Job Summary/Job Purpose
The Cluster Pharmacy Technician plays a key role within the City Health Cluster multidisciplinary team, supporting the safe, effective, and cost-efficient use of medicines across GP practices and community healthcare services. Working under the direction of Clinical Pharmacists and in collaboration with GPs, nurses, community pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals, the post holder will help optimise medicines management, improve patient outcomes, and support the delivery of high-quality, patient-centred care.
The role focuses on medicines reconciliation, medication reviews, repeat prescribing processes, medicines optimisation initiatives, and supporting patients to maximise the benefits of their prescribed treatments. The Pharmacy Technician will contribute to reducing medicines waste, improving prescribing safety, and ensuring compliance with national and local prescribing guidance.
The Cluster Pharmacy Technician will provide technical pharmaceutical support to practices within the City Health Cluster and assist in the delivery of medicines management services to patients across Swansea. The post holder will work proactively with healthcare teams to ensure that prescribing systems are accurate, efficient, and safe, while supporting patients with long-term conditions and complex medication regimens.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Main Duties and Responsibilities
· Medicines reconciliation post discharge and on other transfers of care, ensuring recommendations are within local guidelines/formularies and not conflicting with existing medication
· Undertake individual assessments of patients and identify their medicines management needs. Ensure effective liaison with colleagues across health and social care to establish a suitable level of assistance
· Undertake medication use reviews, identifying and finding solutions for non-compliance
· Demonstrate a sound understanding of the needs of frail, older and vulnerable people, including those with disabilities and promote their independence with regards to medicines management, advising on aids to independence as appropriate.
· Review and reauthorize repeat prescriptions within own competence and as per practice protocols, arranging any necessary monitoring
· Day to day handling of prescription queries within area of own competence, from patients, carers, care homes, pharmacies, hospital teams etc.
· Asses the suitably of requests for acute prescriptions within own competence and per practice protocols
· Targeted medication reviews in line with practice protocols
· To carry out dose reduction regimes of medications such as opiates and gabapentinoids after a GP has had initially Consultation with patient and decided on a plan and time frame for dose reduction.
· Counselling patients on new medicines, such as DOAC initiations
· Manage complicated medication regimes, such as dose titrations and cross tapering regimes, ensuring patients manage these safely through counselling
· Identify suitable alternatives for medicines that are unavailable
· Manage serious out of stock notices proactively to avoid any delays or breaks in therapy for patients
· Running INR clinic under supervision from a pharmacist or GP.
· Provide education to patients and their carers with regard to medicines management, including their storage, ordering, administration and identification of potential problems such as side effects
· Work closely with palliative and community nurses to ensure requests for medication are dealt with in a timely manner.
· Assist GPs in prescribing syringe driver and just in case medication
· Delivery of training and development to practice based prescribing clerks and administrators to support improved co-ordination and effective pharmacy administration within General Practice
· Provide direct support and advice to GPs, ANP and other health professionals to promote and implement high quality prescribing to the benefit of patients
· Promote cost-effective, safe, evidence based prescribing in accordance with national and local guidance
· Work closely with Health Board and Cluster Pharmacists/Pharmacy Technicians
· Participate in practice meetings and contribute to any prescribing issues
· Present to clinical staff updated guidelines and feedback on external meetings (e.g. prescribing leads meetings)
· Contribute to the review and development of repeat prescribing protocols / Standard Operating Procedures to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of repeat prescribing systems.
· Liaise with other pharmacy stakeholders e.g. Medicines Management team, community pharmacy, and hospital pharmacy teams.
· Liaise with community pharmacies regarding the provision of medicines administration charts, compliance aids, medication reviews etc.
· Review prescribing in line with National Prescribing Indicators and local Prescribing Management Scheme
· To actively participate in achieving the targets of the prescribing dashboard, which will be co-ordinated by a GP.
· To participate in prescribing audits as needed.
· Handle information which may be sensitive, complex or confidential appropriately, in accordance with the Data Protection Act and local information governance policies
· Be responsible for managing own workload and prioritising as necessary
· Utilise GP practice clinical systems to conduct prescribing audits
· Undertake, participate and share the outcomes of clinical audits to facilitate improvement and changes in practice
· Ensure that all major MHRA drug alerts, where appropriate and within levels of competence, are acted upon within an appropriate time frame and to advise on any medication changes that occur as a result
· Undertake training and development, to ensure the required knowledge and skills for practice based work
· Undertaking medication reviews in patients homes as home visits it needed
· Carry out other duties which are appropriate to the skills and competencies of a Pharmacy Technician as the priorities of the service change
Person Specification
Requirement
Criteria 1: Qualifications
BTEC Pharmaceutical Science or equivalent (i.e. NVQ Level 4 Pharmaceutical Services) Essential
Registered with professional body - GPhC (RegPharmTech) Essential
Evidence of recent and relevant CPD Essential
NVQ Level 4 or Advanced Practice Framework qualification - Desirable
Criteria 2: Experience
3 years post qualification experience Essential
Experience in Health Board/primary care role - Desirable
Experience of working in a GP practice - Desirable
Experience of working in a patient facing role - Essential
Experience of utilising medication review skills - Desirbale
Experience of multidisciplinary and multiagency work - Desirable
Experience of facilitating change to improve clinical practice - Essential
Experience and good working knowledge of clinical audit - Desirable
Experience of delivering training to relevant large groups - Desirable
Criteria 3: Skills
Capacity to analyse and solve complex problems and plan effectively - Essential
Ability to plan and organise complex activities requiring specialist knowledge of prescribing data - Essential
Ability to motivate people and facilitate change - Essential
Ability to provide complex and sensitive information to a range of health professionals, managers, patients and other health care staff, overcoming potential barriers to understanding - Essential
Ability to analyse and interpret complex clinical and prescribing data to aid in improvements of medicines management - Essential
Ability to provide medicines related information to clinicians, patients and relatives, requiring well-developed empathic and re-assurance skills - Essential
Ability to deal with occasional emotionally distressing situations such as counselling patients regarding their medicines/ complaints - Essential
The ability to deal with difficult situations and potential conflicts - Essential
Effective interpersonal, communication (both written and oral), presentation and influencing skills - Essential
Skills in analysis of complex facts or situations requiring analysis, interpretation and appropriate action - Essential
Ability to work with a range of clinical & non-clinical personnel and patients - Essential
Ability to work independently and effectively with a high degree of motivation and manage own unpredictable workload - Essential
Ability to define, collate, analyse and interpret data in a timely manner - Essential
Ability to utilise information technology including word processing, spreadsheets, presentation and database packages effectively, e.g. MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint - Essential
Ability to communicate complex information to patients and carers in an appropriate manner, often requiring well developed empathetic and reassurance skills - Essential
Pay: £31,049.00-£39,043.00 per year
Work Location: In person
