Job Description

Job Title:

Pharmacy Technician - Andover PCN

Responsible to

: Pharmacy Team Lead

Accountable to

: Clinical Director & Management Team

Contract:

Permanent - Full Time / Part Time

Salary:

Starting from 15.12 / hour (Depending on Experience) plus NHS Pensions

Job Summary

Andover PCN is looking for dedicated Pharmacy Technician, who will work within the general practice team to support the Pharmacists, GPs and the clinical team to improve quality and safety around use of medicines, including audit, medicines reconciliation, management of safety alerts, and queries from patients and staff within their professional competencies. They will work alongside our established team of Clinical Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians.

Please note that the following will be required by the post holder:

a. is registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

b. meets the specific qualification and training requirements as specified by the GPhC criteria70 to register as a Pharmacy Technician.

c. enrolled in, undertaking or qualified from, an approved training pathway. For example, the Primary Care Pharmacy Educational Pathway (PCPEP) or Medicines Optimisation in Care Homes (MOCH) or courses approved by the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK) as meeting the requirements of the UK-wide APTUK/PCPA National Competency Framework for Primary Care Pharmacy Technicians; and

d. is working under appropriate clinical supervision to ensure safe, effective and efficient use of medicines

Primary Duties and Areas of Responsibilities

Medicines reconciliation post discharge and on other transfers of care including ensuring medication is reconciled and added to the clinical system in a timely manner and that clinical issues are highlighted to the pharmacist or GP as appropriate Day to day handling of prescription queries within area of own competence Supporting appropriate team members to ensure repeat prescriptions are processed in line with prescribing policy and relevant local and national guidance, including managing queries (within own competence) and escalation of issues where appropriate Support the pharmacist with implementation of safe and cost-effective prescribing systems, including monitoring and review of high-risk drugs, review of safety alerts and clinical system searches Use and maintain information reporting systems and databases relevant to the position including incident reporting, medicines optimization, prescribing data, cost savings, and patient outcomes Participate in practice meetings, patient participation groups, and other meetings to improve engagement of the role of pharmacy technicians and to promote issues relevant to prescribing and medicines optimization Liaise with other pharmacy stakeholders e.g. Medicines Optimization team, community pharmacy, and hospital pharmacy teams Be responsible for the organisation, planning and of own workload to meet set deadlines Undertake, participate and share the outcomes of clinical audits to facilitate improvement and changes in practice Undertake training and development, to ensure the required knowledge and skills for practice based work Carry out other duties which are appropriate to the skills and competencies of the post holder and grade of the post as the priorities of the service change Establish and maintain effective working relationships with GP practices, CCG staff and other healthcare professionals/stakeholders across the interface

Clinical responsibilities of the Pharmacy Technician:

a) undertake patient facing and patient supporting roles to ensure effective medicines use, through shared decision-making conversations with patients.

b) carry out 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.

c) support, as determined by the PCN, medication reviews and medicines reconciliation for new care home patients and synchronising medicines for patient transfers between care settings and linking with local community pharmacists.

d) provide specialist expertise, where competent, to address both the public health and social care needs of patients, including lifestyle advice, service information, and help in tackling local health inequalities.

e) take a central role in the clinical aspects of shared care protocols and liaising with specialist pharmacists for more complex patients.

f) support initiatives for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing.

g) assist in the delivery of medicines optimisation and management incentive schemes and patient safety audits.

h) support the implementation of national prescribing policies and guidance within GP practices, care homes and other primary care settings. This will be achieved through undertaking clinical audits (e.g. use of antibiotics), supporting quality improvement measures and contributing to the Quality and Outcomes Framework and enhanced services.

Technical and Administrative responsibilities of the Pharmacy Technician:

a) work with the PCN multi-disciplinary team to ensure efficient medicines optimisation, including implementing efficient ordering and return processes, and reducing wastage.

b) supervise practice reception teams in sorting and streaming general prescription requests, so as to allow GPs and clinical pharmacists to review the more clinically complex requests.

c) provide leadership formedicines optimisation systems across PCNs, supporting practices with a range of services to get the best value from medicines by encouraging and implementing Electronic Prescriptions, safe repeat prescribing systems, and timely monitoring and management of high-risk medicines.

d) provide training and support on the legal, safe and secure handling of medicines, including the implementation of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS); and

e) develop relationships with other pharmacy technicians, pharmacists and members of the multi-disciplinary team to support integration of the pharmacy team across health and social care including primary care, community pharmacy, secondary care, and mental health.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience Required

An appropriate qualification and registration with the GPhC as a Pharmacy Technician

Completion of a relevant additional qualification, such as a CPPE Pathway (e.g. MOCH), Accuracy Checking or Medicines Management is desirable, but not essential

Able to follow legal, ethical, professional and organisational policies/procedures and codes of conduct

The post-holder is required to travel independently between practice sites within the Andover PCN (where applicable), and to attend meetings where needed

PLEASE NOTE:

we reserve the right to interview throughout the duration of the advertising period, and if a suitable candidate is found we may withdraw the advert prior to the published close date.

Job Types: Full-time, Part-time, Permanent

Pay: From 15.12 per hour

Expected hours: 15 - 37.5 per week

Benefits:

Company pension Employee discount Free flu jabs Store discount
Licence/Certification:

GPhC Pin (required)
Work Location: In person