Dispensary Lead

Job description

Job responsibilities

Team Supervision

• Provide direct supervision and training to the Dispensary Team.
• Plan, allocate and manage the workflow of dispensary staff to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.

• Work with the Partners and the Practice Manager to ensure effective recruitment, induction and training of new staff within the dispensary team.
• Support the professional development of the dispensary team.
• Ensure all mandatory training is completed within the time frames.
• Promote teamwork and co-operation within the dispensary team and across the wider practice team.
• Oversee the dispensary team rotas, ensuring that the practice makes best use of available resources.
• Plan and approve absence leave, including sickness absence, holidays arranging cover when needed.
• Ensure that all team members consistently check and respond appropriately to electronic communications such as tasks and emails.
• Promote equality and diversity in all aspects of the role and ensure that the rights and needs of patients, carers and colleagues are recognised.

Dispensing and operational duties

• Overseeing all dispensary matters within the Practice, ensuring compliance and accuracy.
• Issuing stock items and prepared prescriptions. Issuing, dispensing and checking of repeat prescriptions.

• Collection of prescription charges/checking patient exemption statements and taking payments through cash or card machine.
• Ensure that all medicines and appliances dispensed are checked against the prescription and whenever there is doubt about the appropriateness of the item, or about the dose or labelling instructions to check with the authorising doctor or duty doctor.
• Check goods as and when they are delivered and recording generic details. Stocking shelves, refrigerators using rotation method.
• Ensure drugs are received and stored in an appropriate manner in accordance with manufacturers instructions. Any fridge items are stored at appropriate temperature and temperature control log.
• Deal with queries from staff, checking their work as needed.
• Supporting the clinicians as required.
• Undertake any necessary work as may be required and appropriate to maintain a high standard and efficient dispensing service.

Financial Management

• Review and implement processes to ensure effective cash management within the dispensary.
• Ensure that all monies received or handled on behalf of the practice are appropriately stored and a record kept of all financial transactions.
• Processing invoices for payment in liaison with the Practice Manager.
• Ensure the financial resilience of the dispensary through:
• Effective stock management.
• Retention of dispensing patients.
• Maximising financial claims and income from incentive and medicines optimisation schemes.
• Ordering of drugs, liaising with wholesalers to ensure appropriate discounts and deals are obtained.
• Organise prescriptions, reviewing endorsements, completing necessary forms, and submitting prescriptions monthly to the Prescription Pricing Authority (PPA).
• Verify dispensary invoices against delivery notes.
• Compare credit notes with returns and follow up on outstanding credits.
• Undertake a range of monthly activities to ensure the Practice maximises income opportunities.

Policies & Procedures

• Working with the team to develop and implement robust policies and procedures to ensure errors are minimised and patient safety is maintained as a priority.
• Support the development and regular review of Dispensary Standard Operating Procedures, ensuring they are current.
• Ensure that dispensary teams operate at all times within Standard Operating Procedures.
• Ensure safe management of medicines including controlled drugs.
• Comply with all relevant deadlines for reports and financial claims e.g. end of month claims.

• Maintain accurate stock levels in line with the formulary for the practice, ensuring accurate stock rotation.
• Carry out all monitoring checks to ensure compliance with NICE guidelines and CQC regulations, including controlled drugs register.

• Ensure controlled Drugs are ordered, handled, recorded and disposed of appropriately.
• Dispose of patient returned unused medicines using the medication waste bins, or any controlled drugs to be disposed following procedure.
• Dispense items to patients effectively within the SOPS and Policies and Procedures of the practice.
• Dispense accurately and safely to eligible patients.
• Ensure EMIS is fully utilised and kept up to date to support the smooth running of the dispensary.
• Preparing reports (e.g. annual DSQS).
• Conducting audits and reviewing the latest guidance to ensure the dispensary conforms to regulatory standards

Communication

• Maintain a professional demeanour and uphold high service standards.
• Ensure that a friendly, caring, efficient, professional and consistent service is provided to patients at all sites.
• Establish effective communication methods to ensure those within the team and across the whole practice are kept informed of key issues relating to dispensary.
• Produce timely and effective communications for patients regarding dispensary services, including any changes to existing services.
• Develop effective working relationships within the practice including with the GP lead for dispensary and management team colleagues.
• Give advice on HC1 forms or prepayment forms to assist patients with costs.
• Attend weekly Practice MDT meeting, bringing important items to the attention of the Practice Partners.
• Provide professional information and advice to staff.

Quality & Safety

• Monitor performance across a range of indicators including dispensing timescales and take corrective action where required.
• Working in conjunction with the practice team, promptly resolve patient complaints and apply learning to improve future service delivery. Carry out Significant Event Assessments as appropriate.
• Comply with all legislative and regulatory requirements.
• Ensure safety alerts are appropriately cascaded, and actions implemented.
• Maintain knowledge of best practice and make appropriate recommendations for implementation.
• Record and monitor events, ensuring that learning is cascaded and effectively embedded.
• Recognise and report safeguarding concerns using the established practice processes.
• Ensure all Health and Safety and Infection Control standards are met within the practices dispensary, including general housekeeping.
• Work with the GP lead in the completion of relevant audits and quality improvement activities including the Dispensing Services Quality Scheme (DSQS).

Risk management

It is a standard element of the role and responsibility of all staff that they fulfil a proactive role towards the management of risk in all of their actions. This entails the risk assessment of all situations, the taking of appropriate actions and reporting of all incidents, near misses and hazards.

Records management

Responsibility for all records that gathered, created or used as part of the role within the (including patient health, financial, personal and administrative), whether paper based or on computer.

Health and safety

Statutory duty of care for own personal safety and that of others. Employees are required to co-operate with management to enable the practice to meet its own legal duties and to report any hazardous situations or defective equipment.

Confidentiality

All employees are required to maintain the confidentiality of members of the public and members of staff in accordance with Practice policies.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Good standard of general education with GCSE (or equivalent) English and Mathematics at Grade C or above.
• Qualified Dispenser

Desirable

• Educated to A level or higher

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working in a dispensary
• Experience of supervising a dispensary or pharmacy
• Experience of supervising staff
• Experience of audits and quality improvement activity
• Experience of designing and implementing policies and procedures
• Experience of identifying and implementing best practice
• Experience of managing the financial aspects of a dispensary
• Strong IT skills (including Microsoft and EMIS)
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal)
• Detailed knowledge of all aspects of day to day dispensary operations including stock management, ordering, rota planning, customer services, health and safety and infection control, month end procedures etc.
• Problem solving and analytical skills
• Understanding of team dynamics and ability to promote a harmonious working environment
• Experience of working within a General Practice dispensary environment

Desirable

• Experience of working within a General Practice dispensary environment

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

Greenmoss Medical Centre

Address

Portland Drive

Scholar Green

Stoke-on-trent

ST7 3BT

Employer's website

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