Care Home Pharmacy Technician

Job description

Job responsibilities

1. Medication support

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

2. Medication review/reconciliation

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.

3. SMR support

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

4. Medicine information to practice and care home staff

Answers relevant medicine-related enquiries from GPs, other network staff, other healthcare teams (e.g. community pharmacy) and care home staff with queries about medicines, within the competencies of your role. Escalate anything outside of your remit to the Care Home Pharmacist, Prescribing Lead or other appropriate clinician.

5. Telephone/email medicines support

Provide telephone or email support for care home staff with questions, queries and concerns about residents medicines, within your competencies.

6. Public health

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.

7. Shared Care Protocols

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

8. Inappropriate Antibiotic prescribing

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

9. Medication ordering processes

Assist in the development and adhere to efficient ordering and return processes and reducing medication wastage, supporting the reception team in implementing any medication ordering processes.

10. Training and support

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

11. Working relationships

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. Including but not limited to: GPs, nurses, social prescribers, paramedics

12. National prescribing policies

Support the implementation of national prescribing policies and guidance within the PCN in relation to Care Home residents.

13. IIF

Work towards any Pharmacy related IIF targets. Work with team members and Prescribing Lead to develop and implement plans to achieve IIF targets and update PCN accordingly.

14. Participation in meetings

Participate and engage in monthly pharmacy team meeting to discuss workload, highlight any issues, adapt any learning from team members or Prescribing Lead, identify, plan and update any targets, and any other role relevant meetings as needed.

15. Care Quality Commission

Work with the Lead Employer team to ensure the PCN is compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved.

16. Information management

Analyse, interpret and present medicines data to highlight issues and risks to support decision making.

Professional development

Work with your line manager to undertake continual personal and professional development, taking an active part in reviewing and developing the role and responsibilities. Adhere to organisational policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, and health and safety.

Work with your line manager to access regular clinical supervision, to enable you to deal effectively with the difficult issues that people present.

Review yearly progress and develop clear plans to achieve results within priorities set by others.

Participate in the delivery of formal education programmes.

Demonstrate an understanding of current educational policies relevant to working areas of practice and keep up to date with relevant clinical practice.

Research and Evaluation

Critically evaluate and review literature.

Identify where there is a gap in the evidence base to support practice.

Generate evidence suitable for presentations at PCN and local level.

Apply research evidence base into the workplace.

Health and Safety/Risk Management

Must comply at all times with the Health and Safety policies, in particular following safe working procedures and reporting incidents using the organisations Incident Reporting Systems

Comply with the Data Protection Act (2018) and the Access to Health Records Act (1990).

Special working conditions

The post holder is required to travel independently between work sites and to attend meetings etc hosted by other agencies.

Miscellaneous

Work as part of the team to seek feedback, continually improve the service and contribute to business planning.

Undertake any tasks consistent with the level of the post and the scope of the role, ensuring that work is delivered in a timely and effective manner.

Duties may vary from time to time, without changing the general character of the post or the level of responsibility.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• BTEC/NVQ level 3 or equivalent in pharmaceutical sciences
• Professional registration with GPhC

Desirable

• Evidence of continued professional development (CPD)

Experience

Essential

• 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

Knowledge, skills and qualities

Essential

• Demonstrates use of appropriate communication to gain the cooperation of relevant stakeholders (including patients, senior and peer colleagues, and other professionals, other NHS/private organisations, e.g. CCGs)
• Is able to recognise personal limitations and refer to more appropriate colleague(s) when necessary
• Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when working with individuals
• Able to work under pressure and meet deadlines
• Has a planned and organised approach with an ability to prioritise their own workload to meet strict deadlines
• Ability to maintain effective working relationships and to promote collaborative practice with all colleagues
• Demonstrates personal accountability, emotional resilience and works well under pressure
• Ability to organise, plan and prioritise on own initiative, including when under pressure and meeting deadlines
• High level of written and oral communication skills
• Ability to work flexibly and enthusiastically within a team or on own initiative
• Works effectively independently and as a member of a team
• Knowledge of and ability to work to policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, and health and safety
• Relevant advanced theoretical and practical knowledge of Primary Care Networks, General Practice and evidence based medicine
• 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)
• Good clinical pharmacy knowledge including terminology
• Knowledge of IT systems, including ability to use word processing skills, emails and the internet to create simple plans and reports
• Able to obtain and analyse complex technical information.
• An appreciation of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for the improvement of prescribing
• Able to identify and resolve risk management issues according to policy/protocol.
• An excellent understanding of data protection and confidentiality issues
• Knowledge and understanding of pharmacy law and ethics and current legislation
• Meets DBS reference standards and has a clear criminal record, in line with the law on spent convictions
• Self Motivation
• Safeguarding and other mandatory training
• Immunisation status
• Access to own transport and ability to travel across the locality on a regular basis, including to visit care homes

Desirable

• An appreciation of the NHS agenda and Government targets
• Able to plan, manage, monitor and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long term conditions
• Adaptable
• Demonstrates accountability for delivering professional expertise and direct service provision

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Kearsley Medical Centre

Address

Jackson Street

Bolton

BL4 8EP

Employer's website

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