Job responsibilities
Job Title: Primary Care Pharmacy Technician
Job Location: South Dartmoor and Totnes Primary Care Network locality
Responsible to: PCN Lead Pharmacist
Hours of work: 37.5 hour (job share may be considered)
Salary: Band 5 equivalent (depending on experience)
JOB
SUMMARY
The South Dartmoor and Totnes
Primary Care Network has an exciting opportunity for a new pharmacy technician
post in primary care.
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 South Dartmoor and Totnes Primary Care
Network (PCN). The overall aim is to pro-actively help patients stay safe and
well and out of hospital as well as helping to reduce the demands on general
practice.
Pharmacy
technicians play an important role, complementing clinical pharmacists,
community pharmacists and other members of the PCN multi-disciplinary team.
Pharmacy technicians are different to clinical pharmacists as they are not able
to prescribe or make clinical decisions, instead working under supervision to
ensure effective and efficient use of medicines.
Pharmacy
technicians core role responsibilities will cover clinical, technical and
administrative categories.
The
primary care pharmacy technician role is intended to support the Primary Care
Pharmacists to ensure the delivery of safe, effective and efficient systems for
repeat prescribing, medicines optimisation, reducing medicines waste and
maximising patient outcomes.
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 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.
This job is intended for a technician with up to date
registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council. Experience in General
Practice would be an advantage but is not essential if the applicant is
clinically up-to-date and understands the process of a full medication review
in the primary care setting.
The technician appointed will be expected to maintain
their clinical competence with appropriate continuing professional development,
and provide evidence of this annually to the Primary Care Network.
Main
Duties and Responsibilities
1.
Clinical
1.1. Undertake patient
facing and patient supporting roles to ensure effective medicines use, through
shared decision-making conversations with patients
1.2.
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 and to
undertake community domiciliary visits as appropriate
1.3. 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
1.4. Support the Clinical
Pharmacist in Structure Medication Reviews (SMR) i.e. organise necessary
monitoring tests prior to SMR
1.5. Provide expertise to
address both the public health and social care needs of patients, including
lifestyle advice, patient information leaflets and posters, service
information, help in tackling local health inequalities and participation in
patient group meetings
1.6. Manage shared care
protocols and liaise with Clinical Pharmacists for more complex patients
1.7. Participate in
medication audits
1.8. Support initiatives
for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing
locally
1.9. Provide advice to
GPs, surgery teams and patients to support improvements in prescribing safety,
quality and cost effectiveness
1.10.
Respond
to medication queries from patients and staff in a professional manner referring
onto appropriate clinician when necessary
1.11.
To
advise on the sourcing and safe management of medicines as appropriate.
2.
Technical and Administrative
2.1.
Support
the PCN multi-disciplinary team to ensure efficient medicines optimisation
processes are being followed
2.2.
Implement
efficient ordering and return processes and reducing medication wastage
2.3.
Provide
training and support on the legal, safe and secure handling of medicines,
including the implementation of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS)
2.4.
Promotion
of online ordering of medication
2.5.
Taking
messages and passing on information as appropriate
2.6.
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
2.7.
Support
practice reception teams in streaming general prescription requests, so as to
allow GPs and clinical pharmacists to review the more clinically complex
requests
2.8.
To
help plan, develop and support the introduction of new working processes within
PCN practices to optimise the quality of prescribing
2.9.
Support
the implementation of national prescribing policies and guidance within GP
practices, care homes and other primary care settings
2.10.
Support
the PCN to deliver on QIPP agenda, QOF and locally commissioned enhanced
services
2.11.
Support
the PCN in reviewing and developing practice policies for CQC requirements
2.12.
Any
other duties commensurate with this position
All
Pharmacy Technicians must work within their competencies, and have professional
indemnity for their role.
3.
General
3.1. Develop a culture
that promotes equality and values diversity. The postholder must be aware of
and committed to the Equality and Diversity policies of the appointing GP
Federation and comply with all the requirements of these policies and actively
promote Equality and Diversity issues relevant to the post
3.2. Ensure the principles
of openness, transparency and candor are observed and upheld in all working
practices
3.3. The post holder will
have, or acquire through training provided by the organisation, the appropriate
level of safeguarding and knowledge, skills and practice required for the post
and be aware of and comply with the organisations safeguarding protection
policies and procedures
3.4. Ensure that any
infection prevention and control issues are reported to the line
manager/Infection Prevention and Control
4.
Equality and Diversity
The
post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers
and colleagues, to include:
Acting
in a way that recognises the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them
in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current
legislation
Respecting
the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues
Behaving
in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and
respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.
5.
Personal/Professional development
The
post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the
practice as part of this employment, with such training to include:
Participation
in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for
maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development
Taking
responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating
skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work
6.
Quality
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
