A Vacancy at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
We are looking to appoint a highly motivated, innovative and enthusiastic Senior Pharmacy Technician (Clinical Services).
Your role will involve working with the Chief Pharmacy Technician (Clinical Services) to manage and develop our technical ward services team.
This role requires excellent organisational and interpersonal skills, alongside sound knowledge of clinical ward services. Relevant experience and good written and verbal communication skills are also essential.
You will alsosupport the Chief Pharmacy Technician (Clinical Services) to manage and co-ordinate the technical staff on wards, implement omnicell systems at ward level and manage the satellite dispensaries on wards.
In addition, you willbe required to provide medicines management cover to clinical ward services; completing medicines reconciliation, discharge planning and final accuracy checking of prescriptions.
The department operates a 7 day service to the Medical Care Group. Participation in the late night working, weekend and Bank Holiday rotas will also be required.
Interview Date - Week Commencing 25th November 2025
• To support the Chief Pharmacy Technician Clinical Services to develop and manage the clinical pharmacy technical ward services.
• To support the Chief Pharmacy Technician Clinical Services, manage the ward-based dispensers, students, technicians, and accuracy checking pharmacy technicians
• To support the Senior Technician Training and Education Clinical Services to deliver training to ward based dispensers, students, technicians, and accuracy checking pharmacy technicians’ teams for clinical ward services.
• To provide a specialist clinical technical service/specialist advice to patients at ward level including medicines optimisation
• To complete audits and procedures for technical clinical ward services
• To support the Chief Pharmacy Technicians management of the Omnicell systems at ward level
• To participate in the department rota to ensure a pharmacy service is provided efficiently over 7 days
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.
We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.
Our services:
Acute Care
Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.
Primary Care
Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.
Community Services
Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation, freeing up space for more unwell patients. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.
Specialist Regional Services
We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.
Achievements:
• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme
KEY DUTIES
• To work under the supervision of the Chief Pharmacy Technician Clinical Services to manage the operational provision of pharmacy services to wards and provide cover in their absence.
• Plan and manage own workload working independently.
• To work with the Chief Pharmacy Technician Clinical Services to performance manage band 5 pharmacy technicians and other staff allocated to ward services within the department including:
- The recruitment and selection process of pharmacy technicians and assistants
- Ensure all direct line reports have an annual appraisal and appropriate personal development plan which is in line with the strategic objectives of the department, ensure this is reviewed and updated in regular 1:1’s
- The conducting and recording of ‘return to work’ interviews and managing sickness absence for band 5 technicians according to the Trust sickness absence policy.
- To liaise with the Human Resource Department concerning disciplinary and grievance matters for staff in ward services.
- To organise and conduct disciplinary meetings with ward services staff in accordance with Trust procedures.
• Provide pastoral and emotional support to the team when necessary.
• To supervise and support pre-registration pharmacists and pre-registration pharmacy technician’s and pharmacy students allocated to ward services.
• To collate performance data for the Chief Pharmacy Technician Clinical Services to present to the Pharmacy Leadership Team.
• To write procedures for pharmacy ward technical services
• Assist the Chief Pharmacy Technician in the investigation of complaints including providing suitable responses and ensuring remedial action is taken where appropriate.
• To manage annual leave, time owing and related issues forward based technical staff.
• Prepare weekly rotas for the band 5 technicians and ward services dispensing staff to ensure adequate service provision. To re-assess and adjust staffing according to irregular or unpredictable workloads, whilst aiming to keep the service within acceptable limits.
• To be responsible for the organisation of staffing for the ward technical staff when emergency or voluntary rota staffing is required and in the case of additional activity during the weekend and/or evenings, relating to ward services.
• To liaise with medical, nursing, portering and other staff regarding the pharmacy service and any related problems.
• Approval of bank and agency staff hours worked on e roster.
• To be responsible for developing and delivering detailed information to inform decisions on configuration of the Omnicell systems.
• To be responsible for the installation, training, and operation of the Omnicell drug vending machines based on wards.
CLINICAL & PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
• To perform final accuracy checking on prescriptions and inpatient requisitions which have been clinically verified by a pharmacist in accordance with Trust procedures and ensure dispensing errors are corrected by the appropriate member of staff.
• Labelling and dispensing of medication as required including the accurate input of data into the pharmacy JAC computer system, extemporaneous dispensing, and blister packs.
• To provide a specialist clinical technical service to a designated ward, in accordance with professional, departmental and Trust policies. This will include:
- the taking of a comprehensive medication history for new patients as soon as possible after admission using multiple sources of information
- Close liaison with external organisations e.g. nursing homes/community pharmacies, other hospitals, and GP practices
- Assessment of patients own drugs for reuse.
- Accurately transcribe medicines from EPMA to ICE discharge identifying any discrepancies to the ward doctor and ward pharmacist
- Processing of TTO’s at ward level in a timely manner to maintain patient flows in the Trust.
- Ordering medication in a timely manner to avoid missed doses, particularly of critical medicines.
- Monitoring for adverse drug reactions and submit ‘yellow cards’ to the CSM where appropriate.
- Counselling and educating patients on how to correctly take their medicines including advice on side effects and appropriate storage.
- Identify unintentional nonadherence to medicines and intervene where appropriate.
- Follow up patients to ensure interventions put in place have been successful.
- Monitoring for adverse drug reactions and submit ‘yellow cards’ to the CSM where appropriate.
- To participate in patient counselling and communicate complex information effectively to other grades of staff and patients and if appropriate use demonstrational techniques in the use of medicines to patients, carers, and other health care professionals, ensuring they understand fully any advice or instructions provided.
• To provide appropriate advice to doctors, nurses and other professionals as required.
• Report any drug errors you detect to the Head of Pharmacy or their deputy. Ensure that the appropriate error form is completed.
• Return unwanted or patients own Controlled drugs from the wards in accordance with the departmental policy and the Misuse of Drugs Act
• To participate in Continuing Professional Development as per department policy and national guidelines from the General Pharmaceutical council
TEACHING & TRAINING RESPONSIBILITIES
• To provide induction training on ward services for newly recruited staff.
• To deliver training and education forward-based pharmacy technical services staff, including assessing their competence in the following:
- Assessment of patients own drugs for suitability to reuse.
- Medication history taking
- Transcribing of discharge prescriptions
- Patient counselling
- Accuracy checking of discharge prescriptions.
- Ward based training for pharmacy student technicians, pre-registration pharmacists and pharmacy assistants.
• To assist the Chief Pharmacy Technician Clinical Services in the development and management of the satellite dispensaries ensuring all staff are appropriately trained and competent to undertake their duties to ensure safe and effective working practices to improve patient flows within the Trust.
• To assist the Chief Pharmacy Technician Clinical Services to provide training for the use of the Omnicell systems to both pharmacy and ward-based staff.
• To comply with the GPhc requirements for continuing professional development
RESEARCH & AUDIT
• To collate ward services audits, including planning, collating results, writing reports, and presenting findings to stakeholders.
• To work with the Chief Pharmacy Technician analysing the ward services key performance Indicators.
• To participate in locally any regional / national audits relating to ward services
• To ensure risk assessments are carried out within the ward technical services and to act on any Risk Management issues highlighted.
This advert closes on Monday 18 Nov 2024
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