Job summary
The post holder will work with an established ClinicalPharmacist team across the PCN and will be assigned a lead clinical andoperational contact. This post is part of the Additional Roles ReimbursementScheme for PCNs funded by NHS England and includes fundedaccess to the PrimaryCare Pharmacy Education Pathwaypilot forpharmacy technicians.
The ambition is to better utilise the role of pharmacy withinprimary care to pro-actively help patients stay safe and well and out ofhospital as well as helping to reduce the demands on general practice.
The post holder is a Pharmacy Technician, who acts withintheir professional boundaries, supporting pharmacists in general practice toensure effective and efficient use of medicines. In this role they will besupervised by a pharmacist who will develop, manage and mentor them.
The Pharmacy technicians core role responsibilities willcover clinical, technical and administrative categories.
The post holder will work as part of a multi-disciplinaryteam and this role involves provision of technical support for the pharmacyservice to ensure professional operational standards and excellence inpharmaceutical care and safety are maintained.
The role will support the practices within Haywards HeathCentral PCN to ensure the delivery of safe, effective and efficient systems formedicines related clinical correspondence; repeat prescribing, medicinesoptimisation, reducing medicines waste and maximising patient outcomes.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will support training and development ofadministrators to support safe, effective and efficient processes involvingmedicines with a particular focus on repeat prescribing processes and will alsoprovide support to general practice staff and patients regarding prescriptionand medication queries. They will also help to develop and improve repeatprescribing & medicines reconciliation processes and systems for saferprescribing.
The post holder will ensure that the service is integratedwith community and hospital pharmacy to improve patient outcomes. The pharmacytechnicians will work closely with the ICB Medicines Optimisation teams,community pharmacists and hospital pharmacy teams to support an integratedapproach to prescribing and medicines optimisation which works towards sharedgoals.
The post holder will be supported in terms of professionaldevelopment through a structured programme of local education. Peer-support isprovided from within the PCN, supported by a local pharmacy network.
The post holder will also support quality improvement andmanage some aspects of the quality and outcomes framework and enhanced servicesand contribute to the delivery of the local medicines optimisationstrategy.
About us
Alliancefor Better Care CIC is a GP Federation that unites 47 NHS GP practices across12 Primary Care Networks in Sussex and Surrey. We support our Primary Carecolleagues as well as their patients, to transform how healthcare is managedwithin the community.
As a membership organisation, our focus is to work in partnership with ourmembers and help them to improve the provision of General Practices in thelocal area. We work with and listen to our GP Practices, PCNs, Hospitals, CommunityOrganisations and the Third Sector. These vital partnerships ensure that,together, we deliver a truly integrated approach that offers the support andexpertise needed to effectively serve our communities.
Haywards Heath Central Primary Care Network is an NHSCollaboration between two GP Practices Dolphins Practice and Newtons Practice- working together to provide enhanced access services.
Our surgery teams work closely, sharing expertise andresources to develop new services. Our vision is to continue to improve thequality of care that we provide in alignment with the needs of our patientpopulation.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Primary Duties and Areas ofResponsibility
Clinical
Undertake patient facing and patient supporting roles to ensureeffective medicines use, through shared decision-making conversations withpatients.
Carry out medicines optimisation tasks including effectivemedicine administration ( checking inhaler technique), supportingmedication reviews and medicines reconciliation. Where required, utiliseconsultation skills to work in partnership with patients to ensure they usetheir medicines effectively.
As determined by the PCN, support medication reviews and medicinesreconciliation for new care home patients and synchronising medicines forpatient transfers between care settings, linking with local communitypharmacies.
Support the Clinical Pharmacist in Structure Medication Reviews(SMR) organise necessary monitoring tests prior to SMR.
Provide expertise to address both the public health and socialcare needs of patients, including lifestyle advice, service information, andhelp in tackling local health inequalities.
Manage shared care protocols and liaise with Clinical Pharmacistsfor more complex patients.
Support initiatives for antimicrobial stewardship to reduceinappropriate antibiotic prescribing locally.
Technicaland Administrative
Support thePCN multi-disciplinary team to ensure efficient medicines optimisationprocesses are being followed.
Supportmedications reconciliation for patients when they are discharged from hospital.
Implement efficient ordering and return processes and reducingmedication wastage.
Providetraining and support on the legal, safe and secure handling of medicines,including the implementation of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS).
Promotion of Electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD) and onlineordering.
Develop relationships with other pharmacy professionals andmembers of the multidisciplinary team to support integration across health andsocial care including primary care, community pharmacy, secondary care andmental health.
Support practice reception teams in streaming general prescriptionrequests, so as to allow GPs and clinical pharmacists to review the moreclinically complex requests.
Support the implementation of national prescribing policies andguidance within GP practices, care homes and other primary care settings.
Support the PCN to deliver on QIPP agenda, QOF and locallycommissioned enhanced services.
Support the PCN in reviewing and developing practice policies forCQC requirements.
General
The post-holder will:
1. Be committed to a culture that promotes equality and values diversity,actively promote Equality and Diversity issues relevant to the post and complywith relevant ABC policies.
2. Ensure the principles of openness, transparency and candour are observedand upheld in practices.
3. Acquire through training provided by ABC CIC, the appropriate level ofsafeguarding knowledge, skills and practice required and comply with relevantABC safeguarding policies.
4. Ensure that any infection prevention and control issues are reported tothe line manager in accordance with Infection Prevention and Control guidelines
Equality and diversity
The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights ofpatients, carers and colleagues, to include:
5. Acting in a way that recognises the importance of peoples rights,interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures andpolicies, and current legislation
6. Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of all patients,carers and colleagues
7. Behaving in a manner which is non-judgmental and respectful of peoplescircumstances, feelings, priorities and rights
Personal/Professional development:
The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented bythe Practices/GP Federation as part of this employment, with such training toinclude:
8. Participation in an annual individual performance review, includingtaking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/orprofessional development
9. Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance anddemonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work
Quality:
The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the practices andwill:
10. Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk
11. Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, eitherdirectly or under supervision
12. Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and teamactivities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teamsperformance
13. Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patientsneeds
14. Effectively manage own time, workload and resources
Please see full job description for further information.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
15. Professional registration with GPhC
16. BTEC/NVQ level 3 or equivalent in pharmaceutical sciences
17. Experience of working as a qualified, registered pharmacy technician in primary care, community, or hospital pharmacy
Desirable
18. Evidence of continued professional development (CPD)
19. Demonstrate ability to influence and persuade partners and stakeholders of the respective merits of different options, innovations, new opportunities, and challenges
Knowledge and Understanding
Essential
20. Relevant theoretical and practical knowledge of Primary Care Networks, General Practice and evidence-based medicine
21. 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)
22. Good clinical pharmacy knowledge including terminology
23. An appreciation of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for the improvement of prescribing
24. Knowledge and understanding of pharmacy law, ethics and current legislation
Desirable
25. Understanding of NHS long term plan and priorities relevant to primary care
26. Awareness of funding systems to enable GP clinical pharmacist services to assist delivery of PCN and NHS priorities and requirements for financial balance and quality
Skills and Competencies
Essential
27. Computer literate with an ability to use Microsoft office packages
28. Able to analyse and interpret prescribing data
29. Has attention to detail, able to work accurately, identifying errors quickly and easily
30. Able to effectively manage allocated resources
31. Has a planned and organised approach with an ability to prioritise their own workload to meet strict deadlines
32. Able to think analytically; anticipating obstacles and thinking ahead; using analytical techniques to draw logical solutions to problems
33. Excellent verbal and written communication skills with team members, patients, carers, and other healthcare professionals, whilst recognising peoples needs for alternative methods of communication
34. Influencing and negotiating skills
35. An excellent understanding of data protection and confidentiality issues
Desirable
36. Computer literate with an ability to use the required GP clinical systems
Attributes
Essential
37. Works effectively independently and as a member of a team
38. Flexible approach to meet service needs and ensure a stakeholder focused response
39. Self-motivated and proactive
40. Continued commitment to improve skills and ability in new areas of work
41. Able to undertake the demands of the post with reasonable adjustments if required
42. Independently mobile to be able to work across several sites and travel to meet with stakeholders
43. Adaptability, flexibility and ability to cope with uncertainty and change
44. Demonstrate ability to work in a busy environment; ability to deal with both urgent and important tasks and to prioritise effectively whilst also supporting others
45. Excellent time keeping and prioritisation skills
Behaviours and Values
Essential
46. Works effectively independently and as a member of a team
47. Flexible approach to meet service needs and ensure a stakeholder focused response
48. Self-motivated and proactive
49. Continued commitment to improve skills and ability in new areas of work
50. Able to undertake the demands of the post with reasonable adjustments if required
51. Independently mobile to be able to work across sites and travel to meet with stakeholders
52. Adaptability, flexibility and ability to cope with uncertainty and change
53. Demonstrate ability to work in a busy environment; ability to deal with both urgent and important tasks and to prioritise effectively whilst also supporting others
54. Excellent time keeping and prioritisation skills