Job responsibilities
Clinical Pharmacy in General Practice is part of an exciting programme of transformation to develop a new model of care which addresses our ambition to deliver person-centred, coordinated care across the primary care network.
Pharmacy Technicians play an important role, complementing Clinical Pharmacists, Community Pharmacists, and other members of the PCN multi-disciplinary team.
Pharmacy Technicians’ core role responsibilities will cover clinical, and technical and administrative categories. The purpose of the role is to lead improvements to maximise safe, cost effective best practice in prescribing to improve the quality of patient care. The post holder will help patients to get the best from their medicines by switching medications to agreed and approved protocols, improving repeat prescribing processes in General Practice, including promotion of repeat dispensing and online ordering, minimising clinical risk and aiming to reduce wasted medicines.
In addition, the post holder will be responsible for encouraging the development of better understanding of the principles of medicines optimisation throughout the practice teams and promoting good practice in line with therapeutic developments. This will involve assisting the PCN in achieving national requirements, NICE implementation, and utilisation of medicines optimisation initiatives.
Clinical responsibilities of the Pharmacy Technician:
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
Support, as determined by the PCN, medication reviews and medicines reconciliation for new care home patients and synchronising medicines for patient transfers between care settings and linking with local community pharmacists.
Provide specialist expertise, where competent, to address both the public health and social care needs of patients, including lifestyle advice, service information, and help in tackling local health inequalities
Take a central role in the clinical aspects of shared care protocols and liaising with specialist pharmacists for more complex patients
Support initiatives for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing.
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 other primary care settings. This will be achieved through undertaking clinical audits (e.g. use of antibiotics), supporting quality improvement measures and contributing to the Quality and Outcomes Framework and enhanced services
Technical and Administrative responsibilities of the Pharmacy Technician:
Work with the PCN multi-disciplinary team to ensure efficient medicines optimisation, including implementing efficient ordering and return processes, and reducing wastage;
Supervise practice reception teams in sorting and streaming general prescription requests, so as to allow GPs and clinical pharmacists to review the more clinically complex requests
Provide leadership for medicines optimisation systems across PCNs, supporting practices with a range of services to get the best value from medicines by encouraging and implementing Electronic Prescriptions, safe repeat prescribing systems, and timely monitoring and management of high-risk medicine
Provide training and support on the legal, safe and secure handling of medicines, including the implementation of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS)
Develop relationships with other pharmacy technicians, pharmacists and members of the multi-disciplinary team to support integration of the pharmacy team across health and social care including primary care, community pharmacy, secondary care, and mental health.
Health and Safety at Work
Ensure the adoption of safe work practices consistent with Health and Safety. The post holder must not, by act or omission, wilfully endanger themselves or others whilst at work. All accidents and untoward occurrences must be reported and potential hazards identified.
Be responsible for all practice and PCN property and the reporting of all potential or actual breaches of security.
Attend and complete the full induction programme and appropriate mandatory training relevant to the job role.
The PCN and Practices operate a non-smoking policy.
Equality and Diversity
Support the Equality & Diversity Agenda within the Practice and the Pharmacy.
Ensure that the impact on equality and diversity of proposals and policies within own area of responsibility is assessed and action taken to reduce any negative impact.
Performance Management
The post holder will participate in practice performance management systems.
Any Other Duties within the Framework of the Post
The post holder will be required to undertake any other duties and responsibilities within the framework of the post.
The post holder will carry out any other duties as may reasonably be required by their line manager commensurate with the band of the post. The job description and person specification may be reviewed on an on-going basis in accordance with the changing needs of the role.
