Bute House Medical Centre is a forward-thinking and well-respected teaching and training practice in the heart of Luton, Bedfordshire, and cares for a diverse population of 10,700 patients.
We are a pro-active practice in Luton, and have an exciting opportunity for a hardworking, enthusiastic, and innovative pharmacy technician to join our Pharmacy team. You will benefit from regular tutorials and clinical supervision, the opportunity to be actively involved in how your role evolves over time, and the chance to work within a highly motivated, dedicated multi-disciplinary team. We aim to deliver services that improve the health and wellbeing of our population and enhance job satisfaction for our staff.
We support the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective holistic care to the population we serve through the sharing of best practices and ensuring an equitable approach to enable effective team working. Our partners have strong links with the local VTS, the ICB including representation on the local Prescribing Committee, and with secondary care.
Our team currently consists of 5 GP Partners, 2 Salaried GPs, 2 nurses, HCA, TNA, 2 pharmacists, Practice Manager, Deputy Practice Manager, Operational Lead, 5 admin and reception team members, 2 medical secretaries, a mental health link worker, a social prescribing navigator, and a supportive admin and management team.
Main duties of the job
The role will involve working independently and within a highly motivated additional roles team to support the further development of our prescribing systems and pathways, ensuring safe, effective, and efficient prescribing within practice.
About us
At Bute House Medical Centre, we are committed to providing the highest standard of care, guided by a set of core values that define who we are and how we serve our patients and community. These values shape our everyday interactions and ensure that we maintain a professional, compassionate, and inclusive environment.
Luton is a large town, borough, and unitary authority area of Bedfordshire, 25 minutes from central London. Luton is home to Championship team Luton Town Football Club (Hatters FC), London Luton Airport, and The University of Bedfordshire.
Job responsibilities
Pharmacy technicians play an important role, complementing clinical pharmacists and community pharmacists. The purpose of the Pharmacy Technician Role is to lead improvements that maximize safe, cost-effective best practices in prescribing to improve the quality of patient care. The post holder will support patients to get the best from their medicines by switching medications to agreed and approved protocols, improving repeat prescribing and drug monitoring processes in General Practice, including the promotion of repeat dispensing and online ordering, minimizing clinical risk, and aiming to reduce wasted medicines. In addition, the post holder will be responsible for encouraging the development of better understanding of the principles of medicines optimization throughout the practice teams and promoting good practice in line with therapeutic developments. This will involve assisting the practice in achieving national requirements, NICE implementation, and utilization of medicines optimization initiatives.
Key Responsibilities
This is a guide, and duties may vary depending on practice priorities.
Clinical
* Undertake patient-facing and patient-supporting roles to ensure effective medicines use through shared decision-making conversations with patients.
* Carry out medicines optimization tasks including effective medicine administration (e.g., checking inhaler technique), supporting medication reviews, and medicines reconciliation.
* Utilize consultation skills to work in partnership with patients to ensure they use their medicines effectively.
* Monitor high-risk medicines according to local systems and processes.
* Support medication reviews and medicines reconciliation for new care home patients and synchronizing medicines for patient transfers between care settings, linking with local community pharmacies.
* Support the delivery of Structured Medication Reviews.
* Provide expertise to address both the public health and social care needs of patients, including lifestyle advice, service information, and help in tackling local health inequalities.
* Manage shared care protocols and liaise with Clinical Pharmacists and other MDT members for more complex patients.
* Support initiatives for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing locally.
Technical and Administrative
* Implement policies and effective processes for medicines governance including controlled drugs and repeat prescribing and drug monitoring.
* Ensure all information, including allergy, is recorded accurately and contemporaneously.
* Identify missing information, discrepancies, and errors on repeat prescription requests and resolve according to local policy and procedures.
* Support the team to ensure efficient medicines optimization processes are being followed.
* Implement efficient ordering and return processes and reduce medication wastage.
* Provide training and support on the legal, safe, and secure handling of medicines, including the implementation of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS).
* Promote Electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD) and online ordering.
* Develop relationships with other pharmacy professionals and members of the multidisciplinary team to support integration across health and social care including primary care, community pharmacy, secondary care, and mental health.
* Support practice reception teams in streaming general prescription requests, so as to allow GPs and clinical pharmacists to review the more clinically complex requests.
* Support the implementation of national prescribing policies and guidance within GP practice, care homes, and other primary care settings.
* Support the practice to deliver on QIPP agenda, QOF, and locally commissioned enhanced services. Support the practice in reviewing and developing practice policies for CQC requirements.
* Complete audits and reviews as requested.
Person Specification
Experience
* Experience of working as a qualified, registered pharmacy technician in primary care, community, or hospital pharmacy.
* Experience of working within multi-professional team environments.
* Experience of working with elderly or vulnerable people, complying with best practice and relevant legislation.
Qualifications
* Professional registration with GPhC.
* BTEC/NVQ level 3 or equivalent in pharmaceutical sciences.
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.
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