pharmacy technician Swindon, Wiltshire, South West England, England
Job description
Preferably full time position but part time would be considered.
KINGSWOOD MEDICAL GROUP
JOB DESCRIPTION
Job Title: Pharmacy Technician
Reports to: Lead Clinical Pharmacist Manager
Location: Carfax Medical Centre
Job Summary
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 practice in achieving national requirements, NICE implementation, and utilisation of medicines optimisation initiatives.
Main Duties
Undertake patient facing and patient supporting roles to ensure effective medicine use, through shared decision-making conversations with patients.
Conduct 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.
Support the Clinical Pharmacist in Structure Medication Reviews (SMR) i.e., organise necessary monitoring tests prior to SMR Provide expertise to address both the public health and social care needs of patients, including lifestyle advice, service information, and help in tackling local health inequalities.
Manage shared care protocols and liaise with Clinical Pharmacists for more complex patients.
Support initiatives for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing locally.
Support the multi-disciplinary team to ensure efficient medicines optimisation processes are being followed.
Implement efficient ordering and return processes and reducing medication wastage.
Provide training and support on the legal, safe, and secure handling of medicines, including the implementation of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS).
Promotion of Electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD) and online ordering.
Develop relationships with other pharmacy professionals and members of the multidisciplinary team to support integration across health and social care including primary care, community pharmacy, secondary care, and mental health.
Support practice reception teams in streamlining general prescription requests, to allow GPs and clinical pharmacists to review the more clinically complex requests.
Support the implementation of national prescribing policies and guidance within GP practices, care homes and other primary care settings.
Support the practice to deliver on QIPP agenda, QOF and locally commissioned enhanced services.
Support the practice in reviewing and developing practice policies for CQC requirements.
Such other duties of a similar nature as may be required from time to time commensurate with the post.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Experience/Qualifications
Essential
· Professional registration with GPhC
· BTEC/NVQ level 3 or equivalent in pharmaceutical sciences
· Evidence of continued professional development (CPD)
· Proven experience of working as a qualified, registered pharmacy technician in primary care, community, or hospital pharmacy
· Proven ability to influence and persuade partners and stakeholders of the respective merits of different options, innovations, new opportunities, and challenges.
Knowledge and Understanding
Relevant theoretical and practical knowledge of Primary Care Networks, General Practice, and evidence-based medicine.
An appreciation of the NHS agenda and Government targets.
Awareness of systems to support management of patients in a primary care setting, delivering pharmaceutical input and support in the context of pathways of care and the business of the organisation(s).
Awareness of GP budget-management and funding systems to enable GP clinical pharmacist services to assist delivery of PCN and NHS priorities and requirements for financial balance and quality.
Proven clinical pharmacy knowledge including terminology.
An appreciation of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for the improvement of prescribing.
Knowledge and understanding of pharmacy law and ethics and current legislation.
Skills and Competencies
Computer literate with an ability to use the required GP clinical systems (desirable) and Microsoft office packages.
Understand the aims of current healthcare policy.
Proven ability to analyse and interpret prescribing data.
Proven experience of attention to detail, able to work accurately, identifying errors quickly and easily.
Able to effectively manage allocated resources.
Able to think analytically; anticipating obstacles and thinking ahead; using analytical techniques to draw logical solutions to problems.
Has a planned and organised approach with an ability to prioritise their own workload to meet strict deadlines.
Excellent effective communication skills, verbal and written, with the ability to adjust communication style and content to suit the audience.
Excellent and effective verbal and written communication skills with team members, patients, carers, and other healthcare professionals. Whilst recognising people’s needs for alternative methods of communication.
Influencing and negotiating skills.
An excellent understanding of data protection and confidentiality issues.
Attributes
Works effectively independently and as a member of a team.
Flexible approach to meet service needs and ensure a stakeholder focused response.
Self-motivated and proactive.
Continued commitment to improve skills and ability in new areas of work.
Able to undertake the demands of the post with reasonable adjustments if required.
Independently mobile to be able to work across several sites and travel to meet with stakeholders.
Adaptability, flexibility, and ability to cope with uncertainty and change.
Demonstrate ability to work in a busy environment; ability to deal with both urgent and important tasks and to prioritise effectively whilst also supporting others.
Excellent time keeping and prioritisation skills.
Additional Information:
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 the district. The Clinical Pharmacy in General Practice model is supported by the direction of national policy including the Five Year Forward View and GP Forward View where there is a need to better utilise the role of pharmacy within primary care 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 a key role, complementing clinical pharmacists, community pharmacists and other members of the 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, and technical and administrative categories.
You will be working as part of an established pharmacy team, with a number of pharmacists and technicians, across the two sites that are Kingswood Medical Group (Kingswood Surgery and Carfax Medical Centre).
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.
Job Type: Permanent
Salary: From £28,407.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Free flu jabs
Schedule:
- Monday to Friday
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Swindon NHS Health Centre, SN1 2DQ: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (preferred)
Application question(s):
- Proven experience of working as a qualified, registered pharmacy technician in primary care, community, or hospital pharmacy
- Relevant theoretical and practical knowledge of Primary Care Networks, General Practice, and evidence-based medicine.
Licence/Certification:
- Professional registration with GPhC (required)
- BTEC/NVQ level 3 or equivalent in pharmaceutical sciences (required)
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person
