Job summary
Are you passionate about patient
care? Are you committed, self-motivated and looking for an exciting, new
challenge? Following
successful investment into the pharmacy team, we are excited to be able to
recruit a new Pharmacy
Support Worker (Higher Level) to
join our dynamic team. The successful post holder will help to develop the
Clinical Pharmacy service to our Haematology and Oncology Day units and
inpatient wards across the Trust.
You will interact with patients, assess the suitability of patients own medications and ensure sufficient supply of medications for both inpatient stay and following discharge from hospital.
The successful candidate will be involved in dispensing medication for
patients to take home, counselling patients on new medications provided and
transferring medication between wards as required. They will also support
nursing staff with medication orders and queries.
You will be supported by an experienced team of Specialist Technicians and Pharmacists.
The successful candidate should hold an NVQ Level 2 certificate
in Pharmacy Services or equivalent. They will have exceptional attention to
detail, excellent
organisational and communication skills and be able to prioritise their workload effectively. If
you are ready to take the next the step in your career or want to further
develop your existing knowledge and skills, we would be delighted to hear from
you and/or arrange an informal visit.
Main duties of the job
As a member of the Clinical Pharmacy Cancer team, you will be responsible for providing a comprehensive and integrated ward based pharmacy service:
- To check patient's own medication brought into hospital are safe and suitable for use whilst an in-patient (including systemic anticancer medications) and record them on the electronic medicines prescribing system.
- To dispense medication at ward level to ensure a safe and timely supply of medicines to the patient to support discharge.
- Ensure supplies of all medicines are available on the ward to ensure no missed doses by ordering medicines on the electronic medicines prescribing system.
- Support the training and development of Pharmacy Support Workers, Trainee Pharmacy Technicians, Pharmacy Technicians, Trainee Pharmacists and Foundation Pharmacists.
The Pharmacy operates a 7 day service and as part of the role you will be expected to participate in the evening, weekend and Bank Holiday working rotas.
About us
We provide care and support to over a million people in
Wakefield and Kirklees in their homes, community settings and across our
three hospital sites at Pontefract, Dewsbury and Pinderfields (Wakefield).
Always striving for excellence, we are at the forefront of
innovation and research, and we invest in teaching and the development of our
workforce.
We live by our values of caring, improving, being respectful
and maintaining high standards. We listen and learn because we aim to make Mid
Yorkshire the best place to work and receive care.
We value diversity and welcome talent and enthusiasm
irrespective of age, disability, neurodivergence, sex, gender identity and
gender expression, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation,
or other personal circumstances including providing unpaid carers support to
someone with a health and care need. As ethnic minority groups, members of the
LGBTQ+ community, and people with a disability/neurodivergence are currently
under-represented across the organisation, we encourage applications from
members of these groups. We have policies and procedures to ensure all
applicants are treated fairly and consistently.
We are proud of our staff networks - who offer valuable
guidance and feedback from those with lived experience.
We have a clear vision and you could be part of this! If
you share our values and you want to make a difference to the lives of our
patients and their families and carers, we would love to hear from you.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Medicines Optimisation
Print ward lists and handover sheets to identify new patients admitted since the previous pharmacy visit.
Transfer medicines between wards if patients have been transferred without them. This will include medicines dispensed by the hospital pharmacy as well as patients own drugs (PODs).
Support the ward pharmacists and technicians to record accurate medication histories by:
- Ascertaining if the patient has brought supplies of their medicines from home
- Requesting and recording consent from the patient to access their GP or Summary Care Records, printing the record or requesting faxes from GPs to handover to the ward technician or pharmacist.
- Checking patient's systemic anticancer
medication history using the chemotherapy electronic prescribing system.
Ensure patients have enough medicines available to avoid missed doses by:
- Assessing PODs as suitable for use on the hospital according to standard operating procedures.
- Contacting relatives or carers with patient consent, to bring in the patients PODs into hospital if necessary
- Screening prescription charts to identify missed doses, new items prescribed and any changes to medicines that might require a supply from pharmacy, alerting the pharmacist or technician as appropriate.
- Liaising with ward staff to identify any additional stock medicines that they require.
Support clinical areas to maintain safe and secure handling of medicines by:
- Ensuring that all medicines for individual patients are stored correctly in the bedside locker, or elsewhere on the ward according to the standards within the Trust Medicines Charter.
- Delivering patient labelled medicines to individual bedside lockers.
- Participate in pharmacy-led audits as required.
- Report any incidents of inappropriate storage and handling of medicines to the pharmacy technician.
Ensure that information collected is communicated to the relevant pharmacist or technician in a timely manner.
Complete handover sheets as required.
Assist in communicating with primary care regarding changes to medication when needed e.g. by faxing discharge letters to the patients community pharmacy.
Minimise medicines waste by managing medicines returns from clinical areas according to standard operating procedures.
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Experience in a Pharmacy dispensary (NHS or Retail sector).
- Experience in a customer service environment.
Desirable
- Previous NHS experience.
- Previous experience working in cancer services.
Qualifications
Essential
- NVQ2 in Pharmacy Services or equivalent (This training is required of all Pharmacy support staff by the Pharmaceutical Society).
- Reasonable Standard of Education particularly in Maths, English and Science.
Desirable
- Additional experience gained through in house training.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website .
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants .
Employer details
Employer name
The Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust
Address
Pinderfields Hospital
Aberford Road
Wakefield
West Yorkshire
WF14DG