Senior Aseptic Services Technician

Kings College Hospital; London; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 44,000

Job description

Employer King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Employer type NHS

Site King's College Hospital

Town London

Salary £35,964 - £43,780 per annum including HCA

Salary period Yearly

Closing 03/04/2025 23:59

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£1.8 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across 5 main sites in South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local hospital services across its different sites, and specialist services from King’s College Hospital (KCH) sites at Denmark Hill in Camberwell and at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) site in the London Borough of Bromley.

We encourage all our staff to have a healthy work/life balance. In doing so, you can apply for flexible working from the beginning of your employment. We offer a range of options which are designed to suit different circumstances and priorities in line with service requirements.

The Aseptic Services department employs roughly 35 staff and is responsible for providing 10,000+ cytos doses a year. It also supports many clinical trial studies particularly in haemato-oncology and liver. The Aseptic Services Pharmacy team screen and supply 9,000+ bags of parenteral nutrition per year for inpatient and home patients under the care of King's College Hospital.

The post holder will support the Aseptic Services department – under the management of the Chief Pharmacy Technician and under the overall leadership of the Associate Chief Pharmacist – to ensure the safe, effective and timely provision of aseptic products to all patients in King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

The commissioning of a new second aseptic clean room facility at the Denmark Hill site in 2021, and refurbishment of the main aseptic facility to be operational in early 2023, has expanded the Pharmacy Aseptic Service at KCH to provide a more comprehensive service to our patients and the Trust. We will be expanding our services to patients as inpatients, outpatients and in their own homes.

The trust strives to improve to provide world class patient care. The successful post holder will know and understand the trust strategy and vision (https://www.kch.nhs.uk/about/our-strategy).

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be responsible for the day-to-day running of a section within the Aseptic Services Department. The post holder will work to the principles of current Good Manufacturing Practice, within the Aseptic services department at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, a large and progressive teaching hospital. They will be expected to work to the principles of Good Manufacturing Practice, undertake and supervise the day-to-day preparation of chemotherapy, immunotherapy, CIVAS, Parenteral Nutrition and clinical trials doses within the Aseptic Services department.

The post holder will contribute to the delivery of a high-quality patient focused service within the pharmacy aseptic unit, including training of junior staff, dispensing, checking and contributing to the smooth running of all Aseptic services activities. These activities may also include stock management, documentation management and QA/QC activities.

Working for our organisation

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of £1 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and around 15,000 staff based across 5 main sites in South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local hospital services across its different sites, and specialist services from King’s College Hospital (KCH) sites at Denmark Hill in Camberwell and at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) site in Bromley.

King’s is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone’s contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust’s carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.

The trust-wide strategy Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we can take Team King’s to another level.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To maintain equipment according to procedures, documenting all activity appropriately
• To actively encourage adherence to all procedures relating to the Aseptic Services department and GMP
• To accurately complete all documentation needed for Quality Assurance, including writing and updating procedures and to archive and file appropriately
• To perform In-process accuracy checks for other Aseptic Services staff after undergoing accredited competency process
• To generate worksheets and labels using the pharmacy computer system
• To advise the Chief Technician and Deputy Director on amending work practices and documentation which would improve the running of the service including quality, efficiency and health and Safety issues
• To assist the aseptic services managers in the development of new services for the Trust
• To participate in the on call rota for trials or short dated aseptically produced drugs out of hours or at weekends, and to participate in the early morning rota for cleaning as required
• To sit or stand at isolators for long periods
• To participate in the out-of-hours, weekend and Bank Holiday rotas in Pharmacy Aseptic Services
• To be responsible for the aseptic preparation, clinical trials, or stock control services on a rotational basis with the other senior technicians including prioritization and delegation of work.
• To be involved in Quality Assurance ensuring environmental monitoring, sterility testing and validations are carried out and culture media is incubated, read and sent for identification appropriately, and in a timely manner.
• To be responsible for the allocation and daily planning of workload in a section of the aseptic department
• To assist in the recruitment and selection of technicians, cleanroom supervisors and ATOs.
• To demonstrate and teach aseptic skills to pharmacists, Trainee pharmacists, technicians, pre-registration trainee pharmacy technicians, cleanroom supervisors and ATOs as appropriate
• To be a line manager for technical staff and take responsibility for all the following, according to all Trust procedures: such as Disciplinary, Probation, and Departmental workload allocations.
• Ensure overall wellbeing of the team is maintained. Continuously support in improving the morale of the team and implementing a culture of zero-tolerance for bullying and harassment.

Person specification

Education and Qualifications

• NVQ Pharmacy services Level 3 plus accredited underpinning knowledge (BTEC in Pharmaceutical Sciences or equivalent) or equivalent plus Professional registration as a Pharmacy Technician with the General Pharmaceutical Council OR Completion of Science Manufacturing Technician Level 3 apprenticeship OR Academic qualification (at least BSc) related to medicines for Human Use plus substantial experience working in a GMP-compliant facility preparing/manufacturing medicines for Human Use.
• Pre and In Process Checking Accreditation (PIPC)

Knowledge and Experience

• Demonstrable knowledge of Good Manufacturing Practice
• Considerable experience working in an aseptic unit and using aseptic technique
• Supervisory and Training delivery experience
• Be familiar with handling and preparing cytotoxic drugs following approved procedures
• Knowledge of regulations and legislation relevant to Clinical Trials

Skills and Competencies

• Team worker with good interpersonal and communication (written and oral) skills