Pre-registration Trainee Pharmacy Technician (Apprenticeship)

This post will start in February 2025 and you could be based at either Gloucestershire Royal Hospital or Cheltenham General Hospital.
The Pharmacy Technician Apprenticeship at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is an excellent opportunity to gain valuable experience and training within an acute hospital.
This apprenticeship is suitable for anyone who has an interest in pursuing a career in pharmacy and gain eligibility to register as a Pharmacy Technician with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
A Pharmacy Technician is responsible for carrying out both routine and specialist services, including highly complex activities requiring them to use their professional judgment.
They are expected to work both individually and as part of a multi-disciplinary team. They can work with minimum supervision, with a high degree of autonomy, taking responsibility for the quality and accuracy of the work they have undertaken and that of others.
Pharmacy Technicians are expected to communicate effectively with healthcare professionals, patients and the public, whilst respecting and maintaining confidentiality and privacy.
Pharmacy Technicians manage the supply of medicines and devices in a pharmacy and assist pharmacists with advisory services.
Additional salary details: As per NHSE directive, must be no less than main rate of the NMW.
(As per NHSEWTE guidance. Year1 rate: £20319 pa; Year2 rate:£20697), Providing safe and effective pharmacy services
- Supply medicines and devices to patients, whether on prescription or over the counter
- Achieving the best outcomes through a patient's medicines
- Assemble medicines for prescriptions
- Provide information to patients and other healthcare professionals
- Manage areas of medicines supply such as dispensaries
- Answering customers questions face to face or by telephone
- Pre-packing, assembling and labelling medicines
- Referring problems or queries to the pharmacist

Working for our organisation
Located just off the M5 between Birmingham & Bristol, and the beautiful Cotswolds and Forest of Dean, GHNHSFT is one of the largest NHS Trusts in the UK.
Our Pharmacy Department operates across two main sites; Cheltenham General Hospital and Gloucestershire Royal Hospital (Gloucester), and offers opportunities for cross-site working in a full range of clinical and technical specialities.
Our large friendly Pharmacy team provides extensive services including an MHRA-licensed manufacturing unit supporting a large cancer centre, Non-Medical Prescribing posts, dedicated clinics, enhanced Medicines Optimisation Technician/Assistant roles, and multidisciplinary teaching to under/post-graduate Medics, Nurses and Pharmacists from Birmingham, Bristol, and Bath Universities.
At GHNHSFT Pharmacy, we are committed to delivering the very best care for our patients and we strive to provide the whole team with the necessary skills and ongoing support to make a real difference to patient care.
We work closely with our partners in Primary Care to maintain and promote a Countywide Joint Medicines Formulary, prescribing guidelines, and local treatment pathways and provide support via our Medicines Information Service in addition to several innovative collaborative public heath projects.
Come and join us, and see for yourself what a difference you can make to patient care., The apprentice will undergo training in all the following aspects of the Pharmacy department's work and will participate in all the duties under supervision during their two-year training period. They will undertake rolling competency assessments in all areas.
Dispensing Duties
- Interpreting and dispensing of inpatient, outpatient and discharge prescriptions
- Dispensing of compliance aid packs
-Counselling and educating outpatients on the use of their prescribed medication, referring to a technician or pharmacist when necessary
- Receive prescriptions and fees for prescription charges from the public at the hatch and process the payment
- Liaising with ward staff when there are drug supply problems
- Dispensing of controlled drugs on prescriptions, entering registers, checking stock balances and reporting discrepancies that cannot be resolved to the responsible CD Pharmacy Technician
-Carrying out computerised sales for private patients and retail pharmacies
Aseptic Dispensing (limited short placement)
- There will be an opportunity to spend some time in this environment to get an understanding of the work carried out in the department; this will include Quality Control and environmental monitoring processes. Hands on experience will be limited.
Pharmacy Helpdesk / Telephone answering & Reception duties
-Answering the telephone and dealing with a wide range of queries e.g. regarding work in progress, stock availability, missing items and queries about prescriptions from the public
- Referring certain queries to the appropriate members of staff or departments e.g. Medicines Information, Pharmacy Stores or a Technician / Pharmacist
- Taking verbal orders for medicines from Medicines Optimisation Pharmacy Technicians, ward pharmacists and outside units
- Booking out orders and other requisitions/requests to enable orders to be assembled by the dispensary. These need to be prioritized carefully in order to meet transport/discharge/treatment deadlines
Distribution
-Provision of a top-up service to assigned ward, keeping the ward fully stocked with medicines (by checking stock levels & re-order medicines where necessary according to a set stock list), as well as ensuring stock are rotated and expiry dates are checked according to top-up standards
- To ensure that the stock is used cost-effectively with minimum waste, liaising with the ward staff and Medicines Optimization Technician or ward pharmacist as required
- Returning medicines no longer required to Pharmacy for credit and out of date items for destruction
- Process & assemble orders for wards and departments. Involves data entry and correct selection of goods, paying heed to pharmacy stock control systems and ordering.
- Answer staff hatch and dealing with requests
Deal with returns of unwanted medicines from wards & departments
- Assess stock for reuse and credit as appropriate
- Dispose of medicines that are unsuitable for reuse according to local procedure
Stores
- Be familiar with departmental procedures for drug ordering and take part in the ordering process under supervision
- Assist with goods receiving including unpacking, checking received stock against delivery note, enter onto the Pharmacy computer and put away in the correct location
Ward based duties
- Work on the wards (the clinical environment) supporting the Medicines Optimisation Pharmacy Technician & ward pharmacist to provide an admission, supply and discharge service
General
- To provide late night, Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday cover according to rota
- To attend college, induction and update days on the dates stated
- Ensure standard operating procedures and policies are adhered to and Health and Safety procedures followed
- Cross site working might be required
The health and wellbeing of our staff and patients remains the priority of the Trust. Vaccination remains the best chance we have of conquering COVID and the Trust encourages everyone to take up this offer.
Please note, this vacancy may close as soon as sufficient applications have been received, so please apply as soon as possible if you are interested. The Recruitment Team are unable to accept any applications after the position has closed on NHS Jobs.

Join us at an exciting time for Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust! We have an ambitious plan for our journey to Outstanding and are looking for aspirational, committed individuals to join us, making a real difference to both staff and patients.
As a former winner of England for excellence award: Tourism destination of the year, the beautiful city of Gloucester and the scenic regency spa town of Cheltenham are fantastic places to work and live.
As a hospital Trust we are currently involved in over 100 clinical trials and studies, whilst also providing acute elective and specialist services to a population of over 620,000.
By joining Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust new colleagues can look forward to a warm welcome and a future full of opportunities and support.