pharmacy technician Stafford, England
Job description
The post holder will dispense and/or supervise the dispensing of medication to inpatients/outpatients, adhering to the current departmental policies and standard operating procedures with regard to the legality, interpretation of the prescription and the accuracy of the dispensing. Other factors in the process are the timeliness of the dispensing, the provision of information and the referral of any queries related to the above to a pharmacist. Provision of information includes counselling patients, either at the pharmacy or on the ward, to ensure they understand when and how to take their medicines and any additional information related to their prescription they may require. the post holder will organise with doctors (or their secretaries) the supply of repeat prescriptions (clozapine) for those patients whose prescriptions have expired.
The post holder will be involved in the dispensing and process support for Homecare products. The post holder will be involved in the dispensing and process support for Clinical trials. The post holder will be expected to take on the role of accuracy checking technician (ACT), i.e. checking for accuracy prescriptions dispensed by other members of the dispensing staff which have previously been checked for clinical appropriateness by a Pharmacist.
As stated in the West Midlands ACT scheme it is the responsibility of the post holder to ensure that their accreditation remains current. By recording and reflection of any errors made and recording as part of CPD. The post holder will organise the topping-up of stock and non-stock medicines as agreed with senior nursing staff on their designated wards, making sure of suitability for the patient group and ensuring that short dated drugs are removed before the end of their expiry dates. The post holder will also check each patients treatment sheet within the ward environment to ensure adequate stocks of each drug are supplied to the ward.
This can involve daily contact with mentally ill, confused and sometimes very agitated patients. Any ambiguous prescriptions, interactions or drug doses that exceed the manufacturers recommended daily dosages will need to be reported to a pharmacist for further investigation where appropriate. The post holder will assess any Patients Own Drugs which may be on the ward for suitability for use whilst the patient is in hospital, any discrepancies will be referred to the pharmacist. The post holder will return any unwanted items to the Pharmacy and check for suitability for re-issue to other wards/departments, or organise safe disposal.
Consent should be obtained from service users prior to the disposal of unwanted Patients Own Drugs. Stock Control The post holder will organise the daily ordering of drugs from the wholesalers. Adhering to local policy and procedures such as reorder levels. Adjustments will be made if necessary to reflect the current trend in usage.
Liaising with the wholesalers directly to discuss supply problems or needs. The post holder will organise regular stock checks, and expiry date checks within the department and issue drugs to other sites, if necessary, to avoid unnecessary wastage. The post holder will support the Dispensary Manager with the remit for procurement. Self-Medication Certain clinical areas within the Trust request that their patients take control of their own medication within the ward environment under varying degrees of supervision.
The post holder will be expected to be aware of the ward policies and procedures for this and if necessary liaise with the staff or prescriber, as appropriate, to ensure that prescriptions for these patients are current, legal, legible and unambiguous. The post holder will be required to consult information sources and provide medicines information in line with the scope of the post. The post holder will be involved in the dispensing of the patient prescriptions to ensure their arrival on the wards at the required time. Clozapine Dispensing For patients on clozapine, the post holder will be expected to co-ordinate the ordering and supply of clozapine as well as the entering and checking of blood results on the eCPMS system.
They will dispense the drug according to the strict procedures stipulated by the Manufacturers Product Licence. The post holder may also be required to obtain verbal blood results by directly liaising with Haematology staff. The post holder will be expected to liaise with external suppliers regarding Clozapine prescriptions and transport services to ensure delivery. Clinical Role Provides advice to service users/carers on medicines prior to discharge, as requested by the pharmacist, and in line with departmental procedures Provides support to ward staff and pharmacists in medicines reconciliation on admission and discharge, in accordance with departmental procedures.
