Job summary
- Main area
- Pharmacy
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 3
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Part time
- Job ref
- 432-HR678-25
- Employer
- East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Colchester Hospital
- Town
- Colchester
- Salary
- £24,937 - £26,598 per annum pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 21/09/2025 23:59
Employer heading

Senior Dispensing Assistant
NHS AfC: Band 3
We are one of the largest NHS organisation in England. Our scale provides exciting opportunities for development, innovation, research, education and training.
Talk to us about our range of flexible working opportunities, apprenticeships and staff benefits
Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is at the heart of all we do; and it forms part of the ESNEFT’s core activities. The Trust operates and relies on everyone treating each other with dignity and respect, to receive equitable and fair treatment in the implementation of Policies, Procedures and in its Practices, to foster positive work relationships, and finally to act with integrity as a professional within ESNEFT as well as a representative of the NHS as a whole. The EDI Agenda reflects the Trust values such as Optimistic, Appreciative and Kind. In line with the NHS Long Term Plan, People Plan, People Promise and a Model Employer intrinsic in the Equality Diversity and Inclusion Agenda, we consistently strive to improve, to take the learning into Action for a better ESNEFT.
If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge then we are keen to hear from you.
Job overview
Have you got the enthusiasm to take up the challenge of this permanent post? We are looking for Senior Dispensing Assistants to join our Pharmacy team. You will work within most areas of the ESNEFT Pharmaceutical Service based at Colchester Hospital, providing dispensing support to qualified staff.
Duties will include dispensing for in-patients, outpatients and controlled drugs following standard procedures; a re-stocking service of pharmaceutical products to wards and departments.
Pharmacy experience is essential and a formal qualification is desirable, e.g. NVQ Level 2 or equivalent.
Formal Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday commitments are mandatory and will be on a rostered basis.
Please note this position is not eligible for a Health and Social Care Visa and does not meet the requirements for sponsorship for a Skilled Worker visa.
Details about our pharmacy service - https://esneft.pagetiger.com/buqzfou/1
Main duties of the job
- To dispense for inpatients and outpatients by calculating appropriate dosage and quantities required against prescriptions/requisitions, following departmental Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
- To ensure that all customers receive the appropriate medicine in the correct form and in a timely manner.
- To ensure that all medicines are labelled and packaged appropriately, and all relevant patient information and compliance aids/sundries are supplied.
- To dispense controlled drugs for ward stock and named patients, following all relevant Pharmacy procedures and legal requirements.
- To perform a self-check on all dispensed items to ensure accuracy and quality prior to placing the item in the designated area for final checking.
- To receive in prescriptions from a wide range of outpatient clients and use listening and questioning skills to obtain appropriate information to enable effective service provision.
- To operate the cash till and debit/credit card machine to take payment for prescriptions.
- To ensure that the declaration of payment/exemption on outpatient prescriptions has been correctly filled in and clearly endorsed with grounds for exemption if a fee is not paid.
- To sell over the counter products under the supervision of a pharmacist.
Working for our organisation
We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients’ own homes
We are one of the largest NHS organisations in England, employing more than 12,000 staff
We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options
Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services
Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients
We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what’s widely regarded as the world’s best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients
If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge, then we want to hear from you
Find out about living and working here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkPu7HphU8A
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.
Person specification
Experience
Essential criteria
- Previous experience of working in pharmacy (retail/hospital)
- Use of computers
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Basic Secondary Education – ‘O’ level/GCSE English, Maths & Science Grade C/4 or above
Desirable criteria
- NVQ Pharmacy Services Level 2 – optional units: relevant to pharmacy practice area or equivalent.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Confidentiality issues working within pharmacy and on wards
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
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Claire Sharp
- Job title
- Chief Technician
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01206 745985
If you have problems applying, contact
- Address
-
Colchester General Hospital
- Telephone
- 07789651269
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