PCN Pharmacy Technician

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job Purpose

To support the Primary Care Network in maximising clinical outcomes for patients from medicines with an emphasis on safety, governance, professional collaboration and patient engagement. The role holder will also help to deliver the MOCH Contract as part of the Care Home Team. The core themes are based on;

• Integrate care around the patient
• Design, implement and facilitate clinically led medicine optimisation services
• Improve the productivity and affordability of services
• Advise, engage and train health care professionals (where appropriate)
• Improve patient safety and reduce risk
• Empower patients through education and engagement
• Deliver improved patient outcomes
• Manage medication safety within the Worcester City Care Homes via annual audits and reviews
• Medication reconciliations of community patients and Care Home Residents when appropriate.

Key Responsibilities

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 the supervision of GPs and Clinical Pharmacists to ensure effective and efficient use of medicines. Pharmacy technicians core role responsibilities will cover clinical, and technical and administrative categories within surgeries and Care Homes

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.

It is a requirement of the role to be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council as a Pharmacy Technician. We are seeking a pharmacy technician preferably with previous experience of working in community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy or primary care. The PCN Pharmacy Technician role is a new development within our PCN and we expect the successful candidate to contribute to the delivery of a comprehensive primary care medicines management system acting on current best practice / service change requests from our clinical commissioning group. The PCN Pharmacy Technician will be required to undertake activities predominantly at a practice level, but will need to be flexible to work to the wider demands of the network. For example, the role will involve liaising with community pharmacy teams to highlight and manage problems identified by community pharmacy, such as medicines waste. An understanding of primary care operations and use of Emis Web would be an advantage but is not essential.

Clinical Responsibilities:

Undertaking patient facing and patient supporting roles to ensure effective medicines use, through shared decision-making conversations with patients and carers

Carrying 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 PCN, supporting medication reviews and medicines reconciliation for new care home patients and synchronising medicines for patient transfers between care settings, linking with local community pharmacists, and referring to the pharmacist for structured medication reviews.

Providing 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.

Taking a central role in the clinical aspects of shared care protocols and liaising with specialist pharmacists for more complex patients.

Supporting initiatives for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing.

Technical and Administrative Responsibilities:

Working with the PCN multi-disciplinary team to ensure efficient medicines optimisation, including implementing efficient ordering and return processes and reducing wastage.

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

Developing 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.

Supervising 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.

The role will also require pharmacy technicians to 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. In addition, pharmacy technicians will assist in the delivery of medicines optimisation incentive schemes (e.g. medicines switches) and patient safety audits. Pharmacy technicians will provide leadership for medicines management 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 medicines).

General

To maintain the integrity of medicines delivery for the PCN

Maintain a positive demeanour that supports a happy working environment, and remain flexible and professional at all times;

Treat other staff as one expects to be treated oneself;

Be a good ambassador for the PCN in any external dealings;

Undertake continuing professional Development (CPD) in line with the relevant institute requirements;

Undertaken any other duties as directed by the Clinical Director and PCN Board.

Apply as early as possible as we may close to job advert early if we receive a sufficient number of applications.

Please note the job location may be subject to change due to the nature of PCN work.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Registration with General Pharmaceutical Council as a Pharmacy Technician
• BTEC/NVQ3 Pharmacy services (or equivalent)
• Evidence of commitment to continuing professional development
• Demonstrate ability to influence and persuade partners and stakeholders of the respective merits of different options, innovations, new opportunities and challenges

Experience

Essential

• Experience working as a qualified, registered pharmacy technician
• Experience of working within a community pharmacy / hospital or primary care

Desirable

• Experience of working within primary care

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

SW Healthcare

Address

Thorneloe Lodge Surgery

29 Barbourne Road

Worcester

WR1 1RU

Employer's website

http://www.swhealthcare.org.uk (Opens in a new tab)