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
Bank Pharmacy Technician- HMP Altcourse HMP Altcourse Prison Healthcare Casual/Bank 27 Jun 2023
Bank Pharmacy Technician – HMP Lindholme HMP Lindholme Prison Healthcare Casual/Bank 21 Jun 2023
Bank Pharmacy Technician- HMP Winchester HMP Winchester Prison Healthcare Casual/Bank 20 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Onley HMP Onley Prison Healthcare Permanent 20 Jun 2023
Clinical Pharmacist – HMP Isle of Wight HMP IOW Prison Healthcare Permanent 20 Jun 2023
Pharmacist – HMP Winchester HMP Winchester Prison Healthcare Permanent 20 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Winchester HMP Winchester Prison Healthcare Permanent 20 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Technician – Gatwick IRC Gatwick IRC Prison Healthcare Permanent 19 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Assistant – HMP Lewes HMP Lewes Prison Healthcare Permanent 16 Jun 2023
Pharmacist – HMP Lewes HMP Lewes Prison Healthcare Permanent 16 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Lewes HMP Lewes Prison Healthcare Permanent 16 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Support Worker- HMP Altcourse HMP Altcourse Prison Healthcare Permanent 13 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Dispenser- HMP Wealstun West Yorkshire HMP Wealstun Prison Healthcare Permanent 13 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Technician- HMP Lindholme HMP Lindholme Prison Healthcare Permanent 13 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Dispenser – HMP Bullingdon Thames Valley HMP Bullingdon Prison Healthcare Permanent 13 Jun 2023
Bank Pharmacist – HMP Wayland HMP Wayland Prison Healthcare Casual/Bank 13 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP The Mount HMP The Mount Prison Healthcare Permanent 13 Jun 2023
Bank Pharmacist – HMP Hollesley Bay Suffolk HMP Hollesley Bay Prison Healthcare Casual/Bank 13 Jun 2023
Bank Pharmacy Technician – HMP Wayland HMP Wayland Prison Healthcare Casual/Bank 13 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Grendon & Spring Hill Bucks Prisons HMP Grendon & Spring Hill Prison Healthcare Permanent 9 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Technician- HMP New Hall HMP Newhall Prison Healthcare Permanent 8 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Second Checker-HMP YOI Moorland HMP YOI Moorland Prison Healthcare Permanent 8 Jun 2023
Pharmacist – 12 month FTC Thames Valley HMP Bullingdon Prison Healthcare Fixed Term 8 Jun 2023
Senior Pharmacy Technician Thames Valley HMP Huntercombe Prison Healthcare Permanent 8 Jun 2023
Bank Pharmacy Technician – HMP Eastwood Park HMP Eastwood Park Prison Healthcare Casual/Bank 8 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Technician- HMP Eastwood Park HMP Eastwood Park Prison Healthcare Permanent 8 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Bullingdon Thames Valley HMP Bullingdon Prison Healthcare Permanent 8 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Technician (Part time)- HMP Oakwood West Midlands HMP Oakwood Prison Healthcare Permanent 7 Jun 2023
Pharmacist- HMP Long Lartin West Midlands HMP Long Lartin Prison Healthcare Permanent 7 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Technician- HMP Long Lartin West Midlands HMP Long Lartin Prison Healthcare Permanent 7 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Dovegate HMP Dovegate Prison Healthcare Permanent 7 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Oakwood West Midlands HMP Oakwood Prison Healthcare Permanent 7 Jun 2023
Regional Pharmacist- Yorkshire and the North West West Yorkshire Prisons Overhead Prison Healthcare Permanent 6 Jun 2023
Bank Pharmacy Technician – HMP The Mount HMP The Mount Prison Healthcare Casual/Bank 5 Jun 2023
Pharmacist- HMP Hewell West Midlands HMP Hewell Prison Healthcare Permanent 5 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Wayland HMP Wayland Prison Healthcare Permanent 5 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Hewell West Midlands HMP Hewell Prison Healthcare Permanent 5 Jun 2023
Bank Pharmacist – HMP Bure HMP Bure Prison Healthcare Bank 5 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Technician – Heathrow IRC Heathrow IRC Prison Healthcare Permanent 2 Jun 2023
Registered Nurse Associate (Pharmacy Department)- HMP Lindholme HMP Lindholme Prison Healthcare Permanent 2 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Wormwood Scrubs London HMP Wormwood Scrubs Prison Healthcare Permanent 2 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Pentonville HMP Pentonville Prison Healthcare Permanent 2 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Assistant – HMP Wormwood Scrubs London HMP Wormwood Scrubs Prison Healthcare Permanent 2 Jun 2023
Pharmacist – HMP Belmrash and HMP Thameside HMP Thameside Prison Healthcare Permanent 1 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Thameside HMP Thameside Prison Healthcare Permanent 1 Jun 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP Stocken HMP Stocken Prison Healthcare Permanent 1 Jun 2023
Bank Pharmacy Technician-HMP Wealstun West Yorkshire HMP Wealstun Prison Healthcare Casual/Bank 31 May 2023
Pharmacy Assistant- HMP Featherstone West Midlands HMP Featherstone Prison Healthcare Permanent 31 May 2023
Pharmacy Technician- HMP Stafford West Midlands HMP Stafford Prison Healthcare Permanent 31 May 2023
Pharmacy Technician – HMP YOI Swinfen Hall West Midlands HMP YOI Swinfen Hall Prison Healthcare Permanent 31 May 2023
Pharmacy Technician- HMP Featherstone West Midlands HMP Featherstone Prison Healthcare Permanent 31 May 2023
Pharmacy Technician FTC- HMP Altcourse HMP Altcourse Prison Healthcare Fixed Term 30 May 2023