Pharmacy
There’s much more to the clinical services, support and patient care that hospitals’ pharmacy teams provide than many may think.
Pharmacy teams include a range of technicians, support services and qualified pharmacists delivering vital support to doctors, prescribing, and advising patients.
They also have to ensure all departments have the vital drugs in stock needed for many day-to-day, specialist and urgent and emergency care use across different wards, emergency and critical care services, and operating theatres.
Roles Include:
Pharmacy Assistants:
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Working in the stores to ensure orders are received accurately, and stock in dispensaries across hospital sites are replenished, and keeping stores and stocks managed efficiently
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In the Dispensary managing stock (including stock-takes and checks) and also supporting with dispensing to get the right medicines to patients on the wards
Pharmacy Technicians:
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As a trainee you will undertake a two-year vocational course while working and contributing fully to the department. Typically some relevant qualifications are required to enter this role – usually school or college leavers – a degreed isn’t needed.
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The varied work of Pharmacy Technicians can include providing medicines to patients in the dispensary; using control drugs, and in manufacturing – preparing prescriptions.
Accredited Check-in Technicians:
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After completing a specialist training course including Pharmacy law, chemistry and work-based hospital experience this role involves checking medicines when dispensed to patients that they are fully safe.
Modern Management Technicians:
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This qualified Pharmacy Technician role includes meeting patients on hospital wards, taking and checking people’s prescription histories and liaising closely with pharmacists.
Administrative roles:
Essential to keeping busy pharmacy departments operating smoothly. Work can include submitting funding applications to NICE which involves liaising with pharmacists and consultants – a vital role to help patients who need very specialised drugs.
Discover more about the opportunities for newly-qualified and experienced pharmacists to develop their careers, exciting training and development pathways, technician roles working closely with doctors and nurses in specific services. You can also find routes into this essential part of the NHS for people at any stage of their career, without related qualifications or training, or leaving education.
Careers in Pharmacy – Tracy Lancaster, Chief Pharmacy Technician, Kingston
Claudette Allerdyce, Associate Chief Pharmacist - Development, Croydon
Bhavesh Patel, Associate Chief Pharmacist – Clinical Services, Croydon
Kiran Bhogal, Associate Chief Pharmacist – Operations, Dispensing, Products, Croydon
Jasmine Jose, Clinical Pharmacist, Croydon
Jignesh Patel, Pharmacy Technician, Croydon
Jignesh joined the NHS in 2019, having previously worked in a community pharmacy. He works closely with hospital doctors and nurses in an innovative ‘satellite pharmacy’ service. This small, dedicated team provides rapid support and prescriptions, based close to the wards themselves, for various services including general medicine, surgery, cardiology and oncology.
After joining Croydon, Jignesh has enjoyed ongoing training and development including a Pre-Registration Pharmacy Technician Apprenticeship, enabling him to grow his NHS career. In the essential frontline role of Pharmacy Technician you can work with both clinicians and patients directly, constantly developing your knowledge and skills.
Tracy Lancaster, Chief Pharmacy Technician, Kingston