Job purpose Cancer Services duties: Interpreting and dispensing of prescriptions for oral chemotherapy, dose banding syringes and support drugs for oncology patients. Maintain adequate stock levels of drugs in the cancer services pharmacy and report any drug supply problems to the Lead Cancer Services Pharmacy Technician. Liaise with manufacturing and dispensary regarding supplies of drugs for patients. Assist the pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in cancer services with general admin duties e.g. finding missing notes/prescriptions, printing patient lists from Trakcare, retrieving patients from the waiting area. Assist with relevant queries from nursing staff in clinic. Handing out of medication to outpatients where appropriate according to SOP. Processing prescriptions for Homecare delivery. Dispensing: Interpreting and dispensing of prescriptions (inpatients, outpatients and discharge) according to set rota. Dispensing one-stop medication. Dispensing of controlled drugs including entering controlled drug registers, checking the balances and reporting any discrepancies to the Lead Pharmacy Technician. Dispensing into compliance aid packs. Liaising with ward staff when there are drug supply problems. Dispensing of medicines for clinical trials - completing records as per the trial protocol. Reception duties: Receiving prescriptions from the general public at the outpatient hatch. Requesting payment for prescriptions where necessary and processing financial transactions. Answering the staff hatch and dealing with requests and queries. Manning the pharmacy helpdesk and answering telephone queries from staff and patients. Referring complex queries to the appropriate member of staff. Handing out of medication to outpatients where appropriate according to SOP. Other duties: To cover ward top-ups as requested by dispensary manager/deputy dispensary manager Housekeeping and stock security/ control duties. Help manage return of unwanted medicines from wards & departments, assessing stock for reuse and credit as appropriate and destroying medicines that are unsuitable for use. Informing pharmacists/medicines management pharmacy technicians of stock unavailability. To undertake any other duties as deemed fit by the GHNHSFT management. Occasional handling of potentially hazardous substances (e.g. cytotoxic medication) in accordance with standard operating procedures and COSHH regulations. Lifting and moving light packages. Knowledge, Skills and Experience Required NVQ 2 in pharmacy services (necessary from January 05) or equivalent, or be willing to work towards this. Basic IT skills to be able to use the pharmacy computer system. Basic numeracy and literacy Will be required to complete in-house dispensing accuracy assessment Required to have full training in patient administration computer system (EMIS) To be able to work as part of a team or alone. To have appropriate dispensing experience. Communication and working relationships Communicate with and provide appropriate advice to Nurses and other health care professionals regarding medication issues within the post holders experience. Communication with Patients and Carers regarding medication issues. Communication daily with other members of the pharmacy team. An annual appraisal (development conversation) is implemented for all staff with their line manager. Safe Systems of Work Accountable for own professional actions and activities, guided by legislation, national and local policies, procedures and protocols. The post holder will be responsible for ensuring a safe working practice and environment through legislation such as the Health and Safety at Work Act and COSHH regulations, along with local policies and procedures including manual handling Regular use of VDUs for extended periods Standing and walking are required for the majority of the day Exposure to occasional verbal aggression from outpatients Participation in Weekend Working rota The post holder may be part of the weekend, late night and bank holiday working rota covering the acute trust pharmacy. Improving quality and developing practice Be competent in the use of all relevant Trust IT systems including the use of electronic patient record, email, and other systems where appropriate Maintain regular use of emails to keep abreast of information disseminated in the Trust Undertake all mandatory training