Senior Pharmacy Assistant, Mental Health - Band 3

NHS; Gloucester; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 26,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a leading healthcare provider as a Senior Pharmacy Assistant in Gloucester. You'll work in a dedicated mental health pharmacy dispensary, assisting with dispensing and distribution services, while ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations. This role offers a unique opportunity to contribute to patient care while working alongside a team of specialists in a supportive environment.

Qualifications

• Experience in a hospital pharmacy department is desirable.
• Basic IT skills required to operate Pharmacy System.

Responsibilities

• Dispensing for in-patients and out-patients according to SOPs.
• Co-ordinating supply of items owed to patients.
• Managing self to organise daily duties.

Skills

Communication

Numeracy

Literacy

Teamwork

Adaptability

Education

Level 2 NVQ Pharmacy Service Skills

Job description

Go back Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Senior Pharmacy Assistant, Mental Health - Band 3

The closing date is 01 June 2025

The pharmacy department at Gloucester Royal Hospital provides the clinical pharmacy and dispensing services to Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC) under a service level agreement (SLA).

This post is based in the dedicated mental health pharmacy dispensary working with a team of specialist pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy assistants. The Senior Pharmacy Assistant performs a wide range of duties within the mental health dispensary essential to providing a comprehensive dispensing and distribution service.

Additional working pattern details: Monday to Friday 08:30-16:30

Main duties of the job

- Dispensing for in-patients and out-patients according to standard operating procedures.

- Co-ordinating the supply of items that are owed to patients, checking order levels are adequate for supply and resolving any supply issues.

- Dispensing controlled drugs according to standard operating procedures.

- Re-stock the dispensary shelves and expiry date check the medicines regularly.

- Participation in ward top-up service, keeping the assigned wards fully stocked with medicines, ensuring medicines are stock rotated and expiry dates checked, as stated in the top up standards.

- Process and assemble orders for wards and departments using the automated picking machine (robot). Involves data entry and correct selection of goods to ensure good stock control. Proven accuracy in assembling orders will be expected

- Assist in reception as necessary, which includes answering the telephone and dealing with routine enquiries regarding work in progress and communicating with the relevant member of staff for additional advice as required. Transfer calls to appropriately qualified staff if necessary.

-Ensure that standard operating procedures are adhered to and Health and Safety procedures followed.

- Be responsible for managing self to organise own daily duties. Be willing to re-arrange duties and prioritise according to service need if required to cover for absence. Senior Pharmacy Assistants will sometimes co-ordinate cover for duties and oversee less experienced staff.

About us

Join us at an exciting time for Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust! We have an ambitious plan for our journey to Outstanding and are looking for aspirational, committed individuals to join us, making a real difference to both staff and patients.

As a former winner of England for excellence award: Tourism destination of the year, the beautiful city of Gloucester and the scenic regency spa town of Cheltenham are fantastic places to work and live.

As a hospital Trust we are currently involved in over 100 clinical trials and studies, whilst also providing acute elective and specialist services to a population of over 620,000.

By joining Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust new colleagues can look forward to a warm welcome and a future full of opportunities and support.

Job responsibilities

Knowledge, Skills and Experience Required

- Basic numeracy and literacy.

- Experience of working a hospital pharmacy department is desirable.

- Previous dispensing experience and evidence of training is desirable

- Good verbal and written communication skills.

- Basic IT skills/ be able to operate Pharmacy System computer terminal.

- Adaptable and willing to learn.

- Communicate clearly with patients in regards to the medication.

- To have a common-sense approach to co-ordinating / supervising work for other Pharmacy Assistants.

- Proven accuracy in assembling orders.

Key Result Areas and Duties

- Dispensing for in-patients and out-patients according to standard operating procedures.

- Co-ordinating the supply of items that are owed to patients, checking order levels are adequate for supply and resolving any supply issues.

- Dispensing controlled drugs according to standard operating procedures.

- Re-stock the dispensary shelves with backup stock from the stores department.

- Expiry date check the medicines on the shelves regularly

- Ensure that any out-of-date items are removed to the Pharmacy Stock Controller.

- Participation in ward top-up service, keeping the assigned wards fully stocked with medicines, ensuring medicines are stock rotated and expiry dates checked, as stated in the top up standards. Each ward is visited once a week.

- Process and assemble orders for wards and departments using the automated picking machine (robot). Involves data entry and correct selection of goods to ensure good stock control. Proven accuracy in assembling orders will be expected

- Assist in reception as necessary, this includes:

- To answer the telephone and deal with routine enquiries regarding work in progress and communicating with the relevant member of staff for additional advice as required. Transfer calls to appropriately qualified staff if necessary.

- Direct callers to appropriate recipients as required.

- To co-ordinate others to do this task if necessary.

- Assist in keeping records of workload e.g., filing, photocopying.

- Co-ordinate other pharmacy assistants to ensure the patient services section always has a readily available supply of sundry items e.g., bottles, bags to use, by topping up daily and checking status of orders as required.

- Ensure that standard operating procedures are adhered to and Health and Safety procedures followed.

- Be responsible for managing self to organise own daily duties. Be willing to re-arrange duties and prioritise according to service need if required to cover for absence. Senior Pharmacy Assistants will sometimes co-ordinate cover for duties and oversee less experienced staff.

- Share advice and knowledge to train new assistants on the standard operating procedures within the working area.

Communication and working relationships

- Must be able to work well in a team or work alone when necessary.

- This role involves communication with a wide range of health care professionals, support staff and patients. Excellent customer service skills and a cheerful, friendly outlook are therefore essential.

- Will form a good communication link with the Senior Technician and the distribution area, to ensure smooth running of operations.

- Communication with other members of the pharmacy team.

Safe Systems of Work

- Responsible for ensuring a safe working practice and environment through legislation such as the Health and Safety at Work Act and COSHH regulations, along with local policies and procedures including manual handling.

- Manual handling skills will be required for lifting and carrying of fluid boxes (12 litres per box) and the assembling and packing of ward orders. Trolleys are available for moving items around the department if required.

- Occasional handling of potentially hazardous substances (e.g., cytotoxic medication) in accordance with standard operating procedures and COSHH regulations.

- Using a computer keyboard for a large proportion of the day, to accurately enter information to the Pharmacy System.

Other

- Must be able to manage working in a busy environment with competing demands whilst remaining calm and ensuring work is conducted to a high standard.

- Requirement for frequent long periods of concentration when dispensing prescriptions.

- Physical effort is required on wards to bend and stretch in and out of drug cupboards and within the pharmacy particularly in the stores, to reach shelves.

- Undertake all mandatory training.

- Contribute to and champion departmental sustainability initiatives.

- Undertake any other duties as deemed fit by the GHFT pharmacy management.

- The post holder will be part of the weekend working rota covering the acute trust pharmacy at a frequency of approximately 1 in 13.

- The post holder will be part of the bank holiday working rota covering the acute trust as per departmental arrangements (approx. one BH per year).

Person Specification

Qualifications, Knowledge and Experience

• Level 2 NVQ Pharmacy Service Skills
• Self-motivated and able to use initiative & prioritise workload as well as work in a team
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Basic numeracy and literacy

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 name

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

£24,625 to £25,674 a year(pro rata if part time)