Pharmacy Receptionist
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS TrustAt East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust our vision is to be widely recognised for providing safe, personal and effective care. We currently provide high quality services and treat over 600,000 people across East Lancashire and the surrounding area. We employ over 9,500 staff, many of whom are internationally renowned and have won awards for their work.
Job overview
Previous applicants need not apply.
The inpatient pharmacy at East Lancashire Teaching Hospital provides a range of services to patients across East Lancashire.
As a pharmacy receptionist you will receive prescriptions from customers/staff in accordance with dispensary procedures and process requests coordinated with the prescription tracker. Support the Senior Pharmacy Technicians in the Dispensary, Senior Pharmacy Assistants and assistant teams. Ensure ward medicine orders are dealt with in a timely manner seeking advice and guidance from the Senior Pharmacy Technician or Senior Pharmacy Assistant where queries and problems arise. Act as a role model within pharmacy and demonstrate the ability to provide a timely and efficient service for the customers of the pharmacy service.
We welcome requests to view the department ahead of interviews.
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At all times, follow documented standard operating procedures (SOPs). Be responsible for keeping up to date with changes to standard operating procedures
Follow strict guidance for wearing personal protective equipment and personal hygiene
Routinely clean and sanitise working area, ensuring it has been cleaned between shifts
Receive prescriptions from customers/staff in accordance with dispensary procedures
Process requests coordinated with the prescription tracker
Support the Senior Pharmacy Technicians in the Dispensary, Senior Pharmacy Assistants and assistant teams
Ensure ward medicines orders are dealt with in a timely manner seeking advice and guidance from the Senior Pharmacy Technician or Senior Pharmacy Assistant where queries and problems arise
Act as a role model within pharmacy and demonstrate the ability to provide a timely and efficient service for the customers of the pharmacy service
Answer the telephone and deal with, or redirect queries appropriately with a customer friendly approach
Liaise with a range of health care professionals, and the outpatient pharmacy to ensure the best outcome for users of the service
Work closely with the portering team to ensure medicines are ready for delivery runs
Ensure timely distribution of medicines to the wards and liaise with the pharmacy team and ward staff regarding supply problems in a timely manner
Working for our organisation
We are a big and friendly team, and we provide a full induction program to new starters.
The inpatient hospital services operate during core hours from 08:00 to 19:00. Our standard working hours are 09:00 to 17:30, with 1 in 8 weekends worked for lieu days, or overtime. We are happy to talk flex, as we have worked hard to ensure our existing team find a role to fit around commitments outside of work.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see attached job description.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The post holder will
v work under the direction of the Senior Pharmacy Technician in the Dispensary and Senior Pharmacy Assistants in the provision of a high quality, cost effective and efficient patient centred pharmacy service to the Trust
v support the governance and medicines risk management agenda locally
v support the development of the assistant teams to compliment and facilitate multidisciplinary working
v act as a role model and provide a consistently high level of communication to the Pharmacy staff and Pharmacy customers
v support the agreed policies and procedures for safe medicines use and support mechanisms to promote high quality medicine use, effective risk management, clinical governance and adherence to Trust policies and guidelines concerning medicines use
v work closely with other staff in the directorate to ensure the delivery of an integrated pharmacy service
v contribute to the development of the service
v support the ‘professional development’ of assistants
Main Duties
At all times, follow documented standard operating procedures (SOPs). Be responsible for keeping up to date with changes to standard operating procedures
Follow strict guidance for wearing personal protective equipment and personal hygiene
Routinely clean and sanitise working area, ensuring it has been cleaned between shifts
Receive prescriptions from customers/staff in accordance with dispensary procedures
Process requests coordinated with the prescription tracker
Support the Senior Pharmacy Technicians in the Dispensary, Senior Pharmacy Assistants and assistant teams
Ensure ward medicines orders are dealt with in a timely manner seeking advice and guidance from the Senior Pharmacy Technician or Senior Pharmacy Assistant where queries and problems arise
Act as a role model within pharmacy and demonstrate the ability to provide a timely and efficient service for the customers of the pharmacy service
Undertake waste management and disposal of returned pharmaceutical products which may include hazardous material, following standard operating procedures
Maintain the shelves and storage areas in a neat and tidy manner ensuring good rotation of stock
Maintain accurate records of ‘To-Follows’. Liaise with the Senior Pharmacy Technician or Senior Pharmacy Assistant – Medicines Management regarding stockholding problems
Ensure adherence to standard operating procedures
Answer the telephone and deal with, or redirect queries appropriately with a customer friendly approach
Liaise with a range of health care professionals, and the outpatient pharmacy to ensure the best outcome for users of the service
Work closely with the portering team to ensure medicines are ready for delivery runs
Ensure timely distribution of medicines to the wards and liaise with the pharmacy team and ward staff regarding supply problems in a timely manner
Support of Medicines Management
Liaise with the Dispensary Team Leader, Senior Pharmacy Technician - Dispensary or Senior Pharmacy Assistant on a day to day basis to support the smooth running of the dispensary
Deal with queries, requests from customers at the Pharmacy reception and on the telephone to ensure medicines are returned to the ward or clinical area in a timely manner
Ensure all work is logged into the dispensary correctly
Ensure advance prescriptions are placed in the concertina file for repeat dispensing and repeat outpatient antibiotic prescriptions are dispensed and ready for the outpatient nurses to collect when required
Greet customers of the pharmacy department politely, promptly maintaining privacy and confidentiality throughout and ensure that correct procedures are followed at all times
Ensure that the outpatient prescription declaration is complete
Operate within the limitations of the job role
Ensure the delivery bags for the pharmacy dispensary are ready and labelled correctly. Ensure there are enough delivery bags in the department to ensure safe transportation of medicines
Assist in all housekeeping duties within the Pharmacy Department
Support and assist new starters within their training period
Undertake general clerical duties including filing and the daily cleaning
Maintain adequate copies of patient information leaflets (PIL) and DOAC leaflets for the dispensary on a weekly basis
Ensure the pharmacy has adequate supply of address labels for sending stock bags out to wards
Clinical Governance
Support the pharmacy clinical governance agenda
Support the investigation of incidents and complaints in the Pharmacy
Contribute to risk assessments
Report incidents and near misses following guidance from departmental and Trust wide policies
Keep up-to-date with memos and emails within the department and attend meetings regularly, contributing when necessary
Pharmacy Practice
Deal with queries and requests from patients and staff at the Pharmacy reception and on the telephone in a timely manner
Ensure medication is dispensed to meet agreed delivery times and to minimise waiting times for patients
Receive prescriptions from hospital staff in accordance with dispensary procedures
Prioritise prescriptions according to urgency. Inform ward staff of prescription progress where necessary
Ensure that the exemption status of patients is checked in order to accurately collect prescription fees
Be responsible for handling small amounts of money or bank card transactions for prescription charges
Check if the money and card transactions balance after a weekend and take the money to General Office and report any discrepancies to the Senior Pharmacy Technician - Dispensary
Replenish medicines boxes for designated clinics and inform the Senior Pharmacy Technician-Dispensary if there are discrepancies
Receive stocklists/orders from wards/departments and forward to stores for processing
Hand out topical treatments to Infection Control Nurses, making sure stock is booked out and replenished as needed
Order dispensary sundries from Burnley General Teaching Hospital Pharmacy Department and ensure stock is put away in a timely manner
Top up stock in the dispensary on a weekly basis
Replace pharmaceutical waste bins as necessary
Communication
Adapt your communication style to be able to share information.
Participate in regular meetings and huddles.
Communicate important information accurately in both written and verbal forms.
Check the identity of a person before handing over any medicines
Comply with current legislation, policy and good practice
Ensure communication between all assistants and other members of pharmacy and the healthcare team
Ability to keep information confidential
Ensure an up-to-date audit trail is in place for items that are podded to a ward making sure that correct procedures are followed at all times
Use Slack and e-mails; respond to queries in a timely and friendly manner.
Answer the telephone; respond to queries in a timely and friendly manner.
Training and Development
Support and contribute to the training of pharmacy assistants and Student Pharmacy Technicians who are undertaking in-house training in reception duties
Undertake, comment and perform in accordance with the pharmacy structure; Personal Development Reviews (PDR) and the development of Personal Development Plans (PDP) for staff
Work closely with the Senior Pharmacy Technician - Education and Training and support measures to assess the competence of pharmacy assistants e.g. competency assessment framework
Contribute to education and training in pharmacy
Identify own training needs and maintain a portfolio of practice
Medicines and Resource Management
Support the implementation of IT solutions to improve the quality of medicines management
Audit, Research and Development
Support pharmacy involvement in medicines related clinical audit
Support audits and practice research within the Pharmacy Directorate
Professional Responsibilities
Act as an Ambassador for the Trust
Oversee standards of behaviour and customer care so that patients, visitors and staff have a positive impression, feel confident in the professionalism of staff and feel that they are respected
Ensure that personal actions and conduct comply with Trust safety policies, procedures and guidelines
Promote the equality, diversity and rights of patients, visitors and colleagues
General
Participate in the weekend service, and Bank Holiday service on a rota basis
Maintain satisfactory personal performance and professional standards and to achieve, where possible, agreed objectives described in the Annual Staff Appraisal system undertaken by the line manager
Be aware of and apply relevant legislation such as Health and Safety at Work Act, COSSH, Medicines Act, GMP, GDP etc
Nothing omitted or written here shall absolve the post holder from at all times ensuring that correct, professional techniques, ethics, attitudes and procedures are maintained by his or herself or the staff for whom he/she is responsible
To undertake any other relevant duties, as may be required by the Clinical Director of Pharmacy
Post holders are expected to work flexibly within their pay band. They should only be expected to carry out activities for which they are competent. Alternatively they may carry out the additional duties if they are receiving support or training in order to obtain the recognised level of competence.
Dear Potential Applicant,
It is important you are made aware of the following as regards your application to East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
- Please note that the salary advertised is for full time hours. If this post is less than 37.5 hours per week, the salary will be pro-rata. For posts on Agenda for Change pay-scales, new entrants to the NHS will normally commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.
- This vacancy may close before the closing date if the recruiting manager deems sufficient applications have been received. Therefore it is advised to complete your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
- Please ensure you check the email account from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.
- Please note that shortlisting is completed anonymously with candidates being assessed against the essential criteria for the post. Therefore only applicants, who can clearly demonstrate how they meet our person specification criteria in their application, will be short-listed.
Disclosure and Barring Scheme (DBS)
If the role you are applying for is identified as either controlled or regulated activity as defined in in the Safeguarding vulnerable Groups Act (2006) any offer of employment is provisional upon a satisfactory DBS check being obtained.
The healthcare sector is exempted from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
In line with other NHS organisations in the North West Region, the Trust is now passing the charge for undertaking a DBS check on to candidates in the event they are successfully appointed into the post for which they have applied. Candidates can choose whether to pay this over 1-3 months as a deduction from the monthly salary. However, if you are applying for a post as a BANK worker, the payment must be made in full at the time of employment checks. By applying for this vacancy you are agreeing to this undertaking in the event you are successfully appointed.
The cost of an Enhanced Disclosure will be £55.38 and for a Standard Disclosure will be £27.38.
This cost is not applicable for a Volunteer post
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The Trust is an equal opportunities employer, committed to improving the working lives of our staff and operates a 'Zero Tolerance' policy to aggression, violence, bullying and harassment. In addition, our aim is to help protect children and vulnerable adults by providing a first-class service to the recruitment of people into positions of trust.
We aim to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve.
We welcome applications from everyone irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, disability or social background.
We especially welcome applications from members of our black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, as we have identified that ELHT has an under-representation of BAME employees. Appointments will be made on merit.
Applicants who have a disability and meet the essential criteria for the job will be interviewed if you indicate you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme.
If you require a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process please make the recruitment services team aware as soon as possible. By telephone 01254 732075 or email [email protected] or write to Employment Services, Parkview Offices, Haslingden Road, Blackburn, BB2 3HH