Pharmacy Technician

NHS; Nottingham; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A public health organization in Nottingham seeks a professional to lead improvements in safe and cost-effective medicines use. The role involves clinical, technical, and administrative tasks, promoting best practices in prescribing and supporting a multi-disciplinary team. Applicants must be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council and have a commitment to professional development.

Benefits

NHS Pension 2015 Scheme

Generous annual leave entitlement

Access to education and training opportunities

A flexible approach to work-life balance

Free parking across many sites

Qualifications

• The post holder should undertake patient facing roles to ensure effective medicines use.
• Experience in medicines optimisation tasks including effective medicine administration is necessary.

Responsibilities

• Support the PCN multi-disciplinary team to ensure efficient medicines optimisation processes.
• Carry out medicines optimisation tasks and support medication reviews.

Skills

Professional registration with General Pharmaceutical Council

Evidence of continued professional development

Job description

The post holder will work under supervision to ensure effective and efficient use of medicines. The core role responsibilities will cover clinical, technical and administrative categories.

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.

Main duties of the job

KEY 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.

Support the PCN multi-disciplinary team to ensure efficient medicines optimisation processes are being followed.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

Professional registration with General Pharmaceutical Council

Evidence of continued professional development

About us

PICS is the employer for this role. We collaborate with patients and partners to design and deliver clinically robust health and social care solution through Community Services, Out of Hospital Services, GP Practices, and Primary Care Networks. Find out more about us: http://picsnhs.org.uk/.

Benefits of working for PICS

We offer a comprehensive package which includes:

NHS Pension 2015 Scheme (subject to eligibility)

• Alternative government-based scheme (subject to eligibility)
• Generous annual leave entitlement which references NHS Agenda for Change and recognises previous NHS service, starting 35 days pro rata (inc bank holidays)
• Competitive leave entitlement that includes maternity, paternity and adoption leave, study leave allowance, and sickness provisions
• Access to education and training opportunities, depending on your role (CPPE Pharmacy, NHS England Roadmap for First Contact Practitioners, apprenticeship schemes, support professional development)
• Working in a multi-disciplinary team with support from a wide variety of professionals
• A flexible approach to a work-life balance
• Cycle to work scheme (subject to eligibility)
• Access to Blue Light Card scheme
• All staff events and conferences
• Free parking across many sites
• Personalised induction into the company and job role

Job responsibilities

KEY 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.
• 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 Pharmacist in Structure 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 Clinical Pharmacists for more complex patients.

Support initiatives for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing locally.

Technical and Administration:

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.

Support the PCN in reviewing and developing practice policies for CQC requirements

General:

Develop a culture that promotes equality and values diversity. The post holder must be aware of and committed to the Equality and Diversity policies of the appointing GP Federation and comply with all the requirements of these policies and actively promote Equality and Diversity issues relevant to the post.

Ensure the principles of openness, transparency and candor are observed and upheld in all working practices.

The post holder will have, or acquire through training provided by the organisation, the appropriate level of safeguarding and knowledge, skills and practice required for the post and be aware of and comply with the organisations safeguarding protection policies and procedures.

Ensure that any infection prevention and control issues are reported to the line manager/Infection Prevention and Control

Equality and Diversity:

The post-holder will support equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers & colleagues, to include:

Acting in a way that recognises the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current legislation

Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers, and colleagues

Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.

Personal/Professional Development:

The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, with such training to include:

Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development

Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work

Quality:

The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will:

Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk.

Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, directly or under supervision.

Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance.

Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs.

Effectively manage own time, workload, and resources

Person Specification

Personal Qualities

• Please provide details for why you would be a great fit for this role and why you have decided to apply.

Knowledge and skills

• Please provide detailed information of how you feel that your knowledge and skills are suitable for this role; please provide examples to support your application referring to the job description and person specification for guidance.

Qualifications

• Please provide details of your CPD, using examples where necessary.
• Please provide your registration number of your GPhC professional registration.

Experience

• Please provide detailed information of how you feel that your experience is suitable for this role; please provide examples to support your application referring to the job description and person specification for guidance.

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.