Pharmacy Technician

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Job Description

Job title	PCN Pharmacy Technician – Medicines Optimisation
Pay band	£22- 32K p.a (approx. AfC Band 4-5), depending on experience and qualifications
Hours of work	Full-time 37.5hr/wk, part time (min 19hr/wk), remote and flexible working opportunities are available
Responsible to	Lead PCN Clinical Pharmacist and PCN Development and Operations Manager
Accountable to	Clinical Director PCN
Base	Base surgery negotiable and flexible across 7 member practices within the PCN.
Contract type	Permanent
Special Working Conditions	The post-holder is required to travel independently between practice sites (where applicable), to stakeholder meetings across South Wiltshire, care homes and patients’ own homes
Key Working Relationships - Internal	Clinical Lead for the medicines optimisation team GPs and General practice teams within the PCN PCN Clinical Director Multi-disciplinary team members including, but not limited to: Clinical Pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, Physician Associates, Physiotherapists, Paramedics, Social Prescribing Link Workers, Care coordinators and Health and Wellbeing Coaches
Key Working Relationships - External	GP practice and multi-disciplinary teams from neighbouring PCNs Service providers Social care Voluntary services Patients/service users Carers/relatives

Job Summary

• To provide support to GPs to reduce workload and where appropriate, and within the post-holder’s capabilities, respond to patient and staff queries.
• To maximise safe, cost-effective prescribing to enhance the quality of patient care, improving repeat prescribing processes (including use of electronic repeat dispensing and online ordering), minimising clinical risk and reducing avoidable wasted medicines.  As well, the post-holder will develop and encourage a positive culture of medicines optimisation principles to assist the PCN in achieving local and national medicines-related objectives.
• The post-holder will help patients get the best from their medicines, use existing protocols to maximise cost-effective preparations and where appropriate, liaise with patients to improve compliance and concordance.

Core Principles

• To ensure confidentiality of information (written, oral and electronic) is always preserved, whether at or away from work.
• To follow PCN procedures to ensure that Caldicott Guardian and security requirements are always met.
• To follow procedures to ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998.
• To follow all PCN and practice protocols concerned with the maintenance of ethical practice.
• To support and participate in initiatives to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all practice users. This includes following procedures to ensure the control of potential hazards to health and safety and prevention and control of infection, including hand hygiene.
• Follow policies in relation to safeguarding adults.
• Follow policies to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people in compliance with Section 11 of The Children Act 2004.
• Ensure principles of openness, transparency and candour are observed and upheld in all working practices including respect for information and clinical governance, and safeguarding responsibilities. 
• Ensure probity in all financial dealings.
• To respect, support, contribute to and take personal responsibility for implementing commitment to diversity and equality of opportunity.
• To contribute to a culture of continuous improvement.
• To deal with complaints promptly and according to organisational protocol.
• To perform duties to standards required by the practices in accordance with quality assurance.
• To demonstrate commitment to continuing professional development.
• To demonstrate computer literacy.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

All Pharmacy Technicians must work within their competencies and have professional indemnity for their role. Performance will meet the expectations of the role when the post holder:

• Supports practice staff by amending medication records as instructed by PCN pharmacists/GPs, following discharge from hospital, from instructions from outpatient appointments and from information on registration packs.
• Undertakes patient facing and patient supporting roles to ensure effective medicines use, through shared decision-making conversations with patients, to improve compliance and concordance.
• Responds to medication queries from patients and staff in a professional manner within own competency.  
• Provides advice to pharmacists, GPs, other healthcare professionals and patients in changes to prescribing to support the improvement of prescribing safety, quality and cost effectiveness.
• Carries 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.
• As determined by the lead PCN clinical pharmacist, supports medication reviews and medicines reconciliation, including new care home patients and synchronising medicines for patient transfers between care settings, linking with local community pharmacies.
• Supports Clinical Pharmacists in completing Structured Medication Reviews (SMR).
• Supports dispensing practices by undertaking DRUMs (Dispensing Review of the Use of Medicines).
• Provides 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.
• Takes a central role in the medical aspects of shared care protocols and liaising with Clinical Pharmacists for more complex patients, including timely monitoring and management of high-risk medicines across the PCN.
• Supports initiatives for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing locally.
• Assists in the delivery of medicines optimisation and management incentive schemes and patient safety audits.
• Supports the implementation of national prescribing policies and guidance within GP practices, care homes and the wider PCN. This will be achieved through undertaking clinical audits (e.g. use of antibiotics), supporting quality improvement measures and contributing to all appropriate elements of the delivery of Directed Enhanced Services. 
• Supports the PCN multi-disciplinary team to ensure efficient medicines optimisation processes are being followed.
• Promotes efficient ordering and return processes to reduce medication wastage. 
• Promotes Electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD), where appropriate, and online ordering. 
• Develops relationships with other pharmacy professionals and members of the multidisciplinary team to support integration of the pharmacy team across health and social care including primary care, community pharmacy, secondary care and mental health.
• Supports the implementation of national prescribing policies and guidance within GP practices, care homes and other primary care settings. 
• Supports the PCN to deliver on QIPP agenda, QOF and locally commissioned enhanced services where appropriate.
• Supports the PCN in reviewing and developing relevant policies for CQC requirements.
• Updates patients’ GP electronic healthcare record as per PCN policy, maintaining the accuracy of patient record in a timely manner.
• Contributes to the management of GP prescribing budgets through medicines optimisation activities.
• Supports the lead clinical pharmacist with the management of MHRA alerts, patient safety bulletins, medicines recalls and information on unavailable medicines.

Upholding Quality

This involves:

• Alerting other team members to issues of quality and risk.
• Assessing own performance and taking accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision.
• Contributing to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the team’s performance.
• Working effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients’ needs.
• Effectively managing own time, workload and resources.
• Adhering to practice dress policy.
• Being punctual at all times.

Communication

This involves the importance of effective communication within the team and the jobholder should therefore strive to:

• Communicate effectively with other team members.
• Communicate effectively with patients and carers.
• Recognise people’s needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly.
• Provide and receive information from and to patients, carers and other healthcare professionals which may be sensitive and/or complex where there may be barriers to understanding.

Personal/Professional Development

The post-holder will take responsibility for their own development, learning and performance by:

• Meeting the GPhC CPD requirements for registration on an annual basis.
• Completing any internal training required by the PCN.
• Taking responsibility for own developmental learning and performance.
• Taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal development.
• Working with management on any new training requirements.
• Demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.
• Actively participating in any external training programme required by continued NHS funding.

Contributing to the Implementation of Services

This involves:

• Discussing with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work.
• Participating in audit where appropriate.

Health and Safety

This involves:

• Upholding the principles of good infection control.
• Assisting in promoting and maintaining their own and others’ health and safety and security as defined in the PCN Health and Safety Policy.
• Using personal security systems within the workplace.
• To identify risks involved in work activities and to undertake such activities in a way that manages those risks.
• Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and keeping them free from hazards.
• Reporting potential risks as identified.

Confidentiality

• While seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and confidentiality and act appropriately.
• In the performance of duties outlined, the post-holder may have access to practice business information.  This too must be regarded as strictly confidential.
• Any breaches of confidentiality will be treated as a disciplinary matter and may result in instant dismissal.

Equality and Diversity

• The post-holder will respect and value the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers, colleagues and partners.
• They will act in a way that recognizes the importance of people’s rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with PCN and practice procedures, policies and current legislation.
• They will behave in a way that is welcoming to all individuals, which is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings, priorities and rights.

Other

• Carrying out other duties that are required within the role as it evolves within the development of the organisation.
• All staff are expected to work in a flexible way, undertaking tasks which are not specifically covered by their individual description when the occasion arises.
• These additional duties will usually cover unforeseen circumstances or changes in work and they will normally be compatible with the post-holder’s regular type of work.
• If the additional responsibility or task becomes regular or frequent part of the staff member’s job, it will be included in the job description in consultation with the member of staff.
• This post is subject to an Exemption Order under Section 4(2) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

Person Specification

Knowledge, Training and Experience	Essential	Desirable	Asssessed by
Level 3 Diploma in Principles and Practice for Pharmacy Technicians/BTEC in pharmaceutical sciences plus NVQ Level 3 in pharmacy practice or other GPhC recognised pharmacy technician qualification	X		Application
Practical knowledge of primary care and evidence-based medicine		X	Interview
Practical knowledge of repeat prescribing systems		X	Interview
Experience of working with wide range of roles	X		Interview
An appreciation of the NHS agenda and government targets in primary care		X	Interview
An 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 GP partnership		X	Interview/Task
Knowledge of the principles of medicines optimisation	X		Interview/Task
Knowledge of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for the improvement of prescribing		X	Interview/Task
Excellent clinical knowledge	X		Interview/Task
Experience of working in Primary Care and of the roles within it		X	Interview
IT Literate in Microsoft Office, Outlook and NHS Mail	X		Interview/Task
IT Literate in use of SystmOne		X	Application/Interview
Planning and Organisational Skills	Essential	Desirable	Asssessed by
Able to work independently and as part of a team within clearly defined policies and procedures	X		Interview/Task
Able to plan and organise straightforward activities, adjusting plans and priorities as necessary depending on circumstances	X		Probationary Period
Ability to prioritise their own workload	X		Probationary Period
Self-starter and self-motivated	X		Probationary Period
Ability to meet deadlines	X		Probationary Period
Communication and Cooperation	Essential	Desirable	Asssessed by
Able to communicate at the appropriate level, to all staff and stakeholders, both verbally and in written formats	X		Interview/Probationary Period
Flexible approach to meet service needs and ensure a stakeholder focused response	X		Probationary Period
Analytical and Judgemental Skills	Essential	Desirable	Asssessed by
Able to accurately record medication from outside Practices	X		Probationary Period
Able to analyse and interpret prescriptions, identify problems and decide on the appropriate course of action from a range of options	X		Task/Probationary Period
Able to apply technical knowledge to new situations, resolving queries and assessing situations concerning the availability of prescribed medicines, referring issues of non-standard prescriptions and other queries to relevant colleagues	X		Probationary Period
Able to concentrate at all times, with the flexibility to accommodate interruptions to provide advice to other staff and fulfil urgent requests	X		Interview/Probationary Period
Able to analyse and interpret prescribing data	X		Task/Probationary Period
Any other post-related knowledge, experience and skills	Essential	Desirable	Asssessed by
Registration with General Pharmaceutical Council as pharmacy technician	X		Application
Excellent understanding of data protection and confidentiality issues	X		Interview/Probationary Period
Possess professional indemnity insurance for the role	X		Application/Interview
Undertake training and continuous professional development to ensure required knowledge and skills for the role	X		Probationary Period
Comply with mandatory and statutory training requirements	X		Probationary Period
Qualities and attributes	Essential	Desirable	Asssessed by
Resourceful and able to apply common sense	X		Interview/Task
Professional, calm and fair	X		Interview/Task
Willingness to be flexible	X		Interview/Task/Reference
Willingness to support all other team members and progress professionally	X		Probationary Period