Pharmacy Technician

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 practice and with input from the wider 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.

Technical and Administrative

Support the practice and 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) 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 practice and PCN to deliver on QIPP agenda, QOF and locally commissioned enhanced services

Support the practice in reviewing and developing practice policies for CQC requirements

Skills and Competencies

Essential

• Comfortably computer literate with an ability to use the S1 clinical system (desirable) and Microsoft office packages (essential)
• Understand the aims of current healthcare policy within the practice and 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.

Desirable

• Works effectively, both independently and as a member of a team
• Self-motivated and proactive.
• Continued commitment to improve skills and ability in new areas of work.
• Able to undertake the demands of the post with reasonable adjustments if required.
• Independently mobile to visit patients at home if required.
• Adaptability, flexibility and ability to cope with uncertainty and change.
• Demonstrate ability to work in a busy environment; ability to deal with both urgent and important tasks and to prioritise effectively whilst also supporting others.
• Excellent time keeping.

Qualifications

Essential

• Professional registration with GPhC - Required
• 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

• 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.
• 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

Quality

Essential

• The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, 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

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).