The Advanced Pharmacy Technician - Procurement and Distribution will have the following responsibilities:
To be the key liaison between the main pharmacy department and the outsourced outpatient pharmacy.
To lead on medicines shortages management, in partnership with the with the Clinical Pharmacists, coordinating procurement, distribution, and financial oversight (including cost impact and recovery) alongside mitigation strategies to ensure continuity of suppl
To support procurement activities including contract management, supplier engagement, and implementation of pricing updates, working closely with the Pharmacy Procurement Team
To contribute to the development and delivery of pharmacy objectives and service improvement plans, particularly in relation to procurement, distribution, and medicines supply resilience
General
- The post holder has a general duty of care for their own health, safety and wellbeing and that of work colleagues, visitors and patients within the hospital, in addition to any specific risk management or clinical governance accountabilities associated with this post.
- To observe the rules, policies, procedures and standards of King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust together with all relevant statutory and professional obligations.
- We want to be an organisation where everyone shares a commitment to delivering the very best care and feels like their contribution is valuable and valued.
- Our values at King’s: Caring – we put patients and their families first and show compassion and respect in every interaction with them, as well as with one another. Collaborative – across all of our hospitals and services, we work as one team with partners and our communities, to deliver the best possible outcomes. Inclusive – we celebrate diversity, listening to different voices and creating a culture where everyone feels they belong and can thrive. Innovative – we constantly seek new ideas and smarter ways of working to improve care, research and education.
- To observe and maintain strict confidentiality of personal information relating to patients and staff.
- To be responsible, with management support, for their own personal development and to actively contribute to the development of colleagues.
The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of 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 aim to take Team King’s to another level.
We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.
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.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
SERVICE DEVELOPMENT
- To establish a professional working relationship with all necessary stakeholders linking to the outsourced outpatient pharmacy.
- To lead on sourcing of pharmaceuticals and other items as required due to shortages and long-term manufacturing problems.
- To support the Procurement and Distribution team and the outsourced outpatient pharmacy in the development and implementation of service improvements, ensuring alignment with organisational objectives and efficient, cost-effective medicines supply.
- To support the operation of the pharmacy dispensing system (Epic) to ensure data integrity is maintained.
- To build and produce routine usage and cost reports for the Associate Chief Pharmacist and Superintendent Pharmacist as required.
- To support the maintenance of the pharmacy system drug file and supplier database and preparation of data required for national, regional & local purchasing contracts.
PROCUREMENT
- To support the Procurement Team updating of all contract/framework or local agreement information on the Epic system to ensure that drug lines are linked to the correct supplier and the financial information is correct.
- To support the Procurement Team in ensuring that all updates of contracts/frameworks or local agreements are disseminated in a timely manner to allow for all necessary updates to Powergate to be completed prior to agreed start dates.
- To act as a key escalation point and support for the outsourced outpatient pharmacy where contracted medicines cannot be sourced, ensuring all appropriate procurement actions have been completed prior to escalation.
- To support the building and importing of drug lines on the Epic system for the outsourced outpatient pharmacy.
- To support the building of dispensing templates based on the needs of the outsourced outpatient pharmacy.
- To liaise with the Procurement Team to identify current and emerging medicines shortages, and coordinate procurement, distribution, and stakeholder actions to ensure effective management and continuity of supply.
- To ensure that there are robust processes in place for the appropriate transfer of stock between the inpatient and outsourced outpatient pharmacy to support patient care.
DISTRIBUTION
- To support the Distribution Team in responding to medicines shortages by coordinating stock allocation, redistribution, and contingency arrangements to maintain continuity of supply across clinical areas.
- To support the updating of Omnicell configurations, including stock lists, par levels, and alternative products, in line with agreed changes to ward stock and supply arrangements in response to medicines shortages.
- To liaise with the Clinical Pharmacists and Distribution Team to ensure that shortage mitigation strategies are effectively implemented at ward level.
- To act as a point of contact for escalation of distribution issues relating to medicines shortages, supporting resolution through coordination of stock, systems, and stakeholder engagement.
FINANCIAL/RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
- To ensure medicines are purchased cost-effectively for the outsourced outpatient pharmacy, undertaking end of month financial challenges (in relation to value of dispensed items) for contracted lines.
- To uphold and ensure compliance with the Standing Orders and Standing Financial Instructions of Kings College Hospital Foundation Trust.
- To be responsible for the management of all losses and gains on Epic and their investigation, with documented outcomes.
- To undertake (where appropriate) stock revaluations alongside relevant stakeholders and keep necessary documentation of all actions taken.
- To support the contacting of suppliers and arrange for credit in cases where prices have not matched.
- To solve enquires relating to payments to suppliers and whether they have been received.
- To support off-contract purchases and ensure that these lines are maintained in order to meet the off-contract requirements and that appropriate records are kept and excess costs claimed back.
- To liaise with Finance where appropriate ensuring reconciliation with their systems.
STAFF MANAGEMENT & TRAINING
- To act as a role model for all pharmacy staff providing Pharmacy Distribution and Procurement services.
- To be a line manager and take for the following, according to Trust procedures: o Appraisals of performance and objective setting
- Sickness absence, disciplinary and grievance matters
- Recruitment and selection
- Personal development
- Departmental workload allocations
- To undertake CPD to ensure that knowledge is continually updated in the fields of Pharmacy Distribution and Procurement services.
- To be an Epic system manager with high level access to the system.
- To support the training of new Procurement and Distribution staff, appropriate to their role, ensuring competency in procurement, distribution, and relevant systems.
- To support the training and induction of pharmacy staff, appropriate to their role, ensuring competency in procurement, distribution, and relevant systems.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
- To participate in research and audit undertaken in Pharmacy with regard to procurement and distribution.
People Management and Performance
- Lead, coach and manage the performance of the team in line with good people management practices. Ensuring excellence is recognised and underperformance is addressed.
- Participate in regular performance appraisal meetings and ensure each member of the team has a clear set of objectives and development plans.
- Ensure the team is compliance with all statutory, mandatory training together with any professional training requirements, ensuring they are up to date and fully compliant.
- Manage team absences including sickness in line with Trust policy ensuring the appropriate return to work meetings occur, e-roster is updated and productivity is at keep to the highest possible level.
- Identify and fill any vacancies that arise within the team in line with the Trust’s recruitment policy and process.
- Identify talent and support the internal talent management process in order attract and retain and succession plan for your people.
- Review skills mix at regular intervals in order to identify any potential opportunities to maximise resource utilisation / allocation, ensuring job descriptions are kept up to date.
- 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.
