STEP Pharmacist

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

City Of London

On-site

GBP 48,000 - 57,000

Full time

2 days ago

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Job summary

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust invites qualified pharmacists to apply for a STEP Pharmacist. This structured, post-foundation training is hospital based and integrated with a postgraduate pharmacy practice qualification.

Successful candidates must be GPhC registered and able to rotate through clinical duties, 7‑day service, residency on‑call and aseptics. STEP pharmacists rotate across South East London trusts, including Lewisham, Greenwich, and Guy's and St Thomas'.

Qualifications

Masters in Pharmacy or equivalent to register with GPhC.
GPhC registration by August 2026 required.
Willingness to pursue UCL PG Diploma in General Pharmacy Practice.
Postgraduate Certificate in General Pharmacy Practice completed or equivalent.

Responsibilities

Dispensary services and adherence to good dispensing practice.
Be the Responsible Pharmacist and comply with policies.
Dispense and check outpatients and inpatients scripts including chemotherapy.
Counsel patients and resolve prescription issues.
Prioritise workload with dispensary leads and contribute to audits.
Assist in aseptic dispensing, manufacturing and QA activities.
Participate in ward-based medicines management and discharge processes.
Support out-of-hours residency on-call and seven-day service.
Maintain documentation and SOPs.

Education

MPharm degree

GPhC registration by Aug 2026

UCL Postgraduate Diploma in General Pharmacy Practice

Postgraduate Certificate in General Pharmacy Practice

Tools

Electronic Patient Records

Digital prescribing systems

Job description

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

STEP Pharmacist

The closing date is 13 November 2026

A structured post-foundation workplace-based training programme in a hospital setting, fully integrated with a post-graduate pharmacy practice qualification.

Successful candidates will be qualified pharmacists already registered with the GPhC. We are looking for pharmacists capable of adapting quickly to the demands of our rotational clinical commitments, 7-day working, residency on-call service and other operational duties including patient services and aseptics.

STEP pharmacists are currently enrolled onto the UCL JPB PG Diploma in General Pharmacy Practice and can rotate to other acute trusts in South East London including Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust and Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. The programme has been successfully running for over twenty years.

Main duties of the job

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of £1 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and around 14,000 staff based across 5 main sites in South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local hospital services across its different sites, and specialist services from King's College Hospital (KCH) sites at Denmark Hill in Camberwell and at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) site in Bromley.

King's is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone's contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust's carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.

About us

The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. In June 2026, we launched our new strategy for 2026-31. Our vision is to transform healthcare, and we have agreed six strategic ambitions to help us improve care for patients, and the working lives of our staff.

Our six strategic ambitions are deliveringhigh-quality patient care; creating a great place to work; leading pioneering research, innovation and education; building strong and successful partnerships; providing timely and efficient care; and ensuring long-term financial sustainability.

We have also agreed four new organisational values - Caring, Collaborative, Inclusive, Innovative - and these underpin everything we do, and how our teams interact with the patients under our care.

We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.

Job responsibilities

Dispensary services (where applicable)
To follow procedures relating to good dispensing practice, and to maintain high standards and orderly methods of working.
To be the Responsible Pharmacist.
To comply with the formulary and dispensary policies.
To dispense and check outpatients and inpatients scripts, including clinical trials and chemotherapy.
To effectively clinically screen prescriptions and professionally resolve any problems or refer when appropriate.
To effectively and efficiently counsel patients on the needs relating to their medicines.
To deal with requests from members of staff and patients in a professional manner.
To be aware of the overall dispensary workload, and by liaising with dispensary leads, to prioritise and effectively manage the workflow.
To participate in dispensary audits and contribute to quality service assurance initiatives.
To update dispensary protocols and standard operating procedures as required.
Technical services (where applicable)
To assist in the provision of a comprehensive preparative service to the Trust and external customers. This can include aseptic dispensing and manufacturing, TPN, CIVAS, clinical trial preparation, non-sterile and sterile manufacturing and QC / QA activities, according to the service at the base hospital. The post holder may work in the following areas on a rotational basis depending on base hospital working arrangements and rotas: aseptic services; the oncology suites or satellites; general manufacturing services (sterile and non-sterile production); quality assurance and control departments.
To ensure that activities undertaken within the units meet current legislation such as GMP/GDP, GCP, Health and Safety, COSHH, and that all work is documented according to these procedures.
To undertake when required preparation of all products following adequate training.
To be aware of and follow standard operating procedures at all times.
To be aware of and follow all quality assurance procedures and make the section manager aware of any deficiencies.
To undertake, where relevant, clinical screening of prescriptions and to provide pharmaceutical advice on the use of medicines prepared during the rotation.
To undertake the final check of dispensed and batch prepared products after appropriate training.
Ward based pharmacy services
To participate in the medicines management programme / clinical pharmacy services involving any of the following: ensuring accurate drug histories are taken and documented, patients own drug are reconciled, dispensing for discharge is facilitated, dispensing of medicines on the ward for patients to take home and communicate effectively with patients to improve adherence.
To identify patients with complex pharmaceutical problems, propose solutions and refer these to more senior staff.
To identify drug interactions, prioritise and take appropriate action (which may include referral to a more senior member of staff) to ensure the safe and effective use of medicines.
To monitor patients responses to drug treatments for efficacy and toxicity, prioritise these and take appropriate action (which may include referral to a more senior member of staff) to ensure the safe and effective use of medicines.
To identify errors on clerking including medication histories and allergies documentation, TTOs or on prescriptions initiated during the patients admission. Appropriately prioritise these and take best course of action (which may include referral to a more senior member of staff) to ensure patient safety.
To identify deviations from guidelines, prioritise these and take appropriate action (which may include referral to a more senior member of staff).
To complete all documentation according to Trust and departmental policies.
To work effectively as part of a team in a multi-disciplinary and pharmacy environment, and maintain rapport with medical and other colleagues.
To undertake clinical audit and drug use evaluations in the clinical areas assigned.
To undertake peer review and workplace-based assessments to evaluate communication and decision-making skills, obtain feedback and amend practice where necessary.
Out of hours pharmacy services
To participate in the residency on-call pharmacists rota.
To provide an out of hours pharmacy service to the base hospital(s), in accordance with local out of hours guidelines and policies.
To participate in the 7-day service weekend and Bank holiday rotas of the base hospital.
To undertake dispensing duties as required and to the appropriate standard.
To answer medicines information and other queries as required. (This may include technical services if provided out of hours at the base site).
To work within the limitations of one's own competence, referring more complex queries to appropriate pharmacists as required.
To complete all documentation in line with department policy.
Placements
Each rotation will have specific criteria which will be available to the post holder when selecting the rotation.
The post holder should consider these as part of their job description during the period of the placement.

Person Specification

Qualifcation

Masters degree MPharm (or equivalent to allow GPhC registration)
Professional registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) by August 2026
Willingness to be or already enrolled on the UCL Postgraduate Diploma in General Pharmacy Practice (or equivalent)
Successful completion of a Postgraduate Certificate in General Pharmacy Practice (or equivalent and comparable experience)

Knowledge and Experience

Experience of working in a dispensary / patient services environment
Experience in providing clinical pharmacy services
Experience of mentoring and supervising students, Trainee Pharmacists and / or Pharmacy Technicians
Experience working within Medicines Information or Technical Services
Contributes to the involvement of pharmacy services e.g audit, QI or service improvement
Experience in hospital pharmacy practice
Experience of working in a ward-based clinical environment

Skills and Abilities

Demonstrable skills and ability to safely clinically screen a prescription request for the supply of a medicine
Able to work independently, when required
Able to manage their own workload effectively and escal...
Able to work under pressure
Experience of working with Electronic Patient Records and digital prescribing systems

Personal Qualities

Appreciate the importance of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Able to support the department's out of hours services
Committed to continuous professional development

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.

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Address

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

£47,951 to £56,863 a yearper annum, including high cost allowance

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

213-Division-A-8372347

Job locations

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust