Pharmacy Technician Acute Medical Unit

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust; Blackburn; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 31,000; Full time

Job summary

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust is seeking a Pharmacy Technician to join the Acute Medical Unit (AMU) team. The role focuses on medicines reconciliation and rapid discharge support within a busy hospital environment.

You will work as part of a multidisciplinary team, liaising with pharmacists, nurses and physicians to deliver patient-centred pharmacy services and provide patient counselling where needed.

Qualifications

• Registered with the GPhC or about to join the register.
• NVQ Level 3 Pharmacy Services or equivalent qualification – approved for registration with General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)

Responsibilities

• Support AMU pharmacy service with medicines reconciliation and rapid discharge.
• Work as part of a multidisciplinary team to deliver patient-centred pharmacy care.
• Provide counselling and information to patients, nurses and medical staff.

Skills

GPhC registration

Hospital pharmacy experience

Clinical communication

Education

NVQ Level 3 Pharmacy Services

Job description

Main area Pharmacy Grade NHS AfC: Band 4 Contract Permanent Hours

• Full time
• Compressed hours

37.5 hours per week (The AMU team work over a 6 week rota (averaging 225 hours over a 6 week period)) Job ref 435-D166-26

Site Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital Town Blackburn Salary £28,392 - £31,157 plus shift allowance Salary period Yearly Closing 30/09/2026 23:59

At East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust our vision is to be widely recognised for providing safe, personal and effective care. We currently provide high quality services and treat over 600,000 people across East Lancashire and the surrounding area. We employ over 9,500 staff, many of whom are internationally renowned and have won awards for their work.

Job overview

Are you a team player? Are you ready to take the next exciting step in the development of your career in patient facing role?

Come and join our friendly and supportive team if you would like the opportunity to contribute to the development of the pharmacy service provided to our Acute Medical Unit (AMU). This is a great opportunity for a Pharmacy Technician who is clinically experienced or a Pharmacy Technician who is just starting out in their career and wanting to enhance their clinical skills, looking to work in patient facing role.

Our two AMUs admit up to 90 new patients every day and we have a team of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and a pharmacy assistant permanently based on the units. Our priorities are to ensure early medicines reconciliation for all our patients and rapid provision of discharge medication.

This is a fast-paced environment, and we are seeking individuals who can work as part of a multidisciplinary team, as our admissions team services are very much embedded in the wider ward teams.

Main duties of the job

We cover extended hours (8am –6pm) using our proven model of shift working. Team members work compressed hours - working 9 hours each shift, including 1 in 6 weekends with one set day days rest each week. The existing team members enjoy the flexible working pattern and working as part of a close-knit team.

Shifts benefits include:

• rota prepared months in advance enabling swaps and flexibility in working
• 1 scheduled day of rest in each 7-day period
• facility to book annual leave at relatively short notice
• dispensary cover to help keep up to date with dispensing and ACT skills
• immense opportunities for clinical learning in a fast-paced environment

The post holder will contribute to the delivery of the specialist pharmacy service to the AMU seven days per week. The post is wholly based on the AMU's and involves playing a key role in medicines reconciliation and facilitating rapid discharge by means of our satellite dispensaries.

You will be a qualified pharmacy technician, registered with the GPhC, preferably with previous experience in hospital pharmacy, although community experience is also valuable.

Excellent communication skills are essential as the post holder will be required to provide counselling, advice and information to patients, nurses and medical staff.

Working for our organisation

East Lancashire Hospitals has a history of innovation and is an exciting place to work. We have a live full Electronic Patient Record, which incorporates ePrescribing and medicines reconciliation activities. We were the first Trust in the country to launch Refer-to-Pharmacy. The pharmacy teams utilise ELHT's unique e-patient tracking system to identify and target patients requiring medicines reconciliation, and as an e-pharmaceutical care planning tool.

The successful candidate will be supported to develop themselves as well as the service they are responsible for, in a friendly and forward-thinking organisation.

If you want to make a difference, are passionate about patient care, then there has never been a better time to join our team.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

See attached Job Description for full details

JOB SUMMARY

• support the Assistant Directors of Pharmacy in providing a high quality, cost effective and efficient patient centred pharmacy service to the Trust
• work in partnership on the Acute Medical Unit (AMU); with the Pharmacy team leader in the provision of a high quality, cost effective and efficient patient centred pharmacy service to the Trust
• maintain and develop the highest standards of patient-focused care in the provision of technical services
• support the governance and medicines risk management agenda locally
• support the development of the technician and assistant teams to complement and facilitate multidisciplinary working
• act as a role model in the field of clinical technician pharmacy practice and provide a consistently high level of pharmaceutical service in line with corporate objectives and government initiatives
• support the agreed policies and procedures for safe medicines use and support mechanisms to promote high quality medicine use, effective risk management, clinical governance and adherence to Trust policies and guidelines concerning medicines use
• contribute to the development of the service
• support the ‘professional development’ of technicians and assistants

Qualifications

• Registered with the GPhC - or about to qualify to join the register
• NVQ Level 3 Pharmacy Services or equivalent qualification – approved for registration with General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)

Special Knowledge

• Understanding of local and national NHS and Pharmaceutical Policy
• Understanding of medicines legislation and guidance i.e. Medicines Act, Misuse of Drugs Act, Safe and Secure Handling of Medicines, Medicine Guidance Notes, MHRA Alerts
• Understanding of clinical and risk management guidance as applied to Medicines Management

Experience

• Practice in one or more relevant areas
• Ability to deal with clinical issues
• Working within GMP/GDP/GCP guidelines
• Understanding of medicines management procedures
• Experience of working in primary or secondary care
• Ability to maintain and report on records and statistics

Judgement

• Ability to maintain and report on records and statistics
• Reflects on own practice and learns from experience
• Knows when to consult (own limitations)

Communication Skills

• Excellent verbal and written communication including formal presentations
• Able to communicate information of a technical, clinical, or managerial nature
• Ability to prioritise demands on service and plan workload of self and others

Personal Qualities

• Prioritises and meets deadlines
• Can balance strong leadership and working within a team
• Calm under pressure

Disclosure and Barring Scheme (DBS)

If the role you are applying for is identified as either controlled or regulated activity as defined in in the Safeguarding vulnerable Groups Act (2006) any offer of employment is provisional upon a satisfactory DBS check being obtained.

The healthcare sector is exempted from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

In line with other NHS organisations in the North West Region, the Trust is now passing the charge for undertaking a DBS check on to candidates in the event they are successfully appointed into the post for which they have applied. Candidates can choose whether to pay this over 1-3 months as a deduction from the monthly salary. However, if you are applying for a post as a BANK worker, the payment must be made in full at the time of employment checks. By applying for this vacancy you are agreeing to this undertaking in the event you are successfully appointed.

The cost of an Enhanced Disclosure will be £55.38 and for a Standard Disclosure will be £27.38.

This cost is not applicable for a Volunteer post

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The Trust is an equal opportunities employer, committed to improving the working lives of our staff and operates a 'Zero Tolerance' policy to aggression, violence, bullying and harassment. In addition, our aim is to help protect children and vulnerable adults by providing a first-class service to the recruitment of people into positions of trust.

We aim to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve.

We welcome applications from everyone irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, disability or social background.

We especially welcome applications from members of our black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, as we have identified that ELHT has an under-representation of BAME employees. Appointments will be made on merit.

Applicants who have a disability and meet the essential criteria for the job will be interviewed if you indicate you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme.

If you require a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process please make the recruitment services team aware as soon as possible. By telephone [phone] or email [e-mail] write to Employment Services, Parkview Offices, Haslingden Road, Blackburn, BB2 3HH

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

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.

Name Heather Horrocks Job title Senior Pharmacy Technician Medicines Management Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 01254 734016

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