Senior Pharmacy Assistant - Dispensary

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust; West Midlands Combined Authority; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional healthcare provider in the West Midlands is seeking qualified Senior Pharmacy Assistants to join the Pharmacy Department on a full-time or part-time basis. This role requires interpreting and dispensing prescriptions, maintaining accuracy, and ensuring quality patient care. Ideal candidates will possess a Level 2 qualification in Pharmacy services and have proven experience in a pharmacy setting. Competitive salary and flexible working options offered.

Benefits

Flexible working hours

Continuous training and development

Qualifications

• Ability to manage multiple queries and changing priorities.
• Effective communication in various contexts.
• Proven experience in technical pharmacy services.

Responsibilities

• Interpret and dispense prescriptions accurately.
• Input prescription data into the pharmacy system.
• Maintain stock levels and monitor storage conditions.

Skills

Communication skills

Accuracy in dispensing

Teamwork

Education

Level 2 in Pharmacy services

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Overview

Are you a qualified Pharmacy dispenser looking for a new challenge? We are seeking to recruit enthusiastic and motivated Senior Pharmacy Assistants on a full or part-time basis to work within the busy Pharmacy Department. We have positions available at both Worcestershire Royal Hospital and the Alexandra Hospital supporting the dispensary team supplying medications for TTOs, inpatient supply and outpatients. Pharmacy Assistants are vital members of the Pharmacy team. You will be a strong and confident team player, demonstrate professionalism at all times and act as a role model for other assistants, taking responsibility to ensure you prepare medication in accordance with policies and procedures. You will work as part of a multidisciplinary team working closely with Pharmacists, Technicians and other Assistants.

Main duties of the job

Duties of the role include but are not limited to:

• Interpret and dispense prescriptions on a patient specific basis for in-patients, outpatients and discharge under the supervision of a team pharmacist/accuracy checking technician.
• Ensuring all work is carried out to a high degree of accuracy, safely and efficiently following current standard operating procedures of the department on a daily basis.
• To input prescription data into the pharmacy computer system ensuring high levels of accuracy.
• To supply controlled drugs on request from designated clinical areas and for discharge/outpatient prescriptions, in accordance with departmental procedures and in compliance with related legislation regarding record keeping, storage and transportation of controlled drugs.
• To maintain and replenish identified stock or emergency supplies on a daily basis. To record and monitor medicines room and refrigerator temperatures to ensure storage conditions are within the defined parameters as delegated.
• To replace or rotate short dated medicines where appropriate to minimise wastage.
• To relay complete and accurate information, recognising self-limitations and referring to appropriate person.
• To take appropriate daily action to ensure medication requiring delivery is available to individual patients.
• To plan own work, liaising with manager to ensure appropriate management of ward/clinical area work.

About Us

See job description for full range of duties. Our purpose is simple - Putting Patients First. We are looking for exceptional colleagues who can help us achieve this. Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is a large acute and specialised hospital trust that provides a range of local acute services to the residents of Worcestershire and more specialised services to a larger population in Herefordshire and beyond. The Trust operates hospital-based services from three sites in Kidderminster, Redditch and Worcester. Our workforce is nearly 6,800 strong, and our caring staff are recognised as providing good and outstanding patient-centred care. You could be one of them. We are committed to recruiting the best people to work with us to achieve our Vision - working in partnership to provide the best healthcare for our communities, leading and supporting our teams to move 4ward. Our 4ward behaviours, which we ask all staff to demonstrate, underpin our everyday work and remain firmly at the heart of all we do.

Our Objectives Are Simple:

• Best services for local people
• Best experience of care and best outcomes for our patients
• Best use of resources
• Best people

Better never stops, and our Clinical Services Strategy provides a clear future vision for our Trust, our hospitals, our services and our role in the wider health and care system. We are proud to have achieved Timewise accreditation - this means we are committed to embedding flexible working within our organisation as a flex positive employer.

Details

Date posted: 23 September 2025

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 3

Salary: £24,937 to £26,598 a year Agenda for change Band 3

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working

Reference number: C9365-25-0786

Job locations: Charles Hastings Way, Worcester, Worcestershire, WR5 1DD; The Alexandra Hospital, Woodrow Drive, Redditch, Worcestershire, B98 7UB

Job Description

Job responsibilities

Dispensing Duties: The post holder will be responsible for:

• To interpret and dispense prescriptions on a patient specific basis for in-patients and discharge under the supervision of a team pharmacist/accuracy checking technician.
• Ensuring all work is carried out to a high degree of accuracy, safely and efficiently following current standard operating procedures of the department on a daily basis.
• To successfully complete a dispensing accuracy assessment to demonstrate competency in dispensing on an on-going basis and once completed to maintain competency accordingly.
• To input prescription data into the pharmacy computer system ensuring high levels of accuracy.
• To supply controlled drugs on request from designated clinical areas and for discharge/outpatient prescriptions, in accordance with departmental procedures and in compliance with related legislation regarding record keeping, storage and transportation of controlled drugs.
• To maintain and replenish identified stock or emergency supplies on a daily basis. To record and monitor medicines room and refrigerator temperatures to ensure storage conditions are within the defined parameters.
• To replace or rotate short dated medicines where appropriate to minimise wastage.
• Support with stock checks
• To relay complete and accurate information, recognising self-limitations and referring to appropriate person.
• To take appropriate daily action to ensure medication requiring delivery is available to individual patients.
• To plan own work, liaising with manager to ensure appropriate management of ward/clinical area work.

Other Duties And Responsibilities: To dispose of waste products according to the Trust waste policy including appropriate handling of corrosive materials, cytotoxics and flammable substances. To identify stock shortages and place orders communicating with the Acute Unit staff regarding urgency and availability. To use a variety of communication techniques appropriate to circumstances preventing barriers to understanding in order to provide advice to patients on the medicine supply, estimating waiting times, arranging for items to be ordered/delivered. To assist patients in obtaining necessary medicine supplies e.g. liaising between the doctor and the patient to ensure that prescriptions are available where appropriate. To respect the patients confidentiality and the sensitive nature of information. Confirming the patients understanding. To undertake, complete and pass mandatory and recommended training programmes. To carry out record keeping and data collection data for audit purposes. To comply with requirements of statutory regulations, including Medicines Act, Misuse of Drugs Act and Regulations, Health and Safety at Work Act, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH), etc. and local operating procedures to ensure that the work is to a high standard (accurate). To maintain the security of the medicines within Pharmacy departments at all times. To undertake other duties commensurate with this grade of post in agreement with the relevant line manager according to service requirements.

Person Specification

Skills – Essential

• Have the ability to deal with multiple queries and with changes in priority of workload.
• Able to communicate effectively using a variety of methods (written/verbal/presentation) with a wide range of people
• Skilled at using Microsoft Office to produce word-processed documents e.g. work rotas (MS Word), memorandums and emails (MS Outlook).
• Able to meet deadlines, prioritise tasks and manage time effectively within a busy working environment whilst producing work to the required standard.

Experience – Essential

• Proven experience of successfully delivering technical pharmacy services as an NVQ2 qualified Pharmacy Assistant.
• Experience of working in a team
• Experience of working flexibly within a team
• Experience of accurately dispensing medication

Desirable

• Recent hospital proven experience of successfully delivering technical pharmacy services as a Pharmacy Assistant
• Experience of operating/utilising an electronic prescription tracking system
• Working in a pressured environment

Qualifications – Essential

• Holds level 2 in Pharmacy services (previously known as NVQ Level 2 in pharmacy technical services) or equivalent.

Desirable

• GCSE (or equivalent) grade C/4 or above in Maths and English

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.

Employer details

Employer name: Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

Address: Charles Hastings Way, Worcester, Worcestershire, WR5 1DD

Employer's website: https://www.worcsacute.nhs.uk/

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