About this role
Job summary
An excellent opportunity has arisen for a suitably experienced hospital technician to apply for this post.
We require an experienced, enthusiastic and self-motivated Pharmacy Technician with excellent communication skills to join our motivated forward thinking specialist care division (SCD) & West London Children's Healthcare (WLCH) pharmacy team. You will work in an exceptionally friendly department delivering a patient focused service.
The post holder will deliver quality care to patients at ward level as part of an efficient Medicines management system.
This includes confirming patient medication histories, assessment of patient's own medicines, preparation and administration of medicines including IVs, counselling patients about their medicines and co-ordinating the supply of discharge medication.
The post holder may also be required to assist with general invoicing duties in pharmacy and homecare medication management.
This is an ideal opportunity for a technician who is keen to build on their obstetric and paediatric experience.
Main duties of the job
Deliver quality care to patients at ward level as part of an efficient Medicines management system.
This includes confirming patient medication histories, assessment of patient's own medicines,
Preparation and administration of medicines including IVs, counselling patients about their medicines and co-ordinating the supply of discharge medication.
General invoicing duties in pharmacy
Homecare medication management
About us
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of England's top-performing and safest trusts. We operate two main acute hospital sites--Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and West Middlesex University Hospital--along with award-winning clinics across North West London.
Our nearly 7,500 staff care for a diverse population of 1.5 million, providing full clinical services, including maternity, A&E, and children's services, plus specialist HIV and sexual health clinics. The Care Quality Commission rates us 'Good' in safety, effectiveness, care, and responsiveness, and 'Outstanding' in leadership and resource use.
We continually invest in our facilities, including a £30m expansion of critical care at Chelsea and Westminster and an £80m Ambulatory Diagnostic Centre at West Middlesex.
We welcome applications for flexible working arrangements, accommodating requests where possible to support our staff and patient needs.
The Trust is committed to equality and welcomes applications from all, regardless of background. Adjustments can be made for disabled candidates. Early application is advised as vacancies may close once sufficient applications are received. If you haven't heard from us within three weeks of the closing date, your application was likely unsuccessful. Employment is subject to a six-month probationary period.
Some roles may require weekend shifts at multiple sites.
Job description Job responsibilities Medication Management
Follow relevant procedures for Medicines Management in order to deliver the service in a safe and effective manner.
Responsible for the provision of the Medicines Management service to designated ward areas, which involves working in clinical areas unsupervised.
Participate in the checking of in-patient, outpatient and clinical trial prescriptions by undertaking the London Pharmacy Education & Training Accredited Checking Pharmacy Technician (ACPT) scheme in line with departmental policy.
Obtain accurate medication histories for patients on admission by liaising with the patient and/or primary care team in order to support decisions about continued care.
Implement and maintain the Patients Own Drug (POD) scheme, for the designated areas (and self-administration where introduced) according to Trust Policies.
Counsel patients in order to provide effective and appropriate advice to patients on medication use in order to ensure their understanding of their medication including benefits of their medication and possible side effects. These may be patients with certain barriers, e.g. hearing problems, language issues.
Deal with queries and complex issues from patients and other hospital staff.
Effectively contend with informal / verbal complaints from ward staff or patients in the first instance before appropriate referral to line manager if necessary.
Co-ordinate the discharge medication, bringing together patients own drugs and newly dispensed items in advance of patient discharge and support the planning of patient discharge with respect to medication, including the transcription of requests for dispensing.
Provide training for pharmacy staff regarding the medicines management service on the wards.
Maintain high quality of data input of patient information into the pharmacy computer system in order to ensure excellent labeling standards for dispensed medicines.
Support the dispensary by participating in the dispensary rota and providing a full technical service including performing the final accuracy check of screened prescriptions.
Accurately dispense and issue prescriptions including controlled drugs in a timely fashion for inpatients, outpatients (including A&E), day case and discharge medication.
Identify potential problems regarding the lack of availability of medicines for individual prescriptions, seeking advice on suitable alternatives or agreed delivery timetable.
Be a role model for technical staff and actively promote the role of the pharmacy technician
Line-manage a designated rotational pharmacy technician or pharmacy assistant, conducting performance appraisals and development reviews and if necessary, manage sickness, disciplinary or grievances.
Participate in the training of new and junior staff, including inductions.
Ensure that a written record of Continuing Personal Development (CPD) is maintained for review at appraisal.
Be a robot superuser in order to troubleshoot complex problems and maintain efficient systems within the dispensing process.
Participate in and contribute to the development of the extension of the medicines management scheme across all wards in the hospital.
Participate in regular medicines management training sessions for nursing staff.
Liaise with nursing staff and patients to guarantee the service we provide meets the requirements of its users.
Create, maintain and develop medicines management policies, procedures and standards.
Other duties Provide administrative support for data collection for audits / projects as directed
by the LDP SCD&WLCH
Assist in processing invoices within the main pharmacy invoicing office as required.
Participate in the Departmental Education and Training Programme and ensure that a written record of Continual Personal Development (CPD) is maintained for review at appraisal.
Person Specification
Education and Qualifications Essential
BTEC or NVQ 3 Pharmaceutical Sciences equivalent recognised qualification GPHC registered Medicines Optimisation Program (MOP) (Note: A candidate who is not MOP accredited will be considered for shortlisting, if recruited they will receive Band 4 AFC remuneration until they achieve the MOP qualification) Accredited Checking Technician (ACPT) (Note: A candidate who is not an ACPT will be considered for shortlisting, if recruited they will receive Band 4 AFC remuneration until they achieve the ACPT qualification)
Desirable
Practice Supervisor course or equivalent
Experience Essential
Patient counselling Education and training of staff Dispensing Pharmacy labelling and stock control systems Hospital pharmacy experience
Desirable
Contribute to development of procedures Service audit Liaison with a wide variety of healthcare professional Experience of JAC Supervision of staff Previous homecare experience
Skills and knowledge Essential
Good communication (written and oral) Prioritisation and planning Dealing with interruptions to normal work pattern Time management Training and supervisory skills Organisational skills
Desirable
Computer literacy Mathematical skills to perform complex dose calculations Interpret and dispense prescriptions accurately Experience of supervising staff
Personal qualities Essential
Enthusiasm for the position Lead by example Self-starter Methodical with attention to detail Friendly, empathetic and reliable team worker able to relate to all grades of staff Ability to cope well within a busy environment
Trust values Essential
Putting patients first Responsive to patients and staff Open and honest Unfailingly kind Determined to develop
Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details Employer name Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Address Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
369 Fulham Road
London
SW10 9NH
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.chelwest.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)