Pharmacy Technician

Job description

Job responsibilities

Clinical

Undertake patient facing and patient supporting roles to ensure effective medicines use, through shared decision-making conversations with patients.

Carry out medicines optimisation tasks including effective medicine administration (e.g. checking inhaler technique), supporting medication reviews and medicines reconciliation. Where required, utilise consultation skills to work in partnership with patients to ensure they use their medicines effectively.

As determined by the PCN, support medication reviews and medicines reconciliation for new care home patients and synchronising medicines for patient transfers between care settings, linking with local community pharmacies

Support the Clinical Pharmacist in Structure Medication Reviews (SMR) i.e. organise necessary monitoring tests prior to SMR

Provide expertise to address both the public health and social care needs of patients, including lifestyle advice, service information, and help in tackling local health inequalities.

Manage shared care protocols and liaise with Clinical Pharmacists for more complex patients.

Support initiatives for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing locally.

Assist in the delivery of medicines optimisation and management incentive schemes and patient safety audits.

Support the implementation of national prescribing policies and guidance within GP practices, care homes and the wider PCN. This will be achieved through undertaking clinical audits (e.g. use of antibiotics), supporting quality improvement measures and contributing to all appropriate elements of the delivery of the Directed Enhanced Service.

Support the PCN multi-disciplinary team to ensure efficient medicines optimisation processes are being followed.

Implement efficient ordering and return processes and reducing medication wastage.

Provide training and support on the legal, safe and secure handling of medicines, including the implementation of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS).

Promotion of Electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD) (where appropriate) and online ordering

Develop relationships with other pharmacy professionals and members of the multi- disciplinary team to support integration across health and social care including primary care, community pharmacy, secondary care and mental health.

Support practice reception teams in streaming general prescription requests, so as to allow GPs and clinical pharmacists to review the more clinically complex requests.

Support the implementation of national prescribing policies and guidance within GP practices, care homes and other primary care settings.

Support the PCN to deliver on QIPP agenda, QOF and locally commissioned enhanced services where appropriate.

Support the PCN in reviewing and developing relevant policies for CQC requirements.

Quality:

The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the PCN, and will:

Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk

Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision

Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance

Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs

Effectively manage own time, workload and resources

Communicate effectively and sensitively and use language appropriate to a patient and carer/relatives condition and level of understanding.

Effectively use all methods of communication and be aware of and manage barriers to communication.

Effectively recognise and manage challenging behaviours, carers and or relatives.

Provide information to patients, their carers and/or relatives on behalf of the multidisciplinary team.

Be the point of liaison for service users and interface with all health and social care professionals, including keeping everyone informed and updated.

Follow through actions identified by the multi-disciplinary team including arranging tests, referrals, signposting, etc.

Follow through with service users and others involved to ensure all services and care arrangements are in place.

A large proportion of the role will be undertaken within the care home settings within the PCNs boundary area.

Person Specification

Skills and Competencies

Essential

• Computer literate with an ability to use Microsoft office packages (essential)
• Understand the aims of current healthcare policy within the PCN
• Able to analyse and interpret prescribing data
• Has attention to detail, able to work accurately, identifying errors quickly and easily
• Able to effectively manage allocated resources
• Has a planned and organised approach with an ability to prioritise their own workload to meet strict deadlines
• Able to think analytically; anticipating obstacles and thinking ahead; using analytical techniques to draw logical solutions to problems
• Excellent communication skills, verbal and written, with the ability to adjust communication style and content to suit the audience
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with team members, patients, carers, and other healthcare professionals. Whilst recognising peoples needs for alternative methods of communication
• Influencing and negotiating skills
• An excellent understanding of data protection and confidentiality issues
• The post-holder will participate in any training programme required by the PCN and PCN practices, including the approved Primary Care Pharmacy Educational Pathway (PCPEP) This is a mandatory course of not already completed.

Experience

Essential

• Relevant advanced theoretical and practical knowledge of Primary Care Networks,
• General Practice and evidence-based medicine
• An appreciation of the NHS agenda and Government targets
• Awareness of systems to support management of patients in a primary care setting, delivering pharmaceutical input and support in the context of pathways of care and the business of the organisation(s)
• Awareness of GP budget-management and funding systems to enable GP clinical pharmacist services to assist delivery of PCN and NHS priorities and requirements for financial balance and quality
• Good clinical pharmacy knowledge including terminology
• An appreciation of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for the improvement of prescribing
• Knowledge and understanding of pharmacy law and ethics and current legislation

Qualifications

Essential

• Professional registration with GPhC
• BTEC/NVQ level 3 or equivalent in pharmaceutical sciences
• Evidence of continued professional development (CPD)
• Experience of working as a qualified, registered pharmacy technician in primary care, community or hospital pharmacy
• Demonstrate ability to influence and persuade partners and stakeholders of the respective merits of different options, innovations, new opportunities and challenges

Desirable

• Computer literate with an ability to use the required GP clinical systems (desirable)
• Willingness to undergo further training or development.
• Requires a flexible approach, and a highly motivated post holder. The role may need to be reviewed and developed in the future in line with changing priorities
• Access to and ability to use transport as travel between sites across the PCN and beyond will be required for meetings and training
• Willingness to undergo further training and development as the job develops

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Manor Road Surgery

Address

Manor Road Surgery

Beverley Health Centre

Manor Road, Beverley

HU17 7BZ

Employer's website

https://www.beverleyhealthcentre.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)