Pharmacy Clerical Officer – Reception

Job overview

The pharmacy department is one of the busiest in the country supplying medicines to patients both in hospital and across East Anglia and providing a seven-day service. We have approximately 180 members of staff working across the team.

All services are people-focussed whether this is directly with patients or supporting colleagues across the Trust.

Main duties of the job

We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated individual to join our team of receptionists providing front of house services for the fast-paced pharmacy department.

The successful candidate will be required to provide an efficient reception service to include the receipt of prescriptions from patients, collecting prescription fees when necessary, dealing with enquiries from hospital staff, answering telephone queries and general administration and accounting duties. You will also be required to contact patients to facilitate the processing of prescriptions for patients who have not attended the hospital and be expected to support the packing and distribution of dispensed medication to patients.

We are looking for someone who can pay close attention to detail and is able to work as part of a team.  You will be expected to use several computer-based systems and should, therefore, have appropriate computer skills.  Experience of working in a customer focused service environment would be advantageous. This position is a busy, physically active role that requires the ability to multitask throughout the day.

Hours will be worked Monday to Friday and 1 weekend every 10 weeks with corresponding time off during the week.  There is also a requirement to participate in the bank holiday rota, currently minimum 1 per year. Rotas are subject to change at any time. Working hours and patterns will be discussed at interview and may include later finishes (6:00pm).

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To act as receptionist for the Pharmacy Department as a whole by receiving visitors to the Department and escorting them to the appropriate Section or personnel.
• To receive inpatient and discharge prescriptions and extra stock requests presented to Pharmacy Department by hospital staff, either via reception or the vacuum tube system.
• To return paperwork to the wards using the vacuum tube system.
• To hand over inpatient and discharge medication to nursing staff or identified ward representatives.
• To undertake the reception of out-patients attending the Dispensary and collection of prescription fees as appropriate.
• To request and inspect evidence and reasons why patients may be exempt from prescription charges.
• To send details of patients to be invoiced for prescription fees to the Finance Department using Excel spreadsheets and to cancel subsequent invoices if required.
• To collect prescriptions and prescription fees from the Accident & Emergency Department and their subsequent processing.
• To undertake the initial reception of telephone calls into the Department and to answer queries if appropriate or their subsequent transfer to appropriate Section or personnel.
• To undertake the day-to-day maintenance of the Dispensary till and maintain security.

Please refer to the Job Description for the full specification of responsibilities and requirements for this post.