000 patients set on the beautiful south coast of Cornwall, incorporating 4 practices in close proximity, with excellent inter-relations and a long history of successfully working together. Our population is diverse compared to other areas in Cornwall, with varying levels of socio-economic status, young families and elderly patients all of whom make providing care very interesting.

You will working as part of the Pharmacy Technician team based at Perranporth Surgery and St Agnes Surgery.

We are highly passionate about providing good quality patient care and all four practices regularly appear in the top ten practices in Cornwall for patient satisfaction.

You will be joining a team of Pharm Techs who work closely with our practice team and our remote Pharmacy service. The hours are 25 hours per week.

Main duties of the job

Clinical Pharmacy in General Practice is part of an exciting programme of transformation to develop a new model of care which addresses our ambition to deliver person-centred, coordinated care across the region. The Clinical Pharmacy in General Practice model is supported by the direction of national policy including the Five Year Forward View and GP Forward View where there is a need to better utilise the role of pharmacy within primary care to pro-actively help patients stay safe and well and out of hospital as well as helping to reduce the demands on general practice.

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 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.

About us

This is an excellent opportunity for a highly motivated and well-organised individual to join the Primary Care Network team at Coastal PCN as a Pharmacy Technician.

You will working as part of the Pharmacy Technician team based at Perranporth Surgery and St Agnes Surgery.

Job responsibilities

• 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.
• As determined by the PCN, 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 teams in Structured Medication Reviews (SMR)
• i.e. organise 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 the clinical team 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 reducing medication wastage.
• Provide training and support on the legal, safe and secure handling of medicines, including the implementation of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS).
• Promotion of 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 reception 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
• Supporting quality improvement measures and contributing to the Quality and Outcomes Framework and enhanced services;
• Support the PCN in reviewing and developing practice policies for CQC requirements

Qualifications

• Completion of or working towards the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway.
• Experience supporting medicines optimisation and medication review activities within primary care.
• Experience working as a registered Pharmacy Technician in a primary care, community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy or integrated care setting.
• Experience supporting medicines optimisation and medication review activities within primary care.

Knowledge and Skills

• Good understanding of medicines optimisation principles appropriate to the role.
• Excellent understanding of medicines optimisation principles.
• Knowledge of current NHS prescribing guidance.
• Understanding of NICE guidance and medicines safety alerts.
• Understanding of information governance and GDPR requirements.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to manage competing priorities.
• Excellent IT skills including Microsoft Office and clinical systems.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).