Freeman Hospital, Newcastle, UK

Industry: Hospitals and Health Care
Company Size: 10,001+ employees

Freeman Hospital

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Employer heading

Pharmacy Stores Assistant

Band 2

Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest and largest NHS hospital trusts in the country. We have around 16,000 staff and an annual budget of £1.7 billion.

With strong history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation regionally, nationally and internationally, we’re in the top five providers of specialised health services in the country.

As well as providing a wide range of hospital and community services, we support people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.

We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

Newcastle Hospitals are proud to be one of the exemplar organisations across the NHS on sustainability, with a long history of delivering Sustainable Healthcare in Newcastle (Shine) and the first healthcare organisation in the world to declare a climate emergency. Our strategy includes commitments to being Net Zero by 2030, for our direct carbon footprint, and Net Zero by 2040 for our footprint plus. Delivering these ambitions will not be possible without the help, support and action of every single member of our team.

**Job Overview**

We are looking to recruit a Pharmacy Assistant who will work full time (37.5hrs), mainly based at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, to assist in the provision of a first class medication supply service within the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals Foundation Trust and to support our clinical colleagues in the treatment of our patients.

Presently the Pharmacy Stores team operates fully from Monday to Friday and provides a reduced provision on Saturdays and Sundays. The successful applicant will participate on a rostered basis in providing this additional service and it is our intention to review and extend this provision across all days of the week in the near future.

As a Pharmacy Assistant you will initially be working predominantly in the Pharmacy Stores at the Royal Victoria Infirmary and will receive extensive training & support from the rest of the Stores team.

- Interview Date: 11 June 2026

- 37 Hours 30 Minutes/Week

- You will be redirected to Trac to apply for the vacancy. Please expand the job details section and read all of the information before applying for the vacancy.

**NO AGENCIES PLEASE**

Main duties of the job

The successful applicant will be involved in the receipt of medication into the Trust in an environment which can be both noisy and hectic ensuring a high level of accuracy at all times. You will also be working as part of a Team to provide a delivery service to the wards ensuring medication is delivered from Stores & Dispensaries in a timely manner. Precise assessment and recording of information is imperative to ensure that correct items are received and put into stock within the Stores environment.

As your confidence and knowledge grows you will transition into roles throughout the wider hospital environment.

When working within the departments and wards of the Trust the successful applicant will facilitate in ensuring that the right medications are available when required by other member of the healthcare team and also contributing to an effective top-up service

In our new recruit we are looking for an individual who is committed to delivering a high quality service to our patients and whose personal attributes include: the ability to work accurately in a very busy environment, good communication skills, a professional manner, a flexible team approach and the ability to adapt to and engage in change.

If you thrive in a busy environment and are seeking new development opportunities this could be the role for you.

Working for our organisation

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.

With around 2 million contacts with patients every year, we deliver care from:

- Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)

- Freeman Hospital

- Newcastle Dental Hospital

- Cramlington Manor Walks

- Urgent treatment centres

- Newcastle Fertility Centre

- Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria

- Northern Genetics Service

These include a range of flagship services which deliver cutting-edge care (supported by state-of-the-art diagnostic services in both radiology and pathology) and are a catalyst for innovation to support pioneering clinical practice in the NHS.

We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.

Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under ‘Documents to download’ or ‘Supporting documents’.

For further information on The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please visit: Careers | Newcastle Hospitals | NHS | Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

**Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities**

- To provide an efficient, accurate and high-quality pharmaceutical service from the Dispensary and Pharmacy Stores through the receipt, storage and distribution of medicines

- To provide timely and secure delivery of medicines, including IV fluids, dietary products, individual patient prescription supplies and controlled drugs from Pharmacy Stores and Inpatient Dispensaries to wards and departments, within the Trust, using manual and electric trolleys.

- To assemble orders of medicinal products for use across the Trust

- To liaise with ward staff, Pharmacists & Technicians with respect to stock issues which may lead to the temporary alternatives being supplied.

- To assist in the ordering and receipt of medical and industrial gases.

- To order and replenish stock supplies for wards and departments throughout the trust through the top-up process.

- To carry out the replenishment of drugs in cardiac and anaphylaxis emergency drug boxes

- To replenish, cycle count, adjust and monitor stock within Omnicell automated drug cabinets on wards and departments within the Trust.

- To monitor the automated filling of ward boxes with medicines that are output from the pharmacy robot.

- To participate in late duty, Bank Holiday and weekend working on a rotational basis.

- Contribute to the disposal of certain types of waste (e.g., cytotoxic, cytostatic and clinical waste).

- The overriding purpose of this role is to support the provision of the highest quality patient care through personal actions and continuous improvement.

Person specification

**Qualifications & Education**

Essential criteria

- Evidence of achievement at CSE or GCSE in Mathematics and English at Grade A*-E or equivalent experience.

Desirable criteria

- Level 2 Qualification in Pharmacy Services or equivalent qualification.

Knowledge & Experience

Essential criteria

- Experience in a similar post

Desirable criteria

- Experience of working in a stores/warehouse environment, receiving, storing, assembling and delivering goods

- Knowledge of pharmacy stock control systems

- Knowledge of hospital and pharmacy policies and procedures

- Experience of monitoring and maintaining stock

- Knowledge of automated dispensing systems

- Demonstrate an understanding of standard operating procedures and their relevance in the workplace

- Knowledge of drug names and differences in formulations/pack sizes.

**Skills & Abilities**

Essential criteria

- Demonstrate good oral / written communication

- Ability to prioritise own work to meet service requirements

- Good organisational skills with an ability to maintain a disciplined approach to work

- Be able to work as part of a team

- Ability to deal with routine enquiries

- Be able to adapt and respond promptly to changing circumstances

- Be able to work under pressure

- Be able to maintain a high level of accuracy in a busy environment.

- Be able to maintain high levels of concentration for lengthy periods of time

- Basic computer skills

**Important note on completion of reference section of Application Form**

All references from current and previous employers will be sought and must cover a minimum of 3 years employment. Therefore, when completing the reference section of your application form, please give the address, telephone number and work email address of each of your current/previous line managers that cover 3 years employment. Failure to complete this section may result in your application not being processed.

Please note it is a requirement of The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who require a DBS for the post they have been offered pay for their DBS certificate. The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first month’s pay.

Candidates who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by e-mail. You should check your SPAM folders as well as your inbox. If you have not been contacted within 4 weeks of the closing date you should assume your application has been unsuccessful.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Documents to download

- Pharmacy Stores Assistant (PDF, 291.3KB)

- Newcastle Staff Benefits (PDF, 274.4KB)

- Behaviour and Civility Charter (PDF, 93.8KB)

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name Darren Livingstone Job title Pharmacy Stores Team Leader Email address darren.livingstone@nhs.net Telephone number 0191 2825952

Pharmacy Stores Assistant

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