Specialist Pharmacist Clinical and Medicines Governance

Job overview

The Aseptic unit is a small team of around 14 staff and is responsible for providing 6500 doses of cytotoxics and monoclonal antibodies a year. The Aseptic Pharmacy team also supplies approximately 2000 bags of parenteral nutrition per year for inpatients treated on site

The post holder will support the Aseptic Services department – under the management of the Chief Pharmacy Technician and under the overall leadership of the Associate Chief Pharmacist – to ensure the safe, effective and timely provision of aseptic products to all patients in King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

The post holder will be responsible for participating in the aseptic manufacture of chemotherapy doses, checking volumes for other Aseptic staff, generating worksheets and labels using Epic - the trust's chosen electronic prescribing system, advising the Chief Pharmacy Technician and Associate Chief Pharmacist on amending work practices and documentation to improve the running of the service, maintaining equipment according to procedures and actively encouraging adherence to all procedures relating to the aseptic department and Good Manufacturing Practice.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will work alongside pharmacists and technicians in the pharmacy section 10 production unit at the Princess Royal University Hospital site based in Orpington, Kent. The post holder will assist in the preparation and dispensing of aseptically produced products in isolators, as well as assisting with the daily monitoring and cleaning of isolators, and the monitoring of the clean room. The post holder will be expected to work to the principles of “Good Manufacturing Practice”.

The post holder must be flexible to working at other King’s College Hospital trust sites when required to fulfil the service needs of cross-site working.

All work will be carried out according to procedures and standards of professional practice in the Department; however, staff are expected to develop their own safe systems of work to ensure a high professional standard of work conducive to patient safety.

Working for our organisation

The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. Transforming Healthcare is the vision at the heart of the King’s Strategy – 2026 to 2031. Together, we are pursuing six strategic ambitions: delivering high-quality patient care; being a great place to work; leading pioneering research, innovation and education; building strong and successful partnerships; providing timely and efficient care; and ensuring long-term financial sustainability.

Achieving these ambitions will require all of us to work as one Team King’s, united by a shared commitment to our values of being caring, collaborative, inclusive and innovative. By living these values every day, we will transform healthcare for our patients, our communities and each other

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.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To actively encourage the adherence to Good Manufacturing Practice and all procedures relating to the aseptic services department and to suggest changes in practice and procedures as appropriate
• To prepare chemotherapy, immunotherapies, CIVAS, parenteral nutrition and clinical trial patient doses, fully gowned and gloved in a clean room environment.
• To assemble ingredients and consumables and record batch numbers and expiry dates accurately on aseptic worksheets.
• To label and package final products accurately and store correctly following aseptic procedures.
• To liaise with other staff to ensure the safe, efficient and timely delivery of aseptic products.
• To ensure that all documentation is processed and filed correctly.
• To ensure that all records and logs are completed correctly on a daily basis and to report any out of specification results to the Chief Pharmacy Technician or Associate Chief Pharmacist – Aseptic Services.
• To assist in maintaining equipment according to procedures, including leak testing of isolators and accurately maintain records.
• To check volumes for other Aseptic Services and rotational staff after undergoing an accredited competency process.
• To tidy, clean and disinfect the Aseptic Services department according to procedures as required. This may involve an early start.
• To participate in the monitoring and cleaning rota of the isolators following standard operating procedures.
• To undertake media validation to ensure on going validation of aseptic competence
• To prepare documentation and labels using the Epic system.
• To undertake transfer disinfection into the aseptic unit and isolators according to procedures.
• To sit or stand at isolators for long periods.
• To participate in the out-of-hours, weekend and Bank Holiday rotas in the Pharmacy Department

Person specification

Education and Qualifications

Essential criteria

• NVQ Pharmacy Level 2 plus accredited underpinning knowledge or equivalent

Knowledge and Experience

Essential criteria

• Understanding of Good Manufacturing Practice

Desirable criteria

• Experience in hospital pharmacy aseptic services
• Be familiar with handling cytotoxic drugs following approved procedures
• Experience of dispensing medication
• Knowledge of good aseptic technique
• Knowledge of pharmacy computer systems

Skills and Competencies

Essential criteria

• Be able to provide and receive routine factual information to inform work colleagues, patients/carers that may require tact and persuasion, where there may be barriers to understanding
• Good interpersonal and communication skills, written and oral
• Good time management skills including ability to prioritise work
• Good problem-solving abilities, able to work on own initiative
• Ability to prioritise workload of own and others

IMPORTANT

• Check your email account regularly as this is how we will communicate with you
• If you delete the job from any of your accounts, you may be prevented from accessing further communications
• To enquire about your application or inform us of any changes in your circumstances, please contact the named person on this advert
• Please provide email addresses for referees where possible
• Please review the documentation on our recruitment microsite, particularly the Trust’s criminal records checking policy
• All staff have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and for ensuring they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role.
• Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. On occasion, we might close a vacancy early due to a high number of applications being received. You are advised to submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

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