Senior Pharmacy Assistant - Medicines Management

Liverpool University Hospitals Nhs Foundation Trust; Liverpool; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 26,000; Full time

Job summary

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Senior Pharmacy Assistant – Medicines Management to work within the pharmacy department and on wards alongside nursing staff. You will oversee medicines supply, liaise with Pharmacists and Technicians, and ensure timely disposition of medicines for wards and patients.

You will supervise pharmacy assistants, train staff, and participate in networked training and service delivery while maintaining high standards of accuracy and

Qualifications

• NVQ level 2 in pharmaceutical sciences or equivalent.
• Demonstrable experience working in a pharmacy environment.
• Experience of working in a team.
• Dispensing prescriptions OR preparation of aseptic products.

Responsibilities

• Dispense and issue medicines from the Pharmacy Department in line with policies and safe systems of work.
• Order and supply pharmaceuticals as part of ward stock top-up service.
• Interpret reports to identify correct supply of medicines and quantities.
• Provide an effective medicine supply service to wards/departments and patients.
• Train, supervise and assess pharmacy assistants, delivering training as they rotate through areas of practice.
• Participate in weekend/Bank Holiday/evening services per departmental arrangements.

Skills

Written communication

IT proficiency

Attention to detail

Train others

Education

NVQ level 2 in pharmaceutical sciences or equivalent

Job description

Job summary

Would you like to join our pharmacy team at LUHFT working with our clinical teams on the wards, helping to organise medication supplies to patients.

Working with the technical team you will be involved in the supply and distribution of medication and training and developing various staff in pharmacy services.

You will be required to have a good understanding of hospital pharmacy and play a key role in ensuring patients have their medicines available during their stay and on discharge.

We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic individual who wants to develop existing skills. You must be organised, flexible, have excellent communication skills and have a track record of paying close attention to detail.

You must be a team player who can work on your own initiative and who has a positive attitude towards providing a high-quality service and working to deadlines.

Main duties of the job

In the role as a Senior Pharmacy Assistant - Medicines Management you will work within the pharmacy department and on wards alongside nursing staff and the pharmacy teams.

Using your excellent communication skills, you will deal with queries regarding medicines supply and liaise with Pharmacy Technicians, Pharmacists and dispensary or stores when required.

Maintaining medicines supplies will require analysis of reports to ensure stocks and named patient supplies are identified.

As a senior pharmacy assistant, you will supervise work of pharmacy assistants ensuring work is prioritised appropriately and play a key role in training and development of staff to maintain a quality and standards of work.

You will be expected to participate in evening, weekend and Bank Holiday working in keeping with the Pharmacy Directorate arrangements and the needs of the Trust

About us

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust comprises Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital & Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

We are part of NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, formed on 1 Nov 2024 from the coming together of LUHFT and Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust. The Group was born from a shared aim to improve the care we provide our patients.

UHLG is one of the largest employers in the region, with over 16,800 colleagues dedicated to caring for our communities - from birth and beyond.

For the 630,000 people across Merseyside, we are their local NHS. We provide general and emergency hospital care, alongside highly specialised regional services for more than two million people in the North West.

Aintree University Hospital is the single receiving site for adult major trauma patients in Cheshire and Merseyside and hosts a number of regional services including an award-winning stroke facility. Broadgreen Hospital is home to elective surgical, diagnostic and treatment services, together with specialist patient rehabilitation. Liverpool Women's Hospital specialises in the health of women and babies, delivering over 7,200 babies in the UK's largest single site maternity hospital each year. The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is the largest hospital in the country to provide inpatients with 100% single bedrooms and focuses on complex planned care and specialist services.

For roles at Liverpool Women's, visit their careers page.

Job responsibilities

• Dispense and issue medicines from the Pharmacy Department including extemporaneously prepared products, controlled drugs, unlicensed medicines and clinical trials, in accordance with the policies, procedures and safe systems of work, which prevail in the department at the time.
• Order and supply pharmaceuticals as part of the ward stock top-up service.
• Using judgements within boundaries of own remit and training, interpret reports accurately to identify the correct supply of medicines and quantities.
• Provide an effective medicine supply service to wards/departments and patients.
• Working as part of a multidisciplinary team to ensure that patients have access to the correct medicines at the right time and that they are involved in decision making.
• Receive medicines into the Pharmacy Department and ensure that documentation and computer entry is carried out in a timely and accurate manner.
• Ensure that all pharmaceutical preparations are stored appropriately.
• Ensure patients own medicines are brought into hospital through direct discussion with patient/relatives/carers.
• Providing information to patients on their medicines supplies within remit.
• Ensuring patients have adequate supply of medicines and reordering as necessary.
• Liaising with discharge facilitators and multidisciplinary teams to identify patients requiring medicines for discharge.
• Preparing medicines for discharge and dispensing items where applicable.
• Acting as a point of contact for basic pharmacy related queries from other staff including nurses and multidisciplinary teams.
• Interpret pharmacy portal reports and prepare daily handover for pharmacy ward teams.
• Review antibiotic reports and order stocks as required through the pharmacy portal system.
• Review controlled drugs report and identify order requirements and liaise with nursing staff to ensure they are ordered.
• Review percentage report, check for transferred medicines, delete duplicate orders and reorder previously supplied medicines if required through the pharmacy portal system.
• Ensure that all unused medicines (if appropriate) returned to the pharmacy are recycled in accordance with the safe systems of work and always participate in the safe disposal of medicines in accordance with departmental procedures.
• Ensures the maintenance and review of ward stocks, liaising with departmental managers, directorate pharmacists, medicines management technicians and the stores and distribution team.
• Participate in the development and project work in line with the objectives of the Trust and Pharmacy Directorate.
• Check picked stock items to ensure accuracy of medicines supplies on top-up.
• Train, supervise, and assess pharmacy assistants.
• Deliver training to pharmacy assistants and other staff as they rotate through areas of practice.
• Deal with ad hoc stock requests as they arise (by telephone or portal) from wards/departments and outside clinics. These may be urgent and will need to be prioritised appropriately.
• Supply emergency orders.
• Support pharmacy assistants with NVQ level 2 training where appropriate.
• Prioritise work so that services meet their objectives.
• Together with other members of staff ensure that procedures are carried out in accordance with current legislation and regulations in respect of the Health and Safety at Work Act, COSHH and that other pertinent recommendations and standards are complied with.
• Participate and co‑operate in weekend Bank Holiday, Statuary Holiday, early morning, and evening services as per departmental arrangements.
• Undertake other reasonable duties appropriate with this role as required. This may be subject to change to meet the needs of our patients.
• Work across sites where required.
• The post holder will be expected to adapt to changes that may occur, which may affect the current practices within the Pharmacy Department, such as the introduction of new equipment, procedures, policies, and hours of working.

Person Specification

Knowledge

Essential

• Knowledge of procedures for own pharmacy area - on the job training, experience to NVQ3 or equivalent level
• Knowledge of stock control systems and storage of medication

Desirable

• Knowledge of hospital pharmacy supply and discharge planning
• Able to relate to all grades of staff within multidisciplinary team

Qualifications

Essential

• NVQ level 2 in pharmaceutical sciences or equivalent

Experience

Essential

• Demonstrable experience working in a pharmacy environment
• Experience of working in a team
• Experience of dispensing prescriptions OR the preparation of aseptic products

Skills

Essential

• Clear and accurate written communication skills
• Ability to use different IT applications
• Methodical with attention to detail
• Ability to train others

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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants.