Specialist Pharmacy Technician (Emergency Department)

Merseywestlancs; Sefton; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in Southport is seeking a motivated Band 5 Specialist Pharmacy Technician to join the Emergency Department (ED) pharmacy team. You will provide a specialist clinical pharmacy technician service within ED, including medicines reconciliation, medicines optimisation and supporting timely discharge.

This role offers opportunities to develop clinical skills, support medicines reconciliation, patient counselling and contribute to service

Qualifications

• BTEC Diploma in Principles and Practices for Pharmacy Technicians or GPhC recognised equivalent.
• BTEC professional diploma in dispensing checking or GPhC recognised equivalent meeting APTUK standard within 3 months.
• Registered as a practicing Pharmacy Technician with the GPhC.
• BTEC Level 4 Professional Diploma Pharmacy Clinical Service.
• Significant post-qualification experience in a pharmaceutical environment.
• Experience in medicines reconciliation using several sources of information.
• Experience working in a clinical pharmacy team in a ward environment.
• Experience of dispensing for discharge and medicines management.
• Knowledge of LEAN principles.

Responsibilities

• Provide a hands-on clinical pharmacy technician service within the Emergency Department and SDEC, including medicines reconciliation, medicines optimisation, POD assessment and supporting timely discharge.
• Prioritise patients, identify medication discrepancies and work closely with pharmacists, medical, nursing and wider healthcare teams.
• Support the safe and timely supply of medicines, helping to reduce missed doses, maintain patient flow and ensure medicines are transferred with the patient when they move between clinical areas.
• Provide medicines advice and counselling to patients and support colleagues working within the department.
• Get involved in training, audit and service improvement, helping us continue to develop our pharmacy service within ED and SDEC.
• Due to the fast-paced and complex nature of the Emergency Department, applicants will need previous experience working as a ward-based Pharmacy Technician and be confident working independently within a clinical ward environment.
• Remain an active member of the wider pharmacy team, participating in the weekend, late-night and bank holiday rotas, as required.
• Maintain dispensary skills and competencies through regular scheduled dispensary sessions.

Skills

Clinical pharmacy

Medicines reconciliation

Discharge planning

Communication skills

LEAN principles

Education

BTEC Diploma in Principles and Practices for Pharmacy Technicians or GPhC recognised equivalent

BTEC professional diploma in dispensing checking or GPhC recognised equivalent which must meet the APTUK standard for accuracy checking (1000 item log with checking test). The APTUK standard must be met within 3 months of starting role.

Registered as a practicing Pharmacy Technician with the GPhC

BTEC Level 4 Professional Diploma Pharmacy Clinical Service

Tools

JAC pharmacy computer system

Job description

We want talented and enthusiastic people from all backgrounds to join #TeamMWL, with us you can learn, grow and develop yourself and your career, realising your true ambitions and aspirations.

Whatever you’re looking for in your career, you’ll find it here at MWL.

NHS AfC: Band 5

Main area Pharmacy Grade NHS AfC: Band 5 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (You will still be a part of the late night, weekends and bank holiday Rotas) Job ref 409-8363706

Site Southport Hospital Town Southport Salary £32,073 - £39,043 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 11/11/2026 23:59 Interview date 26/11/2026

Job overview

An exciting new opportunity has arisen for a motivated and dynamic Pharmacy Technician to join our busy Emergency Department (ED) Department Pharmacy team at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated Band 5 Specialist Pharmacy Technician to join our pharmacy team, providing a specialist clinical pharmacy technician service within the Emergency Department at Southport Hospital

This is an exciting opportunity to work at the heart of urgent and emergency care, supporting medicines reconciliation, medicines optimisation, patient counselling and timely discharge, while helping to improve patient flow and reduce delays.

You will work closely with pharmacists and the wider multidisciplinary team, supporting the ongoing development of pharmacy services within ED. The role also includes training and supporting colleagues, audit and service improvement, making it ideal for a pharmacy technician looking to develop their clinical skills and take the next step in their career.

If you are proactive, organised and passionate about delivering high-quality patient care in a fast-paced environment, we would love to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

As our Specialist Pharmacy Technician for the Emergency Department, including SDEC, you will:

• Provide a hands-on clinical pharmacy technician service within the Emergency Department and SDEC, including medicines reconciliation, medicines optimisation, POD assessment and supporting timely discharge.
• Prioritise patients, identify medication discrepancies and work closely with pharmacists, medical, nursing and wider healthcare teams.
• Support the safe and timely supply of medicines, helping to reduce missed doses, maintain patient flow and ensure medicines are transferred with the patient when they move between clinical areas.
• Provide medicines advice and counselling to patients and support colleagues working within the department.
• Get involved in training, audit and service improvement, helping us continue to develop our pharmacy service within ED and SDEC.
• Due to the fast-paced and complex nature of the Emergency Department, applicants will need previous experience working as a ward-based Pharmacy Technician and be confident working independently within a clinical ward environment.
• Remain an active member of the wider pharmacy team, participating in the weekend, late-night and bank holiday rotas, as required.
• Maintain dispensary skills and competencies through regular scheduled dispensary sessions.

We’re looking for someone proactive, confident and adaptable who enjoys clinical ward-based pharmacy and wants to make a real difference to patient care, safety and flow.

Working for our organisation

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.

Our services:

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification for full details of the role and main responsibilities.

Interviews will take place on 26th November, 2026

Person specification

Values

• We are Kind
• We are Open
• We are Inclusive

Qualifications

• BTEC Diploma in Principles and Practices for Pharmacy Technicians or GPhC recognised equivalent
• BTEC professional diploma in dispensing checking or GPhC recognised equivalent which must meet the APTUK standard for accuracy checking (1000 item log with checking test). The APTUK standard must be met within 3 months of starting role.
• Registered as a practicing Pharmacy Technician with the GPhC
• BTEC Level 4 Professional Diploma Pharmacy Clinical Service

Knowledge

• Significant post-qualification experience working in a pharmaceutical environment
• Experience of completing medicines reconciliation’s using several sources of information
• Experience working in a clinical pharmacy team in a ward environment
• Experience of dispensing for discharge and medicines management
• Experience in using the JAC pharmacy computer system
• Knowledge of LEAN principles

Skills

• Demonstrates ability to motivate team performance to achieve objectives
• Good communication skills both verbal and written.
• Ability to talk to patients, staff and other senior health care professionals.
• Ability to concentrate for long periods of time and able to work under pressure
• Ability to work accurately and efficiently with good attention to detail
• Well organised with good time management skills.

Other

• Ability to participate in the department rota for 7 day working
• Supportive of colleagues of all grades
• Ability to travel various Hospital locations by own car/ assisted driver

Thank you for considering an application to work for Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust. MWL is an exciting and forward-thinking NHS Trust who are one of the best places to work for in England.

Given sometimes we receive a high volume of applications to work for us, please be aware, that we may close a vacancy earlier than stated should a sufficient number of applications be received from which a shortlist can be confirmed. Therefore, you are advised to apply at your earliest convenience.

The Trust may contact you during the recruitment process for your feedback on your experience. We always aim for continuous improvement in our practice.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity, and respect for all individuals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and value the unique skills, perspective and experience you bring. We are grounded in the belief that diversity enhances our collective strength, fostering innovation and excellence within our workforce. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we commit to offering an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

If you are having difficulty completing an online application, or require any disability reasonable adjustments, to the application process, please contact [e-mail]

We also commit to offering an interview to all armed forces veterans who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

The Trust operates anonymous shortlisting where no personal information about you, including your name or personal details are shared with the recruiting manager. No equality information is shared at any time during the recruitment process with the recruiting manager or other people involved in the decision-making process.

The equality monitoring information you provide is used in the following situations: to review our recruitment practices; where a job is limited to a specific person to verify their eligibility to apply; and to offer disability reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process. Certificate of Sponsorship

eVisa Update For successful candidates on selected work and study visa routes, who have completed and paid for their applications will no longer receive a visa vignette in passport as evidence of their permission to enter the UK. Instead, you will be issued with an eVisa only, which is accessed by creating a UKVI account. Before travelling to the UK, we advise applicants to:

• Understand how to generate an eVisa share code

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

If this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 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.

Please note if applicable, applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment.

If you have not already done so, you are therefore encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service to which a small annual fee of £13 per year applies.

Flexible Working

We actively support flexible working patterns throughout MWL. Changes made to the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook mean that:

• All employees have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment.
• There is no limit on the number of requests they can make.
• Employees have the right to make requests, have them considered, regardless of the reason.

At Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, we will consider requests for flexible working. We would also encourage you to also discuss flexible working options at interview stage.

Working for Team MWL

Staff recognition is especially important to us; as well as performance reviews and appraisals, we recognise staff through Employee of the month. Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

The Trust is a non-smoking across all our sites. Failure to follow this rule could lead to disciplinary action. For more information, see the Smoke Free NHS website.

You will be expected to undertake the Trusts' commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.

You must ensure that your application, including personal statements and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.

The Trust will not accept applications which are found to be AI generated and will check all applications against AI detection software.

Additional Information

Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trusts Values and Behaviours which are We are KIND, We are OPEN, We are INCLUSIVE, which can be found here .

An applicant guide to help and support you with your application and what to expect during your recruitment journey can be accessed in the supporting documents.

Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team MWL very soon.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Claire Richardson Job title Deputy Chief Pharmacy Technician Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 01704704166