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Job summary

Main area
Pharmacy
Grade
Band 3
Contract
Fixed term: 12 months (Maternity cover)
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
249-7088294
Employer
Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Great Western Hospital
Town
Swindon
Salary
£24,625 - £25,674 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
24/04/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust logo

Pharmacy Homecare Assistant

Band 3

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is a unique organisation, serving as the sole integrated provider in the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire system. Our scope extends beyond boundaries as we oversee adult community services in Swindon and provide acute care from the Great Western Hospital. 

Our 5,500 staff have 1.2m patient contacts a year, with 13,000 operations carried out in our Theatres, around 4,000 babies born, and our emergency attendances are now well over 100,000 per year. Those numbers only tell part of our story about what an exciting time it is to join Great Western Hospitals.

We are cultivating a culture that fosters our ambitions, prioritising equality, diversion, inclusion, wellbeing, and leadership. We aim to create an environment where every member of our team can truly thrive.

The Trust is a Disability Confident Employer; all applicants who have a disability can opt to be considered under the guaranteed interview scheme, which means that, providing they meet the minimum essential criteria for the post, they will be offered an interview. We are also proudly accredited as a Veteran Aware organisation and have signed The Armed Forces Covenant.

If we receive a high volume of applications, we may close adverts prior to the published closing date. Therefore, we advise you to complete and submit your application as soon as possible.

Job overview

Are you looking to join a friendly and progressive pharmacy team, which is focused on ensuring that all our patients receive safe, clinically effective and cost-efficient medicines?

To work as a core member of the pharmacy homecare team under the supervision of the lead pharmacy technician for homecare supporting the wider team in the day-to-day processing of prescriptions and payment of invoices.

To support the homecare technician(s) to ensure the service complies with all national legislation and local policies, working closely with trust staff and with homecare. providers

Work in the dispensary dispensing prescriptions and provide support to the dispensary manager and lead technician in the day to day running of the dispensary

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will work within the pharmacy homecare team, processing prescriptions following set procedures to ensure governance is followed, creating purchase orders, and sending to the homecare provider. Processing the resulting invoices after the deliveries have been made; following our standard operating procedures.  Communicating with clinical teams and homecare providers mainly via email to ensure we give the best possible service to patients.

In joining our team, we would like you to support our culture of improving together, inspire other team members, embrace change, and demonstrate a patient-centered approach. In return, we will support you in developing your knowledge and skills, and in your future career development. 

We embrace new technologies. Our pharmacy robots are invaluable members of our team; electronic prescribing is well-established in almost all inpatient and outpatient settings at Great Western Hospital; we use CareFlow EPR electronic patient records system and NerveCentre for electronic pharmacy handover notes.

To undertake, for an agreed proportion of your time, general pharmaceutical duties, under the supervision of our Dispensary or Pharmacy Stores Manager or their deputies, and assist in the provision of a safe and effective Pharmacy service in line with current policies, procedures and legal requirements.

 

Working for our organisation

Our STAR values – Service, Teamwork, Ambition and Respect – are a golden thread running through everything we do. These values serve as a guiding principle, driving us towards our vision of delivering great joined up services to our local community. Whether at home, in the community, or within the hospital, our goal is to empower individuals to lead independent and healthier lives.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached JD & person specification for more detailed information, but your main responsibilities will include:

1.     To work with Pharmacy colleagues to provide a high quality of patient care for those patients who require homecare medicines, through good communication.

2.     To ensure the arrival of the prescriptions into the homecare team are fully documented / recorded onto the homecare systems.

3.     To supervise the work flow of the prescriptions, ensuring if they are given to screening pharmacists, that documentation is completed to manage the prescription movement

4.     To ensure that all prescription errors are documented on the appropriate spreadsheet and that the clinic is notified appropriately to collect the prescription for amendment or for a new prescription and that appropriate log-sheets are completed to allow the tracking of these.

5.     To supervise the end of shift; being responsible for all completed prescriptions that have been processed and destined for the post are included in the correct envelopes and posted.

6.     To process homecare prescriptions as per the SOPs as per the rota and to teach / mentor the homecare team as required

7.     To ensure priority prescriptions and are prioritised by the homecare team and sent appropriately to the homecare provider.

8.     To co-manage the homecare joint email box, identifying emails that are urgent and need acting upon immediately and to forward onto the homecare technician(s).

9.     To oversee the receipt of checklist of prescriptions received by the homecare providers and intervene where the homecare provider does not provide evidence of their arrival.

10.  To co-ordinate the download of the homecare invoices and saving them onto the t-drive; in order for them to be processed in order of arrival

11.  To process homecare invoices as per the SOPs as per the rota and to teach / mentor the homecare team as required

12.  As homecare providers increase the use of portals to access patient data, invoices and other information; to act as the main user.

13.  To identify and to facilitate the homecare training that is required by the homecare team pharmacy assistants.

14.  To work with the homecare technician(s) to minimise overdue invoices and to document the reason and next steps necessary.

15.  To maintain and update the ‘HELP’ files on the t-drive and within the printed file.

16.  To ensure the use of the change control and ensure the SOPs are followed and reporting to the lead homecare technician if the change control is not being used as expected

17.  To ensure the spreadsheets capture all patients that leave a homecare service, ensuring all components are completed

18.  To understand fully the processes within the homecare service module on JAC; to be able to identify problems and refer to the homecare technician(s) as necessary

19.  To maintain homecare folders on the t-drive, ensuring the content is accurate and consistent.

20.  To undertake any homecare specific training when required and ensuring all training records are updated.

21.  Answer, or refer when appropriate, telephone queries from patients, healthcare professionals and homecare suppliers whilst at all times maintaining patient confidentiality.

22.  Co-ordinate and assist in the chasing of outstanding orders to ensure continuity of supply.

 

Person specification

Education, qualifications & training

Desirable criteria
  • QCF level 2 in Pharmacy services – or willing and able to work towards

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Working within a team
  • Managing own workload to meet the needs of a service
  • Previous pharmacy experience
Desirable criteria
  • Previous hospital pharmacy experience

Knowledge & skills

Essential criteria
  • Good IT skills including Microsoft applications
  • Good literacy & numeracy skills required (assessment completed at interview)
  • Well-developed physical accuracy and dexterity
  • Able to concentrate for prolonged periods when subject to changing working patterns
  • Acts on own initiative with the appropriate level of supervision
  • Be able to provide and receive routine information where there may be barriers to understanding
  • Be able to communicate information to patients/carers regarding prescribed medication
  • Demonstrates good interpersonal skills with the ability to listen and undertake instruction
  • Demonstrates sensitivity in dealing with patients and staff
Desirable criteria
  • Knowledge of Pharmacy computer systems

Other job-related requirements

Essential criteria
  • Self-starter

Employer certification / accreditation badges

NHS Pastoral Care Quality AwardVeteran AwareApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyPositive about disabled peopleAge positiveDisability confident leaderInvestors in People: Goldhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/kickstart-scheme-employer-resources/kickstart-scheme-brand-guidelinesStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.Step into healthArmed Forces Covenant

Applicant requirements

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Graham Brown
Job title
Lead Pharmacy Technician
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
01793 607251
Additional information

Available for calls 09:00 to 17:15 Mon-Fri and for informal visits by appointment only.

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