Job summary
- Main area
- 317 FH Pharmacy
- Grade
- Band 2
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 15 hours per week (Saturday and Sunday)
- Job ref
- 317-2025-32-16-DR
- Employer
- The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Freeman Hospital
- Town
- 317 01 Freeman Hospital
- Salary
- £24,465 pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 17/08/2025 23:59
- Interview date
- 11/09/2025
Employer heading
Dispensing Assistant/ Receptionist
Band 2
Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest and largest NHS foundation trusts in the country, with around 15,000 staff and an annual budget of £1.6 billion.
We have a long history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, and innovation in medical research regionally, nationally and internationally.
We’re in the top five providers of specialised health services in the country, supporting people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.
Our staff oversee around 6,500 patient contacts each day, delivering high standards of healthcare.
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
Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is looking to recruit an enthusiastic, motivated individual to join our fast paced in-patient pharmacy department as a weekend receptionist.
We are a busy pharmacy department offering a diverse and complex range of functions and activities including; Dispensary, ward based and clinical activities, logistics, stores and procurement, clinical trials, aseptic preparation and medicines information. We have an automated robotic dispensing and stock supply system.
As the role of the receptionist is primarily to attend to users of the service when they present at Pharmacy Reception and to answer the telephone, we are ideally looking for someone with a pleasant disposition who can communicate well, both face to face and over the telephone, with a wide range of people including, staff, colleagues and patients.
- Interview Date: 11th September 2025
- 15 hours/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
Key to the Receptionist’s role is the organisation of work as it comes into the dispensary, ensuring prescriptions and orders enter the correct workflow stream allowing prioritisation of the workload. The Receptionist will also be responsible for the accurate input of discharge prescription information onto the prescription tracking system and for the filtering of prescriptions and orders into the correct workflow stream for dispensing by our team of dispensing assistants.
If you have experience of working in a busy customer/client focused environment, can remain calm under pressure, have the ability to respond and adapt quickly to changing circumstances and are a good team player this role could be for you.
Whilst experience of working in a pharmacy environment would be advantageous it is not essential as full training will be given.
To discuss this post further or to arrange an informal visit please contact Tracy Bracken / Pippa Rodwell
This position is 15hrs per week to cover weekend reception duties on a Saturday and Sunday.
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.
Our staff oversee around 6,500 patient contacts every day, delivering high standards of healthcare from the following sites:
• Freeman Hospital
• Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)
• Health Innovation Neighbourhood (on the former Newcastle General Hospital and Centre for Ageing and Vitality site)
• Newcastle Dental Hospital
• Newcastle Fertility Centre
• Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria
• Northern Genetics Service
• Cramlington Manor Walks
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
- Undertake reception duties at the staff hatch
- Answer the dispensary telephone
- Ensure inpatient and outpatient prescriptions are entered on the prescription tracking system
- Provide appropriate support as required to dispensary staff
- To assist with general clerical duties e.g. filing and archiving of documentation, data collection, and data input under the direction and supervision of the Dispensary Manager
- Participate in daily stock checks
- Checks off orders received into the dispensary in accordance with procedure
Person specification
KNOWLEDGE
Essential criteria
- Knowledge of Health and Safety and hygiene in the work place.
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of pharmacy stock control systems
- Knowledge of drug names and terminology
- Knowledge of COSHH regulations
- Knowledge of Standard Operating Procedures
SKILLS
Essential criteria
- Demonstrate good oral / written communication
- Ability to accurately record and relay messages to the appropriate individual in a busy environment
- Good computer skills
- Excellent customer care skills
- Excellent telephone manner
Desirable criteria
- Good listening skills
- Ability to work to a Standard Operating Procedure or protocol
- Ability to follow verbal instructions
EXPERIENCE
Essential criteria
- Experience of working in a customer/client focused environment
Desirable criteria
- Pharmacy experience gained in a hospital or community setting
- Experience of stock control and stock management
QUALIFICATIONS
Essential criteria
- Good basic education (e.g. GCSEs or equivalent qualifications / experience
Desirable criteria
- Evidence of achievement at CSE or GCSE in Maths and English
- NVQ 2 in pharmacy services and the approved underpinning knowledge
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
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Tracy Bracken
- Job title
- Deputy Dispensary Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01912231772
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