Job summary

Working Full time : hours per week

To carry out a Portering function from the Pharmacy Department to all wards at The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation. The successful applicant will be delivering medicines, some of which require additional paperwork and act as a Receptionist, dealing with staff and patients in the main Pharmacy Department.

Main duties of the job

We are looking for an individual who can work under pressure and communicate effectively in a number of situations with a variety of people including Patients, Pharmacy Staff, Doctors, Nurses and many other health care staff.

This role is not a normal receptionist role - it can be very demanding and requires the post holder to be on their feet all day whilst managing the Dispensary and Ward Based workflow, manning the hatches and phones.

The post includes the receipt and delivery of prescriptions and orders for medicines and involves standing for long periods as the main part of their duties so good health and mobility is essential; along with undertaking the ordering and maintenance for the pharmacy shop.

Working on the dispensary reception can be very pressured with many patients needing a supportive and sensitive approach. A calm disposition is essential.

Please see the job description for more details.

The successful post holder will be a valued member of the Pharmacy Team, it is therefore essential that you have excellent communication and organisational skills, and be able to work independently as well as part of a team . You will already hold or be willing to work towards an NVQ level 2 in pharmacy services.

About us

The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provides services to West Cheshire and to Welsh patients covered by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership. Its services are provided from three locations :

• The Countess of Chester Hospital : providing 438 general and acute beds.
• Ellesmere Port Hospital : providing 56 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility.
• Tarporley War Memorial Hospital : a base for community services which serve the local rural population.

The Trust employs over 6258 staff (headcount) which includes temporary bank staff and provides acute emergency and elective services, primary care direct access services and obstetric services to a population of approximately 407,000. This includes 357,000 residents in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire which has a population of approximately 50,000.

The Trust is a busy district general hospital and in 2022 / 2023, there were more than 503,342 patient attendances (inpatient, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery. This is an increase of nearly 10,000 compared to the previous year when there were 494,387 patient attendances.

Job description

Job responsibilities

See Job Description for further details.

Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values.

Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £23 (standard) or £43 (enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first three months of employment.

You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £13 per year applies.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.

Good luck with your application.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Desirable

knowledge and / or experience

Essential