Senior Pharmacy Technician - Dispensary Services

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Liverpool; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Liverpool is seeking an experienced Senior Pharmacy Technician. The role involves supervising dispensary staff, ensuring accurate dispensing of medicines, managing stock levels, and providing training. Candidates should have strong leadership skills and hospital pharmacy experience. This position supports a patient-focused service and may require rotation across sites.

Qualifications

• Experience as a Senior Pharmacy Technician with strong leadership skills.
• Capable of training staff and managing dispensary tasks.

Responsibilities

• Supervise dispensary staff and ensure accurate dispensing of medicines.
• Conduct training and development for all dispensary staff.
• Manage stock levels and complete daily reconciliations.
• Participate in quality improvement initiatives.

Skills

Leadership

Hospital pharmacy experience

Accuracy in dispensing

Training and development

Education

Pharmacy Technician qualification

Job description

Overview

A vacancy at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. We are seeking an experienced Senior Pharmacy Technician to join the dispensary, with strong leadership and hospital pharmacy experience. The role may require rotation across LUHFT sites. The post supports training and development of staff and aligns with our professional standards to provide an efficient, patient-focused service.

Responsibilities

1. Plan, co-ordinate and supervise less experienced staff working in the dispensary to ensure medicines are dispensed accurately and timely, including unlicensed medicines and cytotoxics.
2. Accuracy check prescriptions.
3. Ensure training and development needs of all dispensary staff are fulfilled (e.g., student technicians, support workers, rotational pharmacists, pre-registration pharmacists and technicians) in line with predefined training programmes.
4. Maintain adequate stocks of medicines and complete the daily stock reconciliation process, addressing problems identified, including corrections and financial amendments.
5. Undertake basic work-based assessments (e.g., pregnancy risk assessments).
6. Support the deputy team lead – dispensary services to organise, co-ordinate and amend daily rotas to ensure all tasks are covered.
7. Coordinate day-to-day supervision of the dispensary, acting as a role model and promoting standards of care and service improvement.
8. Undertake line management for staff absence and support rotas to manage affected staffing.
9. Undertake line management within designated areas for staff appraisal, personal development, mandatory training compliance and related tasks.
10. Participate in the development, review and implementation of SOPs in consultation with the Team Leader and Deputy Team Leader - Dispensary Services.
11. Make judgements and decisions in the absence of a more senior member of staff within the limits of technician training.
12. Support quality improvement and implementation of new ways of working.
13. Ensure correct handling of prescriptions into the pharmacy dispensary and prioritise workload for urgent requests, liaising with relevant personnel as needed.
14. Provide advice and answer straightforward medication queries from patients/customers and other healthcare professionals; refer matters requiring further advice to the Team Leader and Deputy Team Leader - Dispensary Services or relevant Pharmacists.
15. Analyse and provide daily feedback to dispensary staff on performance against key performance indicators using data from the prescription tracker system and Wellsky.
16. Ensure all necessary paperwork and information is completed and stored in accordance with departmental SOPs.
17. Implement and propose changes required to the dispensary service as directed by the line manager.
18. Keep the dispensary clean and tidy and ensure compliance with Health and Safety at Work regulations, escalating when necessary.
19. Liaise with Senior Technical Service Leads and Team Leaders as required.
20. Support an environment where staff feel valued and are provided with development opportunities.
21. Supervise and participate in the training of all staff in the pharmacy dispensary, including assessing competence and signing off training packs.
22. Act as a mentor for technical staff undertaking accuracy checking qualification.
23. Be responsible for own CPD.
24. Undertake research activities such as audits.
25. Promote a culture of continuous quality improvement within multidisciplinary teams by recording and learning from mistakes.
26. Ensure the issuing/dispensing and traceability of medicines issued to patients is performed and recorded correctly on the pharmacy computer system.
27. Ensure the legal and effective distribution of goods to wards, departments and external customers via service-level agreements.
28. Liaise with procurement staff to ensure timely ordering of pharmaceuticals and track orders appropriately.
29. Perform daily stock checks and update stock in WellSky as per SOP; submit reports to the Team Leader – Dispensary Services.
30. Adhere to Controlled Drug legislation, maintain correct CD stock levels and follow SOPs when investigating discrepancies, escalating as required.
31. Organise expiry date checking and use short-dated stock in advance where possible.
32. Participate in routine pharmacy technician duties, including dispensing and accuracy checking when appropriate.
33. Check for prescribing errors within the limits of technician training and refer queries to the relevant pharmacist.
34. Participate in investigations of complaints, litigation or adverse incidents and ensure documentation is completed.
35. Provide advice on common medications (e.g., dosing guidance).
36. Ensure dispensing, issuing, stock control, assembly and procurement of pharmaceuticals comply with legislation and SOPs, including regular dispensing of controlled drugs and cytotoxics.
37. Ensure work is undertaken in a timely and accurate manner.
38. Perform accurate dose volume checking on non-standard volumes.
39. Respond to complex system issues as a super user and maintain efficient systems.
40. Receive prescriptions from customers and hospital staff in accordance with dispensary procedures and prioritise by urgency.
41. Participate in staff rotations within the pharmacy departments across LUHFT as required.
42. Participate in bank holidays, late nights and weekend rotas as determined by the Chief Pharmacist or senior managers.
43. Observe Health and Safety at Work Act and Data Protection Act regulations.
44. Undertake any other duties relevant to this grade as directed by the line manager, Chief Pharmacist or other senior managers.