Job summary
TEWV pharmacy team are recruiting a dispensing assistant to join our pharmacy at West Park Hospital, Darlington. This new post will allow the successful candidate to progress from a band 2 to a band 3 senior pharmacy assistant after completing the relevant criteria required. The successful applicant will be an exceptional team player with good communication and interpersonal skills who are enthusiastic and committed to join our team. Ideally applicants will have previous experience in working within a pharmacy as a dispensing assistant but this is not essential. Applicants own transport is desirable but not essential. This is an exciting time to join a supportive team with development opportunities in a growing NHS pharmacy team.
Main duties of the job
1. To work under pharmacy SOPs to provide a medicines top up and stock management for wards, with supervision available from pharmacy technicians
2. To dispense medication against prescriptions and requisitions, calculating appropriate doses and doses for both inpatient and outpatients following SOPs, ensuring prescriptions and requisitions are legal and safe.
3. To receive medication supplies from wholesalers and electronically record this.
4. To remove unwanted medication from the wards to determine what is suitable for return or destruction as per policies.
5. To dispense controlled drugs for ward stock and named patients following all legal requirements.
6. To dispense orders for emergency drugs.
7. To maintain cost effective holding on the wards.
8. To ensure good stock control, ensuring stock checks and expiry date checks are completed in a timely manner.
9. Maintain up to date knowledge and competency in the skills required to perform safely and effectively in the role and to undertake relevant statutory and mandatory training and to be responsible for personal development agreed with line manager.
About us
The pharmacy team in TEWV has over 100 team members including drivers, pharmacy assistants, administration, nurses, pharmacy technicians and pharmacists. Individual team members are spread across multiple sites, with a dispensary in each of our 3 localities. The locality teams work independently, but come together to agree standards and best practice, learning from each other and trying to improve.
We developed a 5-year Medicines Optimisation and Pharmacy framework which was created with the teams to produce a shared set of themes and priorities. This is 'Our Journey to Change'
Our values are Respect, Compassion and responsibility. If you are a kind, supporting, honest, ambitious team member who thrives on being inclusive and working in partnership - our organisation may be a fit for you.
Details
Date posted
24 October 2025
Pay scheme
Agenda for change
Band
Band 2
Salary
£24,465 to £26,598 a year per annum
Contract
Permanent
Working pattern
Full-time, Part-time
Reference number
346-PH-009-25-B
Job locations
West Park Hospital
Edward Pease Way
Darlington
DL2 2TS
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for further detailed information to ensure that you meet the role criteria before applying.
You must have the Right to Work in the UK in order to be successfully appointed to this role. Please note, this role does not meet the required eligibility criteria for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa and therefore the Trust is unable to offer sponsorship for this particular role.
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
10. Experience of stock management
11. Telephone, email and internet experience
12. Experience of working supportively within a team
Desirable
13. Experience of working in pharmacy
14. Experience with the use of appropriate software packages including Excel and Word
Skills
Essential
15. Good communication skills - both oral and written including good telephone manner
16. Good organisational skills
17. Ability to work under supervision, and independently as appropriate
18. Customer care
19. Accuracy and attention to detail
Desirable
20. Able to demonstrate good organisational and time management skills
21. Manual dexterity - medication handling
22. An ability to receive, interpret, analyse and deliver information
Qualifications
Essential
23. Basic general education, GCSE grade D or above in English and Maths
Desirable
24. NVQ or equivalent level 2 pharmacy