Senior Dispensing Assistant
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East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust Senior Dispensing Assistant
The closing date is 29 September 2026
Job summary
We are looking for a Senior Dispensing Assistant to join our Pharmacy team to cover maternity leave. You will work within most areas of the ESNEFT Pharmaceutical Service based at Colchester Hospital, providing dispensing support to qualified staff. This post is fixed term / secondment until 14th September 2027 at 23.5 hours per week. Internal applicants currently employed by ESNEFT will be offered on a secondment basis only, which will need to be discussed with your line manager.
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.
Details about our pharmacy service - https://esneft.pagetiger.com/csusdpr/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.
About us
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
Details
Date posted
15 September 2026
Pay scheme
Agenda for change
Band
Band 3
Salary
£25,760 to £27,476 a year per annum pro rata
Contract
Fixed term
Duration
12 months
Working pattern
Part-time
Reference number
432-HR814-26
Job locations
Colchester Hospital
Turner Road
Colchester
CO45JL
United Kingdom
Job description
Job responsibilities
For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.
Job description
Job responsibilities
For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Previous experience of working in pharmacy (retail/hospital)
- Use of computers
Qualifications
Essential
- Basic Secondary Education - 'O' level/GCSE English, Maths & Science Grade C/4 or above
Desirable
- NVQ Pharmacy Services Level 2 - optional units: relevant to pharmacy practice area or equivalent.
Knowledge
Essential
- Confidentiality issues working within pharmacy and on wards
Experience
Essential
- Previous experience of working in pharmacy (retail/hospital)
- Use of computers
Qualifications
Essential
- Basic Secondary Education - 'O' level/GCSE English, Maths & Science Grade C/4 or above
Desirable
- NVQ Pharmacy Services Level 2 - optional units: relevant to pharmacy practice area or equivalent.
Knowledge
Essential
- Confidentiality issues working within pharmacy and on wards
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Employer details
Employer name
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Colchester Hospital
Turner Road
Colchester
CO45JL
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.esneft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)
Employer details
Employer name
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Colchester Hospital
Turner Road
Colchester
CO45JL
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.esneft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)
Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact:
Chief Technician
Claire Sharp
01206745985
Details
Date posted
15 September 2026
Pay scheme
Agenda for change
Band
Band 3
Salary
£25,760 to £27,476 a year per annum pro rata
Contract
Fixed term
Duration
12 months
Working pattern
Part-time
Reference number
432-HR814-26
Job locations
Colchester Hospital
Turner Road
Colchester
CO45JL
United Kingdom
Supporting documents
Privacy notice
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)
Support links
© Crown copyright
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