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Job description

The inpatient pharmacy at East Lancashire Teaching Hospital provides a range of services to patients across East Lancashire.

Pharmacy Technicians at any stage of their career are welcome to apply. We have a comprehensive training program for each rotation. We want to hear from you if you're interested in moving in a new sector, recently qualified or thinking about returning to the register.

Our Pharmacy Technicians play a key role in our daily operations. The advancement and training opportunities for Pharmacy Technicians provide the opportunity to further develop your career as a Pharmacy Technician.

Making the transition can be a big decision, so we would welcome requests to view the department ahead of interviews.

Our rotational teams provide services across several areas including:

• Dispensary and controlled drug management
• Reconciling patient medication histories at ward level, ordering new supplies of medications, and supporting discharge planning
• Medicines management duties such as monitoring the security and storage conditions of medicines in clinical areas
• Providing counselling and advice on best use of medicines to patients
• Working in our aseptic unit to prepare IV medications
• Monitoring and managing specialist medications
• Stock management

Working for your organisation:
We are a big and friendly team, and we provide a full induction program to new starters.

The inpatient hospital services operate during core hours from 08:00 to 19:00. Our standard working hours are 09:00 to 17:30, with 1 in 8 weekends worked for lieu days, or overtime. We are happy to talk flex, as we have worked hard to ensure our existing team find a role to fit around commitments outside of work.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Main Duties

Leadership, Service Policy, Planning, and Evaluation

Support the development of extended technician roles and the implementation of technician led services

Act as a clinical technician role model and demonstrate the ability to provide safe, clinically effective and cost efficient use of medicines

Provide professional leadership and motivate and inspire other staff inside and outside of pharmacy and act as a role model

Identify options and opportunities for service provision, which enhance the efficiency of the service in order to reduce waiting times, improve accuracy, improve productivity and support staff development

Support of Medicines Management

Prioritise workload in conjunction with deadlines, and decide the order in which tasks are undertaken, with the aim of ensuring optimum service delivery to patients and healthcare staff

Obtain accurate medication histories for patients on admission by liaising with the patient and/or primary care team in order to support decisions about continued care.

Implement and maintain the Patient’s Own Drug (POD) scheme, for the designated areas (and self-administration where introduced) according to Trust Policies. This involves checking the suitability of patient’s own drugs, i.e. correct instructions on label, expiry date, re-labelling if necessary and gaining patient consent for using their own medication. Make referrals as appropriate to a pharmacist or hospital doctor

Interpret and apply information retrieved from medical and nursing notes

Dispense prescriptions, including in-patient, out-patient, discharge and unlicensed drugs in accordance with the agreed safe systems of work practice, and update patient details on the computer

Educate and counsel patients on the safe and effective use of their medicines. Identify patient’s pharmaceutical care needs i.e. non-compliance with medication, the need for medication aid, the need for verbal and/or written patient information regarding medication. Refer any queries to a pharmacist when appropriate

Coordinate the discharge medication, bringing together the patient’s own drugs and newly dispensed items in advance of patient discharge. Identify supply needs, transcription requests for dispensing and facilitating appropriate follow up of medication that needs monitoring (e.g. warfarin) to support the ward pharmacist

Support the transfer or return of medicines, following patient transfer or discharge, by liaising with ward staff and/or by checking the computerised patient management system

Once qualified, undertake the final accuracy checking of dispensed prescriptions, in accordance with pharmacy departmental policies and procedures

Dispense controlled drugs without the supervision of a pharmacist in accordance with standard operating procedures, ensuring that accurate records are maintained and that stocks in the cupboard are reconciled with the register and pharmacy computer system. Investigate and resolve discrepancies.

Prepare extemporaneous products in accordance with dispensing procedures.

Prepare pre-packed and/ or over-labelled medications in accordance with dispensing procedures.

Support adherence to the East Lancashire Medicines Management Board formulary

Support adherence to hospital antimicrobial policy as well as other clinical protocols within the Trust

Check and maintain availability of the emergency drug boxes in conjunction with other members of staff

Contribute to the safe processing of medicines returned to the pharmacy department from patients and ward stock

Monitor and record medicine and environment storage temperatures and alert section managers of any discrepancies

Maintain the out of hours drug cupboard

Undertake training to be a robot ‘super user’ in order to troubleshoot problems and maintain efficient systems within the dispensing process

Monitor the security of, and safe access to medicines at ward level with reference to ‘The safe and secure handling of medicines: a team approach’ (revised ‘Duthie’),

Contribute to the development of the clinical role of pharmacy technicians

Ensure that services reflect compliance with national initiatives such as CQC, NHSLA, NPSA in respect of Medicines Management

Contribute to the preparation, maintenance, review and management of standard operating procedures. Ensure that all relevant staff read them, either as a new staff member or when procedures are written/updated

Comply with Trust personnel procedures such as sickness management, grievance and disciplinary procedures, when required

Comply with infection control regulations and uniform policy

Participate in regular expiry date checks of pharmacy stock, and ensure all expired stock is removed from the computer system and discarded safely

Dispense clinical trials in accordance with dispensing procedures under the direction of the clinical trials lead, when necessary

Ensure pharmacy portering staff (including relief staff) are following current procedures when handling and delivering medicines