Pharmacy Assistant - Patient Services Band 2/3
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Job overview
Are you looking for a career within Pharmacy that offers excellent development prospects. We offer those joining us an exciting opportunity to start their Pharmacy career as a Band 2 Pharmacy Assistant in a forward-thinking, diverse and inclusive department where we adopt an open, honest culture where all voices are heard and ideas for improvement are encouraged through our Patient First Initiatives.
Our Pharmacy department is a fast-paced environment where you will need to be able to react flexibly both as an individual and as part of a team. As part of the Patient Services team, you will be instrumental in our success at delivery excellent patient care.
This is a progressional post where you will learn new skills within the dispensary, in providing ward-based services and within the distribution service that we hope will be the beginning of an incredibly rewarding career in Pharmacy. All the relevant in-house and nationally recognised training will be provided and supported, where after successful completion of that training you will progress to a Band 3 Pharmacy Assistant.
You can meet our Pharmacy team Here
Main duties of the job- Receipt of prescription and drug requests from patients and staff.
- Selling over the counter medicines to members of the public and staff.
- Handling NHS prescription charge transactions.
- Accurate and timely dispensing of prescriptions, including controlled drugs.
- Generation of labels and booking out of medicines using pharmacy stock control system.
- Final accuracy checking of controlled drug stock requisitions.
- Providing pharmacy services at ward level.
- Replenish the stock of dispensing sundries (bottles, cartons, etc)
- Deal with enquiries from wards, departments, patients and members of the public.
- Receiving requests and handing out of medication to patients and members of staff.
- Delivering of medication to wards and departments
- Processing the return of medication from the wards and departments to Pharmacy.
- All activity undertaken within NBT Pharmacy is compliant with Good Distribution Practice (EU GDP 2013/C 343/01)
Please see job description for a full list of duties and responsibilities.
Working for our organisation
North Bristol NHS Trust employs over 12,000 staff providing healthcare to the residents of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset from our award-winning hospital building at Southmead. We are the regional Major Trauma Centre, and an internationally recognised centre of excellence in a range of services and major specialities.Our vision is that by enabling our teams to be the best they can be, we will provide exceptional healthcare, personally delivered.
We commit to treating each patient as an individual with respect and dignity, aiming to deliver excellent clinical outcomes and a first-class experience for everyone who uses our services.
North Bristol NHS Trust values all people as individuals. We aim to be an anti-discriminatory organisation and are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We welcome applicants from all underrepresented groups.
Bristol is consistently voted the best place to live in the UK, with vibrant local music, arts and gastronomic scenes, a wide range of modern and state of the art shopping, recreation and leisure facilities.
We offer a permanent contract of full or part time hours in excess of 22.5 hours per week with flexible working available.
Working hours are within 08:00-19:00 Monday to Friday, partaking in a 1 in 6 Weekend rota 09:00-17:00 plus bank holidays.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities- This post provides operational support to the dispensary, clinical pharmacy and distribution teams. It is line managed by the Patient Services Leadership team.
- To assist in the day-to-day duties of the dispensary, clinical pharmacy and all aspects of patient services within the pharmacy department this includes but is not limited to reception cover, general dispensing duties, assisting with stock control and delivering to ward and department areas.
- To undertake dispensing of prescriptions in an accurate and timely manner and to use professional knowledge to ensure that such duties are performed in accordance with Good Dispensing Practice.
- Confident in the use of all digital system relating to pharmacy.
- To support the accredited medicines optimisation pharmacy technicians and pharmacists at ward level.
- To order, pick, deliver and put away drugs for pharmacy.
- Ensure compliance with Good Distribution Practice (EU GDP 2013/C 343/01) undertaken within NBT Pharmacy.
This post requires completion of relevant units of a nationally recognised training course for pharmacy support workers appropriate to the area of work. This will involve providing evidence to support knowledge and work-based competencies.
As a band 3, the post holder is then eligible to work towards PWDS Medicines Optimisation Unit 1 Managing Patients Medication Requirements. The training will take at least 6 months to 1 year.
Person specification
Essential and desirable
Essential criteria- GCSE English and Mathematics Grade A* – C
- Excellent interpersonal skills and communication skills
- Basic IT competencies - including accurate data entry
- Good written and spoken English
- Ability to work well under pressure and on own initiative
- Methodical tidy worker
- Willing to be trained and instructed
- Time management skills
- Self motivated and able to work as part of a team
- Attention to detail
- Level 2 Buttercups Pharmacy Support Worker – Dispensary units or equivalent
- Pharmacy Workforce Development South (PWDS) Dispensing Accuracy Programme/Willing to work towards
- Pharmacy Workforce Development South (PWDS) Medicines Optimisation accreditation Unit 1 Managing Patients Medication Requirement/Willing to work towards
- Completion of all NBT Patient Services Pharmacy Assistant competencies.
- Previous employment in hospital/community pharmacy
- Understanding of Wholesale Distribution Authorisation WDA (h), Good Distribution Practice (GDP) and Medicines & Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
If you apply for this vacancy and have not received a communication from North Bristol NHS Trust within three weeks of the closing date, please assume that on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful.
Please note that North Bristol NHS Trust does not reimburse travel expenses relating to interview attendance.
If you feel you meet the requirements of the Disability Act / Two Ticks scheme and require further support/advice, please contact us on tel 0117 414 1151.
North Bristol NHS Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
The successful applicant(s) will normally commence at the minimum of the scale unless they have previous NHS service at the same band. Progression through the scale is by annual increments.
At North Bristol Trust (NBT), we know diverse and inclusive environments lead to happier and healthier teams and improved patient care and outcomes. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are currently underrepresented in NBT’s workforce at Band 8a and above. These include people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled people and LGBTQIA+ people.
Please note that stringent pre-employment checks are undertaken on all successful applicants prior to commencement in post.