Job summary
We are looking for individuals who are enthusiastic, proactive in their own role, can communicate well and work accurately and efficiently to a high standard.
You will be based within the main dispensary at Whiston Hospital with rotation to our out-patient centred pharmacy department at St Helens Hospital, where you will assist in the provision of a safe and effective dispensing service.
Current experience of working within a pharmacy setting, for example Hospital Community, Prison service etc. is essential and candidates must have completed an NVQ Level 2 in Pharmacy Services or have a GPhC recognised qualification for Pharmacy support staff.
Main duties of the job
Duties will include routine labelling and dispensing of prescriptions for both inpatients and outpatients and Controlled drugs, the preparation of extemporaneous medicines, and involvement in the effective management of returned medicines from within the Trust. You will also take part in a rotation to work with our ward-based Pharmacy Technicians to provide a ward based dispensing service.
You will need to take part in our weekend and evening rotas providing a 7 day a week service to the Trust
About us
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.
We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.
Our services:
Acute Care
Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.
Primary Care
Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.
Community Services
Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation, freeing up space for more unwell patients. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.
Specialist Regional Services
We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.
Achievements:
- Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
- Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
- National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme
Job description
Job responsibilities
KEY DUTIES
- To assist in the receipt of prescriptions accurately according to safe working practices.
- To dispense prescriptions accurately according to safe working practices.
- To participate in the ATO dispenser rota through areas of the inpatient and outpatients dispensaries throughout the Trust.
- To dispense controlled drug prescriptions and maintain records accordingly.
- To take payment for prescriptions from patients according to the departmental procedure.
- To maintain an accurate balance of cash in the dispensary till and cash up at the end of each day.
- To participate in ward and clinic pharmacy services primarily to maintain and control stocks.
- To request stocks and special line items to fulfil prescriptions and ward top ups
- To assist in the preparation and assembly of supplies for delivery to wards and departments.
- To provide information to patients relating to the dispensed prescriptions and ensure they understand their treatment.
- To answer telephone and face to face queries of a routine or basic technical nature from a wide range of staff groups, patients and the public, either in the pharmacy or on the ward and refer appropriate queries to the relevant member of the Pharmacy team.
- To co-operate with the provision of necessary staffing within the pharmacy dept and participate in staff rotation to other sites e.g. St Helens.
- To extemporaneously dispense medicines using specific equipment (e.g. fume cupboards and weighing balances) and taking protective measures. Weighing and measuring must be accurate as there are narrow margins for errors.
- To dispense cytotoxics drugs.
- To assist other members of staff in the performance of an efficient and cost-effective service.
- To answer phone calls and queries from patients, medical staff and all other users of the Trust.
- To accurately produce labels for dispensing using the JAC computer system.
- To attend and participate in study days and courses as necessary.
- To provide individual dose dispensing and blister packing services for patients who have difficulty with normal medicines packaging.
- To participate in the stock control of medicines under the supervision of the dispensary senior and chief technicians.
- To assist in the correct storage and turnover of stock including expiry date checks and leech storage.
- To participate in all Saturday, Sunday, evening, on-call and bank holiday rotas in response to the changing needs of the Pharmacy service.
CLINICAL & PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
- To maintain own continuing Professional development.
ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES
- To be responsible for the accurate input of data into the pharmacy JAC computer system for all duties requiring its use e.g. labelling, ordering and stock control
TEACHING & TRAINING RESPONSIBILITIES
- To assist in the training of ATOs, ATO dispensers, student pharmacy technicians, pre-registration pharmacists, work experience students and other new pharmacy staff.
RESEARCH & AUDIT
- To carry out and assist in audit research projects to improve and develop the service provision.
Job description
Job responsibilities
KEY DUTIES
- To assist in the receipt of prescriptions accurately according to safe working practices.
- To dispense prescriptions accurately according to safe working practices.
- To participate in the ATO dispenser rota through areas of the inpatient and outpatients dispensaries throughout the Trust.
- To dispense controlled drug prescriptions and maintain records accordingly.
- To take payment for prescriptions from patients according to the departmental procedure.
- To maintain an accurate balance of cash in the dispensary till and cash up at the end of each day.
- To participate in ward and clinic pharmacy services primarily to maintain and control stocks.
- To request stocks and special line items to fulfil prescriptions and ward top ups
- To assist in the preparation and assembly of supplies for delivery to wards and departments.
- To provide information to patients relating to the dispensed prescriptions and ensure they understand their treatment.
- To answer telephone and face to face queries of a routine or basic technical nature from a wide range of staff groups, patients and the public, either in the pharmacy or on the ward and refer appropriate queries to the relevant member of the Pharmacy team.
- To co-operate with the provision of necessary staffing within the pharmacy dept and participate in staff rotation to other sites e.g. St Helens.
- To extemporaneously dispense medicines using specific equipment (e.g. fume cupboards and weighing balances) and taking protective measures. Weighing and measuring must be accurate as there are narrow margins for errors.
- To dispense cytotoxics drugs.
- To assist other members of staff in the performance of an efficient and cost-effective service.
- To answer phone calls and queries from patients, medical staff and all other users of the Trust.
- To accurately produce labels for dispensing using the JAC computer system.
- To attend and participate in study days and courses as necessary.
- To provide individual dose dispensing and blister packing services for patients who have difficulty with normal medicines packaging.
- To participate in the stock control of medicines under the supervision of the dispensary senior and chief technicians.
- To assist in the correct storage and turnover of stock including expiry date checks and leech storage.
- To participate in all Saturday, Sunday, evening, on-call and bank holiday rotas in response to the changing needs of the Pharmacy service.
CLINICAL & PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
- To maintain own continuing Professional development.
ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES
- To be responsible for the accurate input of data into the pharmacy JAC computer system for all duties requiring its use e.g. labelling, ordering and stock control
TEACHING & TRAINING RESPONSIBILITIES
- To assist in the training of ATOs, ATO dispensers, student pharmacy technicians, pre-registration pharmacists, work experience students and other new pharmacy staff.
RESEARCH & AUDIT
- To carry out and assist in audit research projects to improve and develop the service provision.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Has completed a recognised dispensing qualification
- NVQ level 2 Pharmacy services qualification
Knowledge & Experience
Essential
- Experience working in a Pharmacy.
- Experience of Working with computer systems.
Desirable
- Experience in using the JAC Pharmacy Computer System
Skills
Essential
- Good verbal and communication skills both face to face and using telephones.
- Ability to talk to patients, staff, and other senior health professionals
- Ability to work accurately and efficiently with good attention to detail
- Good administration skills including record-keeping
- Ability to concentrate for long periods of time and able work under pressure
- Hardworking with a determination to overcome obstacles and understand the importance and context of the role.
- Self-motivated team player with the ability to motivate the team performance to achieve objectives
- Reliable and well organised with good time management skills
Other
Essential
- Ability to travel to various hospital locations by own car/ assisted driver
- Supportive of colleagues of all grades
- Ability to participate in the departmental rota for late and weekend working
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Has completed a recognised dispensing qualification
- NVQ level 2 Pharmacy services qualification
Knowledge & Experience
Essential
- Experience working in a Pharmacy.
- Experience of Working with computer systems.
Desirable
- Experience in using the JAC Pharmacy Computer System
Skills
Essential
- Good verbal and communication skills both face to face and using telephones.
- Ability to talk to patients, staff, and other senior health professionals
- Ability to work accurately and efficiently with good attention to detail
- Good administration skills including record-keeping
- Ability to concentrate for long periods of time and able work under pressure
- Hardworking with a determination to overcome obstacles and understand the importance and context of the role.
- Self-motivated team player with the ability to motivate the team performance to achieve objectives
- Reliable and well organised with good time management skills
Other
Essential
- Ability to travel to various hospital locations by own car/ assisted driver
- Supportive of colleagues of all grades
- Ability to participate in the departmental rota for late and weekend working
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.
