Senior Paediatric Pharmacy Technician-Paediatric Intensive Care

Guys & St Thomas Hospital; London; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 44,000; Full time

Job description

Senior Paediatric Pharmacy Technician-Paediatric Intensive Care

NHS AfC: Band 5

Main area: Pharmacy

Grade: NHS AfC: Band 5

Contract: Permanent

Shift Pattern: 9am-5.30pm Monday to Friday, with 9am-5pm for rostered weekends and bank holidays. Late duty as per roster 9.30am-6pm

Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week

Job ref: 196-LIS9385

Employer: Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Employer type: NHS

Site: Evelina London Children's Hospital

Town: London

Salary: £35,964 - £43,780 p.a. inc. HCA

Salary period: Yearly

Closing: 06/04/2025 23:59

Job overview

A fantastic opportunity has arisen in our Paediatric Intensive Care pharmacy team for an enthusiastic and highly motivated pharmacy technician, who is looking for a new challenge to develop their career within paediatrics.

Working as part of the Paediatric Intensive Care pharmacy team at the Evelina London Children's Hospital Pharmacy, you will play a role in the safe delivery of pharmaceutical care to this group of Paediatric patients and management of high risk medications e.g. intravenous drugs. Working in a structured environment providing support to the wider team to meet key directorate targets.

If you are seeking to expand your clinical skills and help to improve patient safety, making a difference to children's care then this is your ideal job.

The post offers a chance to contribute to the continued development of pharmacy services within the children's hospital.

If applying, please make sure you are available to attend in person for an interview on this date as alternative dates cannot be offered.

Main duties of the job

The post is suitable for patient-focused technician with good interpersonal skills who are sensitive to the needs of the patients and their carers. You would require excellent communication and team working skills. Able to work independently and be flexible to adapt to the changing service demands meeting any set deadlines. The role is embedded in the ward teams by supporting our nursing/medical and pharmacy teams to resolve any medicines management issues.

You will be responsible for providing a safe, efficient and accurate ward-based pharmacy service for hospital inpatients by liaising closely with pharmacists, nursing and medical staff on wards.

You will already possess an accredited checking pharmacy technician (ACPT) qualification.

For all pharmacy technician posts you require to have successfully completed an NVQ Pharmaceutical Services Level 3 or equivalent and be registered as a Pharmacy Technician with the General Pharmaceutical Council.

Working for our organisation

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust comprises five of the UK’s best known hospitals – Guy’s, St Thomas’, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield – as well as community services in Lambeth and Southwark, all with a long history of high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation.

The Pharmacy departments of Guys and St Thomas’ provide safe and effective pharmaceutical ward and dispensary services to the many inpatients and outpatients of the Trust’s many specialities.

The post holder must demonstrate their commitment to upholding the Trust values, within which we carry out our roles:

Ambitious – we innovate and strive for excellence

Inclusive – we respect each other and work collaboratively

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Operational

• Provide a pharmaceutical Medicines Management service to patients. This includes:
  • Record accurate written medication reconciliations for newly admitted and transferred patients.
  • Assessing Patients own Drugs for suitability for use in the Trust.
  • Communicating detailed information to patients/carers about drug doses, indications, side effects and efficacy.
  • Liaising widely (e.g. GP staff, patients, carers etc.) to ensure the timely availability of patients medication.
  • Reviewing and ordering patient specific medication for new and repeat items to ensure timely and cost-effective supplies using the departments MMP system.
  • Reviewing MMP medications, ordering and dispensing TTO prescriptions to ensure availability of stock to ensure timely supply for patient discharge.
  • Ensure all relevant medicines are transferred with the patient throughout their journey, to minimise wastage including aseptic products.
  • Final check of clinically screened discharge medicines against the TTO before release to the patient.
• Participate in the dispensing and checking of controlled drugs. Ensuring appropriate storage, accuracy and record keeping is followed.
• Participating in the three monthly CD stock checks and safe and secure storage audits.
• Provide a safe and efficient supply of pharmaceutical products to patients. This may involve the:
  • Dispensing and final checking of drug products and compliance aids after screening by Pharmacist.
  • Working in the dispensary on a session basis, ensuring that good dispensing practices are followed. Ensure that procedures relating to good dispensing practice are followed, and encourage and maintain high standards and orderly methods of working.
• Assist in the delivery of all aspects of storage, record keeping, stock control and stock rotation on the wards, dispensary and specified Directorate.
• Responsible for the operational delivery of the medicine packs for the South Thames Retrieval Service (STRS).
• Assist in project work as required.

Stock Control

• Supervise stock and consumable management in the pharmacy on wheels (POWs)/pharmacy satellite areas, including stock checks, stock rotation, expiry date checks and relevant documentation.
• Assist with the review of ward stock lists to reduce risk and wastage. Including periodic review of the South Thames Retrieval Service medicine pack contents.
• Participate in the problem solving of incorrect stock levels, generated by stock checks and adhoc queries.
• Responsible for the management of medicine waste and medication returns. Ensuring recycling and destruction procedures are adhered to.
• Participate in the investigation and required actions of drug alerts/recalls and out of stocks.

Management and Supervision

• Assist in the supervision of pharmacy assistants, pre-registration trainee pharmacy technicians, qualified technicians, trainee pharmacists and junior pharmacists, to ensure that work is conducted to a high standard and in accordance with Standard Operating Procedures.

Quality Management and Clinical Governance

• Ensures that the Trust and departmental Health and Safety policies and procedures are understood and adhered to by all staff working in the team.
• Assist in the collection and preparation of workload quality and financial indicators.

Training

• Participate in the education and training of multidisciplinary staff (e.g. doctors/nurses) as required.
• Undertake CPD and to attend courses in practice areas where needs are identified.
• Participate in the department performance review scheme by attending regular review sessions with the principal paediatric pharmacy technician - ward service.
• Participate in the induction and training of volunteers, pharmacy assistants, pre-registration trainee pharmacy technicians, qualified technicians, trainee pharmacist and junior pharmacists.
• Participate in the assessments and appraisals of the pharmacy assistants, pre-registration trainee pharmacy technicians and qualified technicians.

Research and Development

• Routinely gathers data for the audit of services and assists with analysis.

Other Duties

• Participate in the departmental performance review scheme by attending regular review sessions with the Principal Paediatric Pharmacy Technician – Ward Services.
• Participate in the Evelina London pharmacy and paediatric intensive care pharmacy meetings and training sessions.
• Participate in the various departmental rotas, including weekend, bank holiday and late night rotas.
• Participate in any other duties requested by the pharmacy operations manager and principal paediatric pharmacy technicians.
• Work in line with trust policies and procedures.

Person specification

Skills

• Dispense accurately to set standards
• Counsel and give advice to patients/their carers on their/child’s medications
• Final check of clinically screened prescriptions
• Accurately record patient medicine reconciliation
• Accurately assess suitability of patient’s own medication
• Work independently and accurately under pressure
• Prioritise and organise routine daily tasks using own initiative
• Plan, organise and deliver training and assessment
• Motivate self and others
• Communicate routine, more complex and sensitive information effectively using clear written and spoken English and overcome barriers to understanding, to a diverse group of staff patients and carers
• Clearly and accurately complete complex routine and non-routine documentation
• Work to set procedures
• Pharmacy computer and IT skills
• Write standard operating procedures
• Using Epic computer system - Electronic prescribing and medicine administrations (ePMA) records.
• Delivering induction and training
• Undertake recruitment and selection of pharmacy staff
• Working in multi-disciplinary teams

Experience

• Working in a busy hospital dispensary
• Medicines management experience at ward based
• Supervising and mentoring pharmacy staff
• Checking of medicines in a hospital pharmacy environment
• Supervising the day to day running of a dispensary
• Stock level management and maintenance
• Working with children or in an intensive care unit.
• Working with Epic computer system - Electronic prescribing and medicine administrations (ePMA) records

Qualifications

• Registered as a pharmacy technician with the General Pharmaceutical Council
• NVQ Pharmacy services Level 3 plus an accredited underpinning knowledge
• Completion of a recognised Accredited Checking Pharmacy Technician (ACPT) qualification

Guy’s and St Thomas’ celebrates, respects and values the diversity of its staff and patients. We review our policies, procedures and practices to ensure that all employees, patients and carers are treated equitably according to their needs. We are actively committed to ensuring that no one who applies for a job, works or studies at the Trust, or accesses our services is discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, religion or belief, age, gender identity, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, or marital/civil partnership.

Applications are welcomed from applicants with a disability. We can make reasonable adjustments and offer support and advice in a variety of ways throughout the application process. Equality of opportunity is our policy.

As an organisation we are committed to developing our services in ways that best suit the needs of our patients. This means that some staff groups will increasingly be asked to work a more flexible shift pattern so that we can offer services in the evenings or at weekends.

We are committed to supporting all employees to achieve a healthy work life balance and to work in a way that is best for them and our patients. We will consider all requests to work flexibly, taking into account the individual’s personal circumstances as well the needs of the service. We encourage all prospective applicants to discuss their individual circumstances with the recruiting manager as part of the on-boarding process.

Your e-mail address is important to us - We communicate to all job applicants via the e-mail address which has been provided on the application form. Please ensure that you check your e-mail on a regular basis.

Please apply for this post by clicking "Apply Online Now."

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name: Hannah Legg

Job title: Principal Paediatric Pharmacy Technician

Email address: [e-mail]

Telephone number: 02071889152

Alternatively please contact:

Patricia Hayes
Pharmacy Operations Manager
[e-mail]

Our dedicated and talented staff make it their mission to provide outstanding care for our patients.