Medicines Management Pharmacy Technician

The role of Medicines Management Pharmacy Technician has significantly expanded over the past few years, largely due to the success of our Dedicated Ward Pharmacy (DWP) service. Our Pharmacy Technicians are now taking on more clinical duties and responsibilities, and we are also extending our services into new areas such as Theatres, Critical Care, Emergency Department, Oncology, Maternity, and Paediatrics.

We are a highly supportive and motivated team, always striving to provide the best possible care for our patients. Our Medicines Management Pharmacy Technicians regularly attend conferences and exhibitions. For example, some of our team showcased their posters at the Clinical Congress and two Technicians spoke at the APTUK conference 2024. We strongly encourage our team to enrol on courses to enhance their skills and knowledge.

Many of our Pharmacy Technicians have been with us for over 10 years, which we believe is a true testament to our team. If you are a newly qualified Pharmacy Technician or currently working in a different sector and looking for a new challenge with direct patient contact, this role could be perfect for you. We offer a band 4-5 development programme to help you grow into the role and the environment.

Job description

To assist in the provision of ward-based activities. This will include the following tasks:

To assist the Clinical Pharmacists in identifying new patients and taking accurate medicines reconciliations in a timely manner.

To complete medicines reconciliation by using recognised sources and effective communication with the patient.

To assist in the maintenance of the Patients Own Medicines Scheme by promoting the service both within the Trust and externally, as well as encouraging patients to bring their own medicines into hospital from home.

To assess patients own medicines for suitability for use, following the Trust procedure.

To counsel patients on their medication.

To ensure information is effectively communicated to the Clinical Pharmacists and other healthcare professionals.

To manage medicine supply on assigned wards/areas.

To undertake additional clinical duties following appropriate training, as necessary, to meet the demands of the service.(e.g. completing falls reviews, checking blood results)

To support the Pharmacists and other healthcare professionals with patients discharge in a timely manner.(e.g. technical checking of discharge prescriptions)

To dispense/perform an accuracy check of discharge medicines at ward level.

To support the wards/areas with medicines management in line with trust policies.

To assist in the provision of medicines for the treatment of patients. This will include the following tasks:

To accurately and promptly dispense prescriptions for in-patients, out-patients,

day-patients and leave/discharge patients.

To issue dispensed medicines to patients and confirm that they know how to take them and that they know the indication to aid compliance.

To supply Controlled Drugs and keep appropriate records.

To undertake final checking of medication according to a defined policy when competence has been proven.

If required, to take part in the staff rotation system and undertake duties elsewhere in the Pharmacy to maintain the service.

If required, to issue supplies of stock preparations for wards, departments and other areas.

To assist in the maintenance of a clean and efficient environment suitable for the handling and compounding of medicinal substances; proper cleaning, maintenance, and use of equipment.

To assist the Principal/Advanced Pharmacy Technicians in co-ordinating and managing the Medicine Management workload. This will include the following tasks:

To line manage the Medicines Management Assistants (MMA).

To perform appraisals and 1-1s to delegated staff in accordance with Trust policies.

To provide sickness and performance monitoring to delegated staff.

To support with the recruitment process.

To manage the day-to-day workload and maintain/review the required data collection.

To use technical and pharmaceutical skills to ensure control, security, quality and value for money of medicines. This will include the following tasks:

To assist in maintaining appropriate storage and stock levels of medicines in Pharmacy departments to ensure quality, potency and economy.

To help to maintain an accurate computerised pharmacy stock control system.

To assess and return medicines for re-use in accordance with the departmental policy.

To maintain necessary records. If required, to collate information and present reports.

To assist in Directorate responsibilities. This will include the following tasks:

To assist in audit and projects

To collect and submit data to support the production of the scorecards and other reports.

To assist with producing and reviewing SOPs/policies.

Other Duties. This will include the following tasks:

To deputise for Advanced Pharmacy Technicians, when necessary.

To train pharmacy and other staff.

To act as a role model for all trainees.

To report incidents/errors/issues/concerns via the appropriate channel as per trust policy.

To undertake other duties, as necessary, elsewhere in the locality

Person specification

Educations, Training and Qualifications

Essential

• Qualified Technician; NVQ Level 3 with BTEC in Pharmacy Services, or equivalent
• Registered Technician
• Substantial experience working at Band 4 level (Hospital, Primary Care, Community)

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Hospital experience or equivalent
• Counselling patients on the use of their medicines

Desirable

• Co-ordinating a team/managing work flow
• Medicines management experience
• Supervising/managing staff
• Training of other staff
• Completed consultation skills training on patients medications or other training Skills

Skills

Essential

• Excellent communication skills, written and verbal
• Computer skills
• Dispensing skills

About the employer

Please submit your application as soon as possible, as we reserve the right to close adverts once sufficient applications have been received.

We recognise that AI tools can support application writing; however, candidates are asked to keep their use to a minimum. Responses should reflect your own experience, skills and knowledge, as over-reliance on AI-generated content may result in generic answers that do not accurately represent your abilities.

University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) brings together Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust. As a group, we are committed to improving services for our communities through collaboration, modernising care delivery and striving for excellence. Working together enables us to share expertise, strengthen services and create greater opportunities, and there may be a requirement to work across sites depending on service needs.

Our Excellence Values are Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Integrity and Courage. UHN welcomes applications from all backgrounds and is committed to an inclusive working environment. We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and hold the Gold Award under the Employer Recognition Scheme. Candidates who identify as members of the Armed Forces community and meet the essential criteria will be guaranteed an interview.