Pharmacy Technician

Role Information:

The post holder will assist in the provision of a safe and efficient patient focused clinical pharmacy service based in the dispensary. They will support the Centre Director (Superintendent Pharmacist) by working within the team to deliver a robust and efficient pharmacy service to include dispensing services, procurement for the pharmacy, and the supply of medicines to clinical areas and medicines management as necessary. To liaise with internal stakeholders to ensure timely and cost-effective medicines supply. To liaise with external stakeholders regarding medication supply issues or shortages, and to liaise with Procurement and the Pharmacy team when shortages have been highlighted as necessary. The post holder will work in conjunction with the Centre Director (Superintendent Pharmacist) to manage and coordinate workflow in the pharmacy, supporting the monitoring of the quality of service provided and to actively promote the implementation of important initiatives for services.

1. Closing Date: Saturday, March 16, 2024
2. Salary: Competitive
3. Location: OneWelbeck Surgery Centre, 1 Welbeck Street, London, W1G 0AR
4. Full Time

About OneWelbeck:

OneWelbeck was founded by a group of leading clinicians whose objective is to develop a state-of-the-art private day-case centre in the greater London area.

OneWelbeck offers outpatient procedural and daycase intervention work in a unique dedicated setting to include procedures such as Ear, Nose & Throat, Permanent Pacemaker Implantation, Cryo AF Ablation, Orthopaedic, Gynaecological and Gastro-Intestinal procedures.

WHP is developing several other day centres across the UK in addition to the flagship centre at 1 Welbeck Street. Further centres are also planned internationally.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Undertake the duties of a pharmacy technician:
•    To receive prescriptions from patients/carers/staff for dispensing.
•    To dispense outpatient and inpatient medicines as necessary. 
•    To give out dispensed and checked medications with appropriate instructions to patients and take appropriate payment in accordance with procedures.
•    To always ensure medication safety and that all outpatients are counselled on effective and safe use of their medicines.
•    To assist in final checks once Accredited Checking Technician qualification has been obtained (if relevant).
•    To manage and support stock control within the dispensary including ordering and receiving stock from suppliers and stock rotation, as well as expiry date management.
•    To maintain accurate data relating to stock balance and assisting investigations when discrepancies occur.
•    To process prescription and over the counter payments where applicable by cash or credit card and end of the day payment reconciliation as per procedures.
•    To provide mentoring and training support to new members of staff.
•    To maintain clean and tidy dispensing facilities and safe systems of work including expiry date checking and correct disposal of medication.
•    To manage all aspects of the safe and effective control and supply of controlled drugs.
•    To assist in providing a stock top up service to clinical areas and liaising with clinical area staff for example to agree stock levels, as necessary.
•    To ensure near-misses and incidents are reported, and support investigation and implementation of preventative measures.
•    To reconcile payments daily, e.g. cashing up at the end of the day, as necessary and liaising with Finance regarding any matters arising from this.
2. Medicines Management:
•    To assist the pharmacy team in providing a pharmaceutical advice and a clinical pharmacy service 
•    To support the direct ordering of medicines for the pharmacy.
•    To support the local education and training strategy by assisting in the delivery of medicines awareness training to clinical staff as necessary (e.g. presentations, workshops, focus groups).
•    To assist the Centre Director (Superintendent Pharmacist) in delivering medicines’ optimisation and medicines’ management services as necessary
•    To assist in carrying out audits, data collection and reporting.
•    To participate in a top-up service for clinical areas as necessary, and ensure that these medicines are ordered, co-ordinated and supplied in a timely manner.
•    To liaise with staff to regularly review stock list according to local requirements, as necessary.
•    Order and receive medicines from wholesalers and liaise with suppliers.
•    To be responsible for removing obsolete stock, adding new stock, and increasing stock levels according to service demands, providing training in this area and ensuring accuracy and efficiency of work. 
•    To record data onto pharmacy risk assessment database and produce activity data reports as necessary under the supervision and support of the Centre Director (Superintendent Pharmacist).
•    To provide pharmacy liaison with other members in the centre and pharmacy in respect to medicines such as stock supplies, stock problems, stock matters, prescriptions, and patient billing of medicines.
•    To work closely with the Centre Director (Superintendent Pharmacist) in the provision of performance indicators; to regularly monitor the quality of the service via practice research, audits, and competency assessments for examples. To ensure that progress and data are fed back to the Centre Director (Superintendent Pharmacist) on a regular monthly basis.
•    To participate in the development of relevant Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and guidelines and ensuring and monitoring that relevant staff are adherent with these.
•    To be responsible for monitoring the usage, expiry dates, record keeping of the medicines in the pharmacy.
3. Procurement:
•    To participate in a stock top-up service as necessary, including visiting clinical areas and creating orders for stock medicines, filing the order, and entering issues on the system.
•    To be involved in accurate stock control of medicines.
•    To manage the stock control of ancillary stock e.g. bottles, bags, and labels.
•    To undertake answering the telephone and dealing with queries where necessary.
•    To ensure that all appropriate patient information / instruction leaflets are photocopied and are always available.
•    To make deliveries are made as required, e.g. by portering or couriers.
•    To handle medicines returned from the clinical areas and patients, making the appropriate computer records, and disposing of unwanted / expired stock following local policies and procedures and in accordance with national guidance and legislation.
•    To physically receive stock from pharmaceutical wholesalers and suppliers daily, making appropriate records of receipts on the pharmacy IT system. 
•    To ensure that received stock is put in the appropriate stock location within the pharmacy and within an acceptable time. 
•    To manage the filing of delivery notes for pharmaceutical supplies, ensuring that all receipts are signed for and that all delivery notes are filed.
•    To manage the prompt matching process of all delivery notes, orders and invoices and work with Procurement as necessary. 
•    To attend training courses as considered appropriate by the Centre Director (Superintendent Pharmacist) and to show a commitment to continuing professional development (CPD).
4. Other:
•    To be prepared to participate in other duties appropriate to the role at the request of the relevant manager. 
•    To liaise with a wide range of service users including patients, carers, nursing staff and clinicians on the use supply and availability of medications and sundry items.
•    To participate in service rosters as determined appropriate by the Centre Director (Superintendent Pharmacist) including Saturday or late shift rotas if required.
•    To take part in regular performance appraisal to identify areas for development.
•    To undertake mandatory training and where appropriate developmental training.
•    To remain committed to recording continuing professional development in line with GPhC regulations and renewing registration when required.
•    To provide mentoring and training support to new and junior members of staff.
•    To participate in the annual Pharmacy stocktake as necessary.
•    To deal with complaints from patients and healthcare staff and manage conflict or disagreement to reach resolution, with support from the Centre Director (Superintendent Pharmacist).
•    To support and manage staff induction programmes in the pharmacy.

The above list indicates the main areas of responsibility and is not intended to be exhaustive. The job description will be subject to review by agreement between the post holder and the Centre Director (Superintendent Pharmacist), according to the changing needs of the service.  The role description gives a general outline of the duties of the post and is not intended to be an inflexible or finite list of tasks.  It may be varied, from time to time, after consultation with the post holder.

Safety:

•    Implements best practices and regulations adopted, to provide safety in the workplace
•    Monitors the Centre’s physical environment and initiates methods for maintaining safety, comfort, cleanliness, and efficiencies                    
•    Monitors the care, cleaning, and required maintenance of equipment to maintain proper working conditions.  Identifies and evaluates need for items relative to trends, centre personnel requests, and positive patient outcomes                    
•    Works with the Safety Officer to resolve observed or suspected safety violations and hazards to ensure policy/procedure compliance                    
•    Submits information to licensed (as state required) healthcare risk manager, for preparation of risk management reports            
•    Ensures COSSH regulations are met, clinical staff are educated, and supplies are readily available

Quality Care & Governance: 

•    Remains current on applicable local and national laws, rules and regulations, and professional and accrediting-body standards.                    
•    Submits required reports on a timely basis.                    
•    Reviews policies/procedures to ensure continued compliance with national and accrediting-body rules, regulations, and standards.
•    Assists in the implementation and maintenance of the Centre’s adopted quality assessment, performance improvement program.                    
•    Assists in the maintenance, education, and implementation of the Centre’s policies and procedures to the Governing Board, the QAPI committee (as required) and the wider Healthcare team.    
•    Assists in the implementation and maintenance of the Centre’s adopted compliance programme.

Physical, mental, and emotional effort required: 

•    Need to be physically active in the pharmacy and clinical areas.
•    Need to access drug cupboards and storage areas.
•    From time to time, it may be necessary to communicate with distressed relatives and patients, abusive and confused patients, and respond to difficult requests and queries from other professional staff.
•    Occasional exposure to harassment when dealing with verbal complaints.
•    Chair staff and clinical meetings where appropriate.
•    Daily concentration for reviewing prescriptions, calculations, reports, policy documents; interrupted by urgent requests for advice.

Outline of working conditions:
 
•    Exposure to unpleasant working conditions is rare, occasionally may require handling verbal complaints from angry patients and resolve emergency requests for medicines.
•    Occasional work in clinical areas may be subject to unpleasant odours.

Infection Prevention & Control:

All Welbeck Health Partners employees, whether involved directly or indirectly in the provision of healthcare, have a duty to co-operate with and implement Business policies and procedures in preventing and controlling infection. This includes co-operation with colleagues and contractors also involved in the provision of healthcare so far as is necessary to enable the Business to meet its obligations under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Safeguarding:

Welbeck Health Partners is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and adults at risk and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment and ensure they work in accordance with the Welbeck Health Partners Safeguarding Child and Adult at Risks Policies and Procedures.

Staff should ensure that they remain up to date with safeguarding training requirements and know how to report safeguarding concerns or allegations against staff and should follow safeguarding policy and procedures and the allegations against staff policy.

Confidentiality:

Maintain confidentiality in relation to personal data held for colleagues and patients, ensuring that it is processed lawfully; for no purpose other than that for which it was obtained; is relevant to that purpose; is retained for no longer than is necessary; is processed in accordance with the rights of the subject to access and accuracy; and is protected from accidental loss or damage in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act (as amended), and records management guidance.

Maintain confidentiality of patient-identifiable personal data using a non-identifiable alternative, where practicable, and limiting access on a strictly need to know basis in accordance with the responsibilities of the Business’s Caldicott Guardian.

Risk:

Accept personal responsibility for contributing to the Welbeck Health Partners management of risk, including the reasonable avoidance of any action which would knowingly cause unacceptable risk to self, others, or to the Business.

As far as is reasonably practicable attempt to prevent other people from undertaking tasks or actions which would knowingly cause risks to self, others, or to the Business, in accordance with the Business policy and training.

Identify and report actual or potential hazards/ risks in the work environment in accordance with Business policies and take immediate action to minimise risks where it is reasonably practicable to do so.

Identify and report to the appropriate authority incidents of risk, neglect, abuse or endangerment to vulnerable adults and children.

Follow Welbeck Health Partners policy on use of Personal Protective Equipment e.g., Masks, Gloves, Visors etc.

Awareness of and compliance with Health and Safety Regulations.

Equality & Diversity:  

The Business recognises the benefits of a diverse workforce reflective of the communities that we serve and is committed to equal opportunities in employment with a devotion to eliminate all forms of unlawful discrimination.  The Business aims to promote equality of opportunity and good relations between staff and patients (including volunteers, contractors, and bank staff).  All individuals have a duty to adhere to the Business Diversity and Equality Opportunity policy and an individual responsibility towards the application and understanding of the Equality Act 2010.  Inequitable behaviour will not be tolerated, and every person has a responsibility to highlight discriminatory practice.

Health and Safety at work:

In addition to the Business responsibilities under the Health and Safety legislation, you are reminded of your responsibilities for health and safety at work under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (as amended) and associated legislation. These include the duty to take reasonable care of the health and safety of yourself and others in your work activities and to co-operate with your employer in the discharge of its statutory duties. You must adhere strictly to the Business policies and procedures on health and safety and report all accidents, dangerous occurrences, unsafe practices, or damage to your manager promptly using the Business incident reporting system. You must make use of appropriate training, safety equipment, protective clothing and footwear and attend training. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in disciplinary action.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

If the post you are undertaking requires you to complete a DBS disclosure, this will be managed and processed in line with the DBS Policy, and you will be required to sign up and maintain your subscription to the DBS Update Service.

Person Specification

•    To apply, please email your current CV and cover letter to craig.murphy@welbeckhealth.com