PCN Pharmacy Technician
Closing date: 21 January 2026
The post holder will help patients to get the best from their medicines by switching medications to agreed and approved protocols, improving repeat prescribing processes in General Practice, including promotion of repeat dispensing and online ordering, minimising clinical risk and aiming to reduce wasted medicines. In addition, the post holder will be responsible for encouraging the development of better understanding of the principles of medicines optimisation throughout the practice teams and promoting good practice in line with therapeutic developments. This will involve assisting the PCN in achieving national requirements, NICE implementation and utilisation of medicines optimisation initiatives.
Responsibilities
This role is pivotal to improving the quality of care and operational efficiencies so requires motivation and passion to deliver an excellent service within general practice.
Please see the person specification and job description for more information.
About us
Drake Medical Alliance is a well‑established primary care network made up of five GP practices with over 58,000 patients. Our practices cover the full length of Plymouth from Woolwell and Roborough in the north to Wycliffe and North Road West in the South.
The Pharmacy Service are looking for a Pharmacy Technician to join a highly motivated and supportive team on a 12‑month maternity cover contract.
Job responsibilities
Clinical
* Undertake patient‑facing and patient‑supporting roles to ensure effective medicines use, through shared decision‑making conversations with patients.
* Carry out medicines optimisation tasks, including effective medicine administration (e.g. checking inhaler technique), supporting medication reviews and medicines reconciliation. Use consultation skills to work in partnership with patients to ensure they use their medicines effectively.
* Support medication reviews and medicines reconciliation for new care‑home patients and synchronising medicines for patient transfers between care settings, linking with local community pharmacies.
* Support the Clinical Pharmacist in Structured Medication Reviews (SMR) – organise necessary monitoring tests prior to SMRs.
* Provide expertise to address public health and social care needs of patients, including lifestyle advice, service information and help in tackling local health inequalities.
* Manage shared care protocols and liaise with Clinical Pharmacists for more complex patients.
* Support initiatives for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing locally.
Technical and Administrative
* Support the PCN multi‑disciplinary team to ensure efficient medicines optimisation processes are followed.
* Implement efficient ordering and return processes and reduce medication wastage.
* Provide training and support on the legal, safe and secure handling of medicines, including the implementation of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS).
* Promotion of Electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD) and online ordering.
* Develop relationships with other pharmacy professionals and members of the multi‑disciplinary team to support integration across health and social care including primary care, community pharmacy, secondary care, mental health teams and care homes/staff.
* Support practice reception teams in streaming general prescription requests, so that GPs and clinical pharmacists can review more complex requests.
* Support the implementation of national prescribing policies and guidance within GP practices, care homes and other primary care settings.
* Support the PCN to deliver on QIPP agenda, QOF and locally commissioned enhanced services.
* Support the PCN in reviewing and developing practice policies for CQC requirements.
* All Pharmacy Technicians must work within their competencies and have professional indemnity for their role.
General
* Develop a culture that promotes equality and values diversity. The postholder must be aware of and committed to the Equality and Diversity policies of the appointing GP Federation and comply with all the requirements of these policies and actively promote Equality and Diversity issues relevant to the post.
* Ensure the principles of openness, transparency and candor are observed and upheld in all working practices.
* Ensure the post holder will have, or acquire through training, the appropriate level of safeguarding and knowledge, skills and practice required for the post and comply with safeguarding protection policies and procedures.
* Ensure that any infection prevention and control issues are reported to the line manager/Infection Prevention and Control.
Equality and diversity
The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:
* Acting in a way that recognises the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current legislation.
* Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues.
* Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non‑judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.
* Participation in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, with such training to include:
o Participation in a 3‑monthly individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development.
o Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.
Quality
* Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk.
* Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision.
* Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the team’s performance.
* Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients’ needs.
* Effectively manage own time, workload and resources.
Person Specification
Knowledge and Skills
* In depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence‑based healthcare.
* Understanding of the wider determinants of health, including social, economic and environmental factors and their impact on communities.
* An appreciation of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing.
* Knowledge of IT systems, including ability to use word processing skills, emails and the internet to create simple plans and reports.
* Able to plan, manage, monitor and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long term conditions.
* Able to obtain and analyse complex technical information.
* Able to identify and resolve risk management issues according to policy/protocol.
* Communication skills, both written and verbal.
* Communication of difficult messages to patients and families.
* Negotiation and conflict management skills.
* Able to motivate and influence others.
* Proven ability to work in partnership with GPs and other agencies.
* Accountability of own role and responsibilities.
Experience
* Experience and an awareness of the breadth of common acute and long‑term conditions that are likely to be seen in general practice.
* Experience of partnership/collaborative working and of building relationships across a variety of organisations.
* Audit Research.
* Project management.
* Home visits.
Other
* Meets DBS reference standards and has a clear criminal record, in line with the law on spent convictions.
* Highly motivated.
* Flexibility.
* Team player.
* Ability to work across boundaries.
* Access to own transport and ability to travel across the locality on a regular basis, including to visit people in their own homes.
Qualifications
* Professional registration with GPhC.
* BTEC/NVQ level 3 or equivalent in pharmaceutical sciences.
* Evidence of continued professional development (CPD).
* Experience of working as a qualified, registered pharmacy technician in primary care, community or hospital pharmacy.
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