Female pharmacist selecting medicines

A day in the life of a pharmacy technician

Jess tells us why her role as a pharmacy technician in a prison environment is so different.

My name is Jess, and I’m one of the pharmacy technicians at HM Prison & Young Offender Institution (HMP & YOI), Doncaster, joining the Practice Plus Group team in March 2021.

Headshot of Jess
Jess

Life before Practice Plus Group

Prior to joining Practice Plus Group I spent almost 10 years working in community, but I have found that the prison environment is where I feel I can utilise my skills and truly make a difference. I see patients with complex health issues, I help keep them informed about their medication and support out-patients in managing their conditions day to day.

Working in prison primary care

Primary care in prison involves working alongside a multi-disciplinary team. This includes doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants, substance misuse support, dentists, mental health nurses and much more.

Working alongside medical professionals with different specialisms has helped me gain clinical knowledge that I would not normally be exposed to in other environments. There is plenty of opportunity for professional development as no day or patient is the same.

Day to day activities

A key part of being a pharmacy technician is administering patients with their medication, this may be given to the patient in their possession or taken under our supervision. We perform medicines reconciliations on all new patients when they arrive at HMI & YOI Doncaster, to ensure they continue to receive any appropriate medication whilst they are under our care. We perform other duties on a day to day basis such as medicines management, in possession risk assessments, and prescription & stock management. I feel like I have developed on all of these skills since working at Practice Plus Group.

Teamwork at Practice Plus Group

When I joined in March 2021, I was quickly welcomed into the team and felt comfortable straight away. We often bring in treats for everyone and enjoy socialising at team events (COVID-19 permitting of course).

I would thoroughly recommend the prison environment to any pharmacy technician wanting to expand their skills and knowledge.

Current vacancies

Job title Location Contract type Schedule type Closing date
Pharmacy Technician HMP Thameside Prison Healthcare Permanent 4 Jan 2024
Bank Pharmacist-HMP Altcourse HMP Altcourse Prison Healthcare Casual/Bank 3 Jan 2024
Bank Pharmacy Technician- HMP Altcourse HMP Altcourse Prison Healthcare Casual/Bank 3 Jan 2024
Pharmacist HMP Thameside Prison Healthcare Permanent 2 Jan 2024
Pharmacy Technician (part time)- HMP Altcourse HMP Altcourse Prison Healthcare Permanent 1 Jan 2024
Pharmacy Technician- HMP Lindholme HMP Lindholme Prison Healthcare Permanent 1 Jan 2024
Senior Pharmacy Technician- HMP Wealstun West Yorkshire HMP Wealstun Prison Healthcare Permanent 1 Jan 2024
Senior Pharmacy Technician- HMP Lindholme HMP Lindholme Prison Healthcare Fixed Term 1 Jan 2024
Pharmacy Technician- HMP Wakefield West Yorkshire HMP Wakefield Prison Healthcare Permanent 1 Jan 2024
Pharmacy Technician HMP Belmarsh Prison Healthcare Permanent 29 Dec 2023
Pharmacist HMP Belmarsh Prison Healthcare Permanent 29 Dec 2023
Bank Pharmacy Technician- HMP Lindholme HMP Lindholme Prison Healthcare Casual/Bank 27 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician- HMP YOI Doncaster HMP YOI Doncaster Prison Healthcare Permanent 26 Dec 2023
Senior Pharmacy Technician – HMP Lewes HMP Lewes Prison Healthcare Permanent 22 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Lewes HMP Lewes Prison Healthcare Permanent 22 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Manager/ Lead- West Midlands West Midlands Regional Prison Healthcare Permanent 21 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Assistant- HMP Oakwood West Midlands HMP Oakwood Prison Healthcare Permanent 21 Dec 2023
Pharmacist- HMP Hewell West Midlands HMP Hewell Prison Healthcare Permanent 21 Dec 2023
Apprentice Pre-Reg Pharmacy Technician – Winchester HMP Winchester Prison Healthcare Permanent 21 Dec 2023
Apprentice Pre-Reg Pharmacy Technician – IOW HMP IOW Prison Healthcare Permanent 21 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician – ACT – Accuracy Checking Technician- HMP Oakwood West Midlands HMP Oakwood Prison Healthcare Permanent 21 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Isle of Wight HMP IOW Prison Healthcare Permanent 21 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician- HMP Stafford West Midlands HMP Stafford Prison Healthcare Permanent 21 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP YOI Swinfen Hall West Midlands HMP YOI Swinfen Hall Prison Healthcare Permanent 21 Dec 2023
Clinical Pharmacist – HMP Isle of Wight HMP IOW Prison Healthcare Permanent 21 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Hewell West Midlands HMP Hewell Prison Healthcare Permanent 21 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Winchester HMP Winchester Prison Healthcare Permanent 21 Dec 2023
Bank Pharmacy Support Worker- HMP Leeds West Yorkshire HMP Leeds Prison Healthcare Casual/Bank 20 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician- HMP Altcourse HMP Altcourse Prison Healthcare Permanent 15 Dec 2023
Regional Pharmacist- Yorkshire and the North West West Yorkshire Prisons Overhead Prison Healthcare Permanent 15 Dec 2023
Bank Pharmacy Technician – HMP Brixton HMP Brixton Prison Healthcare Casual/Bank 15 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Wormwood Scrubs London HMP Wormwood Scrubs Prison Healthcare Permanent 15 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Pentonville HMP Pentonville Prison Healthcare Permanent 15 Dec 2023
Bank Pharmacist – HMP Bure HMP Bure Prison Healthcare Bank 15 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician HMP Rye Hill Prison Healthcare Permanent 14 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Stocken HMP Stocken Prison Healthcare Permanent 14 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Five Wells HMP Five Wells Prison Healthcare Permanent 14 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician (Part time)- HMP Oakwood West Midlands HMP Oakwood Prison Healthcare Permanent 14 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Oakwood West Midlands HMP Oakwood Prison Healthcare Permanent 14 Dec 2023
Pharmacist Suffolk HMP Hollesley Bay Prison Healthcare Permanent 13 Dec 2023
Bank Pharmacist – HMP Hollesley Bay Suffolk HMP Hollesley Bay Prison Healthcare Casual/Bank 13 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP YOI Foston Hall HMP Foston Hall Prison Healthcare Permanent 13 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Support Worker- HMP Leeds West Yorkshire HMP Leeds Prison Healthcare Permanent 12 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician – Heathrow IRC Heathrow IRC Prison Healthcare Permanent 12 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Manager/ Lead – HMP Leeds West Yorkshire HMP Leeds Prison Healthcare Permanent 8 Dec 2023
Pharmacist – HMP Bure HMP Bure Prison Healthcare Permanent 8 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Assistant – HMP Wayland HMP Wayland Prison Healthcare Permanent 8 Dec 2023
Bank Pharmacy Technician – HMP Belmarsh HMP Belmarsh Prison Healthcare Casual/Bank 8 Dec 2023
Bank Pharmacy Technician – HMP Thameside HMP Thameside Prison Healthcare Casual/Bank 8 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP The Mount HMP The Mount Prison Healthcare Permanent 8 Dec 2023
Bank Pharmacy Technician – HMP Wayland HMP Wayland Prison Healthcare Casual/Bank 8 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Wayland HMP Wayland Prison Healthcare Permanent 8 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Bullingdon Thames Valley HMP Bullingdon Prison Healthcare Permanent 7 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Brixton HMP Brixton Prison Healthcare Permanent 7 Dec 2023
Pharmacy Technician- HMP Featherstone West Midlands HMP Featherstone Prison Healthcare Permanent 7 Dec 2023

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