Job summary
Kearsley Medical Centre are seeking to recruit a Care Home Pharmacy Technician on behalf of Farnworth and Kearsley PCN, to assist and support a Care Home Pharmacist in the oversight of medications for residents of care homes within the PCN.
Main duties of the job
Pharmacy technicians play animportant role, complementing clinical pharmacists, community pharmacists andother members of the PCN multi-disciplinary team to lead improvements tomaximise safe, cost effective best practice in prescribing to improve thequality of patient care for patients residing within Care Homes withinFarnworth & Kersley PCN. The post holder will help patients to get the bestfrom their medicines by switching medications to agreed and approved protocols,improving repeat prescribing processes in General Practice, including promotionof repeat dispensing and online ordering, minimising clinical risk and aimingto reduce wasted medicines. In addition, the post holder will be responsiblefor encouraging the development of better understanding of the principles ofmedicines optimisation throughout the practice teams and promoting goodpractice in line with therapeutic developments. This will involve assisting thePCN in achieving national requirements, NICE implementation and utilisation ofmedicines optimisation initiatives.
About us
Kearsley MedicalCentre is based in South Bolton, close to the A666 and provide care toapproximately 13,500 patients. We are a training practice and support traineeGPs as well as our employed staff in the development of their career.
We have a friendlyteam of 40+ members of staff, plus additional network staff, who workcollaboratively to delivery best care to the patients in our community.
Job description
Job responsibilities
1. Medication support
Undertake patient facing and patient supporting roles toensure effective medicines use, through shared decision-making conversationswith care home patients/advocates.
2. Medicationreview/reconciliation
As determined by the PCN, support medication reviews andmedicines reconciliation for new care home patients and synchronising medicinesfor patient transfers between care settings, linking with local communitypharmacies.
3. SMR support
Support the Care Home Pharmacist in Structure MedicationReviews (SMR) organise necessary monitoring tests prior to SMR.
4. Medicine information to practice and care home staff
Answers relevant medicine-relatedenquiries from GPs, other network staff, other healthcare teams ( communitypharmacy) and care home staff with queries about medicines, within thecompetencies of your role. Escalate anything outside of your remit to the CareHome Pharmacist, Prescribing Lead or other appropriate clinician.
5. Telephone/email medicinessupport
Provide telephone or emailsupport for care home staff with questions, queries and concerns aboutresidents medicines, within your competencies.
6. Public health
Provide expertise to address both the public health andsocial care needs of patients, including lifestyle advice, service information,and help in tackling local health inequalities.
7. Shared CareProtocols
Manage shared care protocols and liaise with ClinicalPharmacists for more complex patients.
8. InappropriateAntibiotic prescribing
Support initiatives for antimicrobial stewardship to reduceinappropriate antibiotic prescribing locally.
9. Medicationordering processes
Assist in the development and adhere to efficient orderingand return processes and reducing medication wastage, supporting the receptionteam in implementing any medication ordering processes.
10. Training andsupport
Provide training and support on the legal, safe and securehandling of medicines, including the implementation of the ElectronicPrescription Service (EPS).
11. Workingrelationships
Develop relationships with other pharmacy professionals andmembers of the multi-disciplinary team to support integration across health andsocial care including primary care, community pharmacy, secondary care andmental health. Including but not limited to: GPs, nurses, social prescribers,paramedics
12. Nationalprescribing policies
Support the implementation of national prescribing policiesand guidance within the PCN in relation to Care Home residents.
13. IIF
Work towards any Pharmacy relatedIIF targets. Work with team members and Prescribing Lead to develop andimplement plans to achieve IIF targets and update PCN accordingly.
14. Participation inmeetings
Participate and engage in monthlypharmacy team meeting to discuss workload, highlight any issues, adapt anylearning from team members or Prescribing Lead, identify, plan and update anytargets, and any other role relevant meetings as needed.
15. Care Quality Commission
Work with the Lead Employer teamto ensure the PCN is compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved.
16. Information management
Analyse, interpret and presentmedicines data to highlight issues and risks to support decision making.
Professional development
Work with your line manager toundertake continual personal and professional development, taking an activepart in reviewing and developing the role and responsibilities. Adhere toorganisational policies and procedures, including confidentiality,safeguarding, lone working, information governance, and health and safety.
Work with your line manager toaccess regular clinical supervision, to enable you to deal effectively withthe difficult issues that people present.
Review yearly progress anddevelop clear plans to achieve results within priorities set by others.
Participate in the delivery offormal education programmes.
Demonstrate an understanding ofcurrent educational policies relevant to working areas of practice and keep upto date with relevant clinical practice.
Research and Evaluation
Critically evaluate and reviewliterature.
Identify where there is a gapin the evidence base to support practice.
Generate evidence suitable forpresentations at PCN and local level.
Apply research evidence baseinto the workplace.
Health and Safety/Risk Management
Must comply at all times withthe Health and Safety policies, in particular following safe working proceduresand reporting incidents using the organisations Incident Reporting Systems
Comply with the Data ProtectionAct (2018) and the Access to Health Records Act (1990).
Special working conditions
The post holder is required totravel independently between work sites and to attend meetings etc hosted byother agencies.
Miscellaneous
Work as part of the team toseek feedback, continually improve the service and contribute to businessplanning.
Undertake any tasks consistentwith the level of the post and the scope of the role, ensuring that work isdelivered in a timely and effective manner.
Duties may vary from time totime, without changing the general character of the post or the level ofresponsibility.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
1. BTEC/NVQ level 3 or equivalent in pharmaceutical sciences
2. Professional registration with GPhC
Desirable
3. Evidence of continued professional development (CPD)
Experience
Essential
4. Experience of working as a qualified, registered pharmacy technician in primary care, community or hospital pharmacy
5. Demonstrate ability to influence and persuade partners and stakeholders of the respective merits of different options, innovations, new opportunities and challenges
Knowledge, skills and qualities
Essential
6. Demonstrates use of appropriate communication to gain the cooperation of relevant stakeholders (including patients, senior and peer colleagues, and other professionals, other NHS/private organisations, CCGs)
7. Is able to recognise personal limitations and refer to more appropriate colleague(s) when necessary
8. Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when working with individuals
9. Able to work under pressure and meet deadlines
10. Has a planned and organised approach with an ability to prioritise their own workload to meet strict deadlines
11. Ability to maintain effective working relationships and to promote collaborative practice with all colleagues
12. Demonstrates personal accountability, emotional resilience and works well under pressure
13. Ability to organise, plan and prioritise on own initiative, including when under pressure and meeting deadlines
14. High level of written and oral communication skills
15. Ability to work flexibly and enthusiastically within a team or on own initiative
16. Works effectively independently and as a member of a team
17. Knowledge of and ability to work to policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, and health and safety
18. Relevant advanced theoretical and practical knowledge of Primary Care Networks, General Practice and evidence based medicine
19. Awareness of systems to support management of patients in a primary care setting, delivering pharmaceutical input and support in the context of pathways of care and the business of the organisation(s)
20. Good clinical pharmacy knowledge including terminology
21. Knowledge of IT systems, including ability to use word processing skills, emails and the internet to create simple plans and reports
22. Able to obtain and analyse complex technical information.
23. An appreciation of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for the improvement of prescribing
24. Able to identify and resolve risk management issues according to policy/protocol.
25. An excellent understanding of data protection and confidentiality issues
26. Knowledge and understanding of pharmacy law and ethics and current legislation
27. Meets DBS reference standards and has a clear criminal record, in line with the law on spent convictions
28. Self Motivation
29. Safeguarding and other mandatory training
30. Immunisation status
31. Access to own transport and ability to travel across the locality on a regular basis, including to visit care homes
Desirable
32. An appreciation of the NHS agenda and Government targets
33. Able to plan, manage, monitor and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long term conditions
34. Adaptable
35. Demonstrates accountability for delivering professional expertise and direct service provision