Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisento join the West Suffolk Alliance as Medicines Optimisation Team.
We are seeking an enthusiastic, self-motivatedPharmacy Technician who would like to join our friendly and innovative team.
The successful candidates will work closelywith GP practices and Primary Care Networks (PCNs) across West Suffolk,building trusted relationships and supporting the implementation of medicinesoptimisation initiatives in primary care. You will have excellent interpersonalskills and the ability to work with competing priorities and demands.
You will be responsible for undertaking arange of activities, predominantly supporting practice teams to prescribe in asafe, evidence-based, and cost-effective manner, making best use of NHSresources in West Suffolk. You will also be supported to undertake focusedpieces of work and will have a key role in helping to shape the workplan andhigher priorities of the team.
Applicantsmust have an NVQ Level 3 in Pharmacy Services or equivalent Pharmacy Technicianqualification and be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council as aPharmacy Technician.
Thisis a full-time position working Monday Friday only. Part-time hours may beconsidered for the successful candidate.Weadopt a flexible approach to working patterns, offering a mix of remote, office,and practice-based working to empower team members to optimise their performanceand delivery.
Main duties of the job
Have knowledge and understanding of the ICB Cost Improvement Programme (CIP) plan and support its implementation at practice level.
Participate in the delivery of one or more CIP projects.
Have knowledge of guidelines and policies developed in response to NICE or NHS England publications and directives such as new/revised clinical guidelines, low priority prescribing, and self-care, and support their implementation at practice level.
Build professional, trusted relationships with practice and PCN teams to ensure effective communication on issues relating to prescribing and population health needs.
Provide practices and PCN teams with timely and accurate bench marking and prescribing performance data, supporting them to manage their prescribing budgets whilst adhering to to local guidelines and the SNEE joint formulary
Analyse practice prescribing data from a variety of sources to identify key areas for improvement in safety, quality, and cost-effective prescribing. The post-holder will require excellent communication and influencing skills to challenge prescribing practice, whilst building ongoing and trusted relationships with practice staff. This may require significant mental effort.
Actively participate in, contribute to, and represent the Medicines Optimisation team at public facing events.
About us
The NHS Suffolk and North-East Essex Integrated Care Board(ICB) plans and buys healthcare services for our population. This function iscommonly referred to as commissioning. To do this, we work within a budget of around£ billion, which is set by NHS England, and work closely with localgovernment and the NHS providers in our area. Our performance is judged by howwell our local health and care system as a whole is working, including thehealth outcomes of our communities. The ICB has delegated some authority to the threehealth and wellbeing alliances that operate in Suffolk and North-East Essex toact on its behalf. This is to ensure that the needs of smaller, local areas areaddressed. The ICB remains accountable for all of its functions, includingthose it has delegated. Local residents have a big role to play in theoperation of the ICB. We rely on the experiences and perspectives of ourcommunities to help shape our decision-making.
Job description
Job responsibilities
To support system wide integration, working with wider health and care professionals to ensure that medicines practice in health and care delivery settings are joined up.
To help develop and support the implementation of a wide range of medicine optimisation strategies across West Suffolk and SNEE to:
o improve health outcomes;
o reduce avoidable harm;
o avoid waste.
To improve the health of the population by optimising the use of medicines through:
o promoting the safe, evidence-based, and cost-effective use of medicines;
o providing up to date, unbiased information about medicines, treatments, and care pathways;
o supporting practitioners and patients to make the best use of medicines;
o minimising the harm caused by medicines;
o supporting development of local guidelines and care pathways to optimise the use of medicines;
o supporting other health and care providers to deliver medicines optimisation in a way that is safe, high quality, timely, effective, and equitable.
The post-holder will work within organisational policy and professional/ethical guidelines and without supervision.
The post-holder will support ongoing improvement across all areas of Medicines Optimisation and will facilitate the implementation of change in their areas of responsibility.
The post-holder will act independently, identifying the need for and developing programmes of work aligned to their own portfolio and/or organisational priorities. Their work will be partly self-directed.
Person Specification
Other
Essential
1. Able to use Visual Display Unit equipment for prolonged periods of time and on most working days.
2. Able to work in a variety of environments, to include own home, office, and GP practices.
3. Able to travel routinely and independently across West Suffolk.
4. Able to travel independently across Suffolk and North East Essex (and occasionally further afield) as required.
Experience
Essential
5. Experience of working in health or social care.
6. Experience of delivering contentious information and/or challenging inappropriate behaviour.
7. Experience in using sources of prescribing data such as Open Prescribing and PrescQIPP.
Desirable
8. Experience of training/presenting to groups of people.
Skills
Essential
9. Able to use a keyboard to enter prescribing or financial data with a high degree of accuracy.
10. Able to document clinical information accurately, using nationally approved coding.
11. Proficient in the use of Microsoft: Outlook, Word, Excel, Power BI
12. Proficient in the use of: SystmOne, Emis Web
13. Able to interpret and explain financial and prescribing data.
14. Able to concentrate for prolonged periods of time when accuracy is paramount.
15. Able to disseminate information accurately and work collaboratively with key stakeholders.
16. Able to overcome barriers in order to have difficult conversations.
Desirable
17. Proficient in the use of Microsoft PowerPoint
18. Good presentation and training skills.
Qualifications
Essential
19. Professional knowledge acquired through NVQ Level 3 or equivalent.
20. Registered as a Pharmacy Technician with the General Pharmaceutical Council.
21. Evidence of continuing professional development to degree level.
Desirable
22. Member of the Association of Pharmacy Technicians (APTUK).
23. Certificate in Medicines Management for Pharmacy Technicians (CMMPT)
Knowledge
Essential
24. Knowledge of NHS structure and commissioning arrangements.
25. Knowledge and understanding of the role of an ICB Medicines Optimisation team.
Desirable
26. Knowledge of the Network Contract DES.
27. Knowledge of CQC and inspection process.
28. Knowledge of GP funding mechanisms as they relate to prescribing costs, including Dispensing Doctors.
Personal Attributes
Essential
29. Able to work autonomously as well as part of a team.
30. Self-motivated and able to motivate others.
31. Excellent communication skills, including the ability to influence.
32. Able to present information to a variety of people from professional and non-professional backgrounds.
33. Good interpersonal skills.