Senior Pharmacy Technician - Dispensary Lead, Band 6

Job description

Job responsibilities

The post holder has specific accountability to:

Ensure the safe and effective management, co-ordination and delivery of the inpatient and outpatient pharmacy dispensary service.

Provide professional leadership to other registered pharmacy technicians and all other members of the Pharmacy Dispensary team.

Key Dispensary Responsibilities

To manage all staff rostered in the dispensary on a daily basis to ensure timely provision of medication to the wards/clinical areas. This includes dispensing and assembling prescriptions in accordance with appropriate SOPs and legislation.

To prioritise dispensary workload and work flow; overseeing all aspects of dispensary practice accordingly.

To oversee the safety and security of medication, including Controlled Drugs, within the dispensaries.

To produce and co-ordinate dispensary rotas to ensure that all essential elements of the service is covered on a daily basis (including late night rota).

To manage and appraise members of the dispensary team and to supervise staff allocated to the dispensary environment.

Liaise with multidisciplinary colleagues to ensure medication doses are available when required (to minimise omitted doses) and to facilitate discharge processes, particularly when there are demands on beds for admissions.

To final accuracy check dispensed or assembled items in accordance with appropriate SOPs, legislation and being an accredited final checking pharmacy technician. Maintain current practice and reaccredit when necessary following national, regional and local guidelines.

To provide appropriate medication counselling to all service users, ensuring understanding and concordance, by modifying communication in response to the level of understanding.

To be responsible for ensuring the prescription payment register is reconciled, reporting and investigating any discrepancies.

To oversee the management of to-follow items including liaison with pharmacy procurement, ward staff and ward pharmacists where alternatives may need to be sought.

To coordinate the handing out of adult & paediatric Intrathecal (IT) chemotherapy, and to lead on train-the-trainer programme to ensure enough staff are always on the Register and available to hand out.

To develop and implement policies and procedures relating to dispensary activity. Ensure that SOPs relating to dispensary activity are reviewed and updated at least every 3 years in conjunction with departmental process and in-line with GPhC self-inspection programme. Where a change in working practice is initiated, to do this in line with departmental and Trust policy, communicating such changes to dispensary and wider departmental staff accordingly.

To manage the receipt, supply, audit and destruction of Controlled Drugs in the department, ensuring that appropriate records are completed.

Maintain workload figures (KPIs) relevant to dispensary activities for the Pharmacy dashboard.

To be an active member of the Senior Technician management team and contribute to the development of strategic planning for the holistic pharmacy service.

To co-lead and contribute to Dispensary briefings to ensure all staff are kept up to date with current practice or recent changes regarding the service

Risk Management, Governance and Medication Safety

Manage dispensary incidents (Datix) and Near Misses and explore ways of minimising risk of future re-occurrence, and support clinical colleagues in the investigation and resolution of errors and complaints.

Proactively implement any medication safety directives.

Contribute to the wider departmental and Medication Safety audit processes.

Represent the dispensary pharmacy service at the required departmental governance meetings, proactively contributing and feeding back issues accordingly.

Represent the dispensary pharmacy service at periodic regional network meetings, proactively contributing and feeding back issues accordingly to develop best practice.

Leadership / Management Responsibilities

Under the guidance of the Chief Pharmacy Technician, the post holder will:

Audit and analyse requirements for the efficient running of the dispensary and to take appropriate action if these requirements are not met. To use the results of the audits to develop the dispensing service.

Line management of relevant allocated staff.

Carry out Development Conversations/Appraisals, 1to1s, performance and sickness management for allocated staff.

Recruit, develop and motivate staff to ensure they can and do perform well in their job.

Liaise with procurement team staff and responds to drug recalls which affect dispensary stock within the time specified on the Alert, delegating to appropriate staff in accordance with SOPs.

Take responsibility for ensuring all dispensary equipment is in full working order and ensuring that if there is malfunction the appropriate course of action is taken promptly to minimise service disruption following Business Continuity Plan or appropriate escalation.

Take an active role in contributing towards overarching Pharmacy service development and improvement both within pharmacy and the hospital as a whole.

Ensure that the dispensary environments are maintained to ensure all required tasks (clinical screening, dispensing and checking) can be undertaken in a safe and effective way.

Ensure all new staff members receive a comprehensive and consistent dispensary induction with mentor/buddy supervision

Education and Training responsibilities

Provide induction, training and mentoring for pharmacy assistants, student technicians, Foundation

Trainee pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

Advise and guide pharmacy staff in all aspects of dispensary practice.

Contribute to the Medication Safety training agenda, under the guidance of the Medication Safety pharmacist.

Medicines Optimisation responsibilities (only if required)

In accordance with the holistic needs of the Pharmacy service (and as required to do so), the postholder will assist the Clinical Pharmacy service by undergoing ward visits and:

Ordering medicines in accordance with agreed process

Undertaking Medicines Reconciliation activity, including the checking of Patients Own Drugs

Counselling patients on their use of medicines

Working collectively with pharmacist colleagues to provide an efficient service

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Professional registration as a Pharmacy Technician with the GPhC
• Accredited with Accuracy Checking from recognised educational provider
• Management/leadership qualification or willing to work towards

Desirable

• Accredited with Medicines Optimisation qualification from a recognised educational provider

Experience

Essential

• Currently acting in a leadership/supervisory role
• Substantial experience of working within a hospital pharmacy setting
• In-depth knowledge of Dispensary procedures acquired through training & experience
• Experience of developing and/or reviewing Standard Operating Procedures

Desirable

• Experience of managing service delivery and performance management
• Project management skills or Quality Improvement experience

Knowledge

Essential

• Be able to communicate effectively in written and verbal formats with all grades of staff
• Good pharmaceutical knowledge
• Sound knowledge of Pharmacy IT systems (especially EMIS)
• Proven organisational and time management skills

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Self-motivated and responsive to change
• Ability to maintain a professional image and follow GPhC professional guidelines
• Excellent time management
• Evidence of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to comply with GPhC requirements
• Willing to work Trust-wide as and when required to do so
• Commitent to further tarining and self-development
• Punctual and reliable
• Demonstrably acts as a role model to other staff

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

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Gloucestershire Royal Hospital

Great Western Road

Gloucester

GL13NN

Employer's website

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