Pharmacy Technician (Primary Care)

Quedgeley Medical Centre; Gloucester; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Quedgeley Medical Centre in Gloucester seeks an experienced Pharmacy Technician to lead the in-house pharmacy team. The role focuses on safe prescribing, medication monitoring and medicines optimisation within primary care.

As part of a tight-knit Practice, you will oversee daily prescription requests, conduct reviews and collaborate with hospital and community pharmacy teams to ensure optimal patient care.

Qualifications

• GPhC registration is essential for practice.
• BTEC or NVQ Level 3 in pharmaceutical sciences or equivalent is required.
• Evidence of post-qualifying CPD and ongoing professional development.

Responsibilities

• Manage daily prescription requests and ensure timely processing.
• Conduct standard medication reviews and refer complex cases for structured reviews.
• Review changes to medications initiated by hospitals and third party providers.
• Carry out medicine reconciliations and document processes.
• Use Eclipse Live to optimise prescribing safety and flag patient risks.
• Track MHRA drug alerts and respond to patient medication queries.
• Hold patient drop-in sessions to address FAQs about medications.
• Provide clinical support to Pharmacy Assistant and oversee reviews.
• Participate in pharmacy projects, audits and policy reviews.
• Liaise with community pharmacies and ICB Meds Management to improve patient experience.

Skills

Attention to detail

Multi-tasking

Data analysis

Patient safety prioritisation

Communication skills

Independent working

Documentation

IT proficiency

Education

GPhC registration

BTEC/NVQ Level 3 in pharmaceutical sciences

Post-qualification CPD evidence

Job description

Job summary

We are looking for an experienced pharmacy professional to join our Practice and to spearhead our inhouse pharmacy team. Previous experience of working in or with primary care will be crucial in ensuring a strong foundation of knowledge to build upon.

The role of the Pharmacy Technician in general practice is vastly different to community pharmacy. There is no dispensing of medications, rather an important role in the safe and efficient prescribing, monitoring and review of medications.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder will be an integral part of the Practice's approach to safe prescribing, effective medication monitoring, and improving medicines optimisation.

See Job Description section for more detail.

About us

Quedgeley Medical Centre (QMC) is a family run GP practice in Quedgeley, a suburban town of Gloucester and located 3.5 miles southwest of the city centre.

With approx. 8,000 patients, QMC is a growing practice with a team comprised of doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants, administrative/secretarial staff, pharmacy professionals, and others.

At QMC, we strive to be known as a warm, friendly, and welcoming Practice, where our patients are always treated with respect and dignity and feel that they have been listened to with kindness and compassion at every interaction.

Our tight-knit team has a wonderful dynamic of mucking in and supporting one another, sharing responsibilities, and being confident and enabled to speak up and ask for help.

Job responsibilities

• Manage daily prescription requests.
• Conduct standard medication reviews.
• Refer complex patients for structured medication reviews.
• Review and act upon changes to medications initiated by hospitals, secondary care and other third party providers.
• Carry out and document medicine reconciliations.
• Use Eclipse Live to optimise prescribing safety and flag potential patient risks.
• Track, review and act upon MHRA drug alerts.
• Deal with adhoc patient medication and prescription queries.
• Hold patient drop-in sessions to deal with FAQs regarding ordering and understanding medications.
• Provide clinical support to the Pharmacy Assistant, whose role it is to track, arrange and monitor medication reviews.
• Participate in pharmacy projects and audits.
• Participate in the ongoing review of medication policies and procedures.
• Liaise with Community Pharmacies and the ICB Pharmacy / Meds Management team to address and work to overcome challenges and improve the overall experience for patients.

Person Specification

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Excellent attention to detail.
• Excellent ability to multi-task and switch between tasks of different types.
• Excellent ability to focus and concentrate.
• Excellent ability to analyse and interpret data and information in order to make sound assessments and judgements.
• Ability to keep abreast of the latest evidence-based prescribing practice.
• Excellent ability to work independently and autonomously within scope of own competence, recognising when and why to seek clinical input and support.
• Excellent understanding and prioritisation of patient safety.
• Excellent communication skills, written and oral.
• Excellent documentation and record keeping skills.
• High degree of personal credibility, emotional intelligence, patience and flexibility.
• Ability to support and coach others.
• Strong IT skills and an interest in using technology to create efficiencies and greater safety in processes.

Qualifications

Essential

• Professional registration with GPhC
• BTEC or NVQ level 3 or equivalent in pharmaceutical sciences
• Evidence of post qualifying and continuing professional development

Experience

Essential

• 5+ years' experience of working as a qualified, registered pharmacy technician
• Experience of working in or closely with primary care as a pharmacy technician
• Experience of carrying out medication reviews
• Experience of carrying out research, audits or projects in relation to medications and prescribing

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.

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