Quality of Dispensing Assistants

[dizzyb23]

Cuppatea
The way I understand it is that the locum Pharmacists we've been looking after lately will rope anyone into helping them in the dispensary. Result: Several errors made, stock in wrong locations, no stock being ordered or too much is arriving daily, many complaints from customers etc etc......

I understand that help of any kind is needed at times but is annoying when the Tech who runs the dispensary comes back into work early just to put everything right again!!!!

The other side of this debate is that it's always a good thing to encourage a HCA to start learning dispensing.

But I think it's a bit much to drag a counter assistant in to the dispensary and expect her/him to just get on with it.....

[howe928]

dispensing assistants - where would we be without you. I've often wondered how on earth you cope with the jobs that you do on the pay that you get

What this is about is the responsibility. Some of your colleagues do not feel any sense of responsibility for their own self-improvement or for the errors they make.

The same is also true of some pharmacists, but the difference is that I will not be held responsible for the mistakes of another pharmacist (in theory, although actually it has been tried, but that's another story), yet I am held responsible for the mistakes of technicians and other staff. I have had staff give stuff out without it being checked, not relay to the patient what I have asked to be relayed, and interactions that the computer has flagged up suppressed without being told.

Soon, it is proposed, and as Fleegle says, I will be held responsible for mistakes that happen when I am not even in the pharmacy. This is just not acceptable. And yet, despite my mentioning it on this forum once before, there has been no suggestion in high places that either there be a concurrent move to create the post of The Responsible Technician with their own insurance, etc., who would take responsibility when the RP is absent, or even that the pharmacist's criminal liability for dispensing (etc) errors made and given out when the RP is absent be modified.

I'm afraid that I think the best solution for us locums may be to give up our self-employed status, but I'd like other's views on that. Perhaps in another part of this forum. Infact, I'll sort that now.

Until the responsible technician becomes a reality, the Conscientious Technician is very much valued and respected.

remote supervision - what will change in the dispensary? dispensing still carry on like what it is now including printing off all the warnings labels, pharmacist or accuracy checker still needs to do the final check, just the amount of works to be checked will creat backlog in teh dispensary. Giving out medicines should be restricted to pharmacists, trained accuracy checkers and pharmacist technicians (trained to open bagged medicines and check with patients item by item, refer to pharmacist if needed, give advice as directed by pharmacist) This works for some industry but not pharmacy, there are so many legal minefields in pharmacy!!!

agreed about
Responsible dispensing or pharmacy technicians, responsible trainees technican and responsible pharmacy assistants are vital members of pharmacy teams

responsible technicians - good idea, better than registered technicians
about the pay, agreed they should get pay more and be regulated, if anything went wrong and fould guilty the pay fine should be taken into account of their monthly pay

I'd have to agree with most of the point that dispensing errors are VERY important when the pharmacist checks it. However what really set me straight into not making any mistakes was when I worked with a pharmacist who seems to care less about checking the items. Normally we'd only have one pharmacist on duty who checked everything in and out, yet when he left on holiday for a week (with a day notice) and left me in charge it seemed to shake me to the core the importance of medicine and dispensing errors. I noticed that after the locum "checked" the item i made a mistake on the label and he didn't pick it up, and when i pointed it out he didn't seem that distressed. Which really confused me, but it made me think, instead of typing the incorrect strengh I'd picked out the wrong strengh medication it could'ave been fatal. So I understand partially why it's so imporant for pharmacists to check everything correctly and patiently.

some pharmacists need a kick start, have you reported this locum?

pharmacy dispensers or assitants can afford to lose concentration in a split second e.g. to answer phone, to serve customer etc as pharmacist is there as at last line of defence to stop any dispensing error/s

the ideal minimum staffing level standard
1 counter assistant taking care of the shop
1 counter and dispensary assistant mainly taking care of phone calls and repeat prescription ordering services
1 dispensary assitant to alternate labelling and dispensing, taking care of dispensary
1 more dispensary assitant to alternate labelling and dispensing, taking care of dispensary
1 more dispensary assitant (standby) to serve for 3 pharmacies e.g. covering sickness, busy, holidays

good day will see an average of 1-2 errors
normal day will see an average of 6 errors
bad day will see an average of 15 errors
not to mention tablet < -> capsule labelling errors

pharmacists need to be on full alert and vigilant during the full working shift to ensure zero mistakes (which is achievable but human are not perfect), there are tiredness especially eyes, concentration, distraction issues, dispensing error always caught pharmacists at the right time for some reasons

good to know you understood partially

[jaymags]

Distractions for techs are unavoidable I'm afraid. Most of us are not just techs but general dog bodies. It's not much fun when a tech is making up weekly tray meds to be stopped and asked to answer the phone or get excess stock from upstairs. Some days I need to make a list of the jobs I am expected to remember to do "when you've done that we need some more stock from upstairs and by the way answer the phone on your way to cleaning the windows and don't forget to get so and so's prescription ready they are coming in in ten minutes." All of this when you are expected to come into work with a very heavy cold and make no dispensing/ labelling errors.
It's tough feeling unappreciated and underpaid for what techs do but on the other hand this forum has made me realise that techs are appreciated for their role in the pharmacy, especially by locums. I agree about some techs having to go in early to sort out the previous days order errors and stuff I've done it myself and stayed over and extra 15 mins or so, without pay to make sure orders are placed etc. Every extra minute adds up. Over a one week period my extra minutes, opening up and staying past my start/finish time, added up to nearly two hours. Two hours pay is a lot to me to be without only to be moaned at for my efforts on the boss's return.
That's life and I still love my job for the most and try to ensure accuracy in everything I do.

[PHARMAC1ST]

The job role for a dispensing assistant/pharmacy technician is quite demanding of what i have seen. I think they should definately get paid more than surfing just above the minimum wage.

As a locum i have been to some stores where the staff think that just because the pharmacist manager is off they can have time off from the dispensary work and just float around doing what they like. I have many times been left on my own in the dispensary to just get on with the whole of the dispensing process on my own which i think is unacceptable, however i am not a complainer especially as i usually will be there the once.

NOTE i think the majority of the dispensing staff are excellent are are highly trained to carry out what they do. Obviously you get your fair share of bad ones but i think in this case the good ones are far more.

[Pharmanaut]

[QUOTE=PHARMAC1ST;38739]
As a locum i have been to some stores where the staff think that just because the pharmacist manager is off they can have time off from the dispensary work and just float around doing what they like. I have many times been left on my own in the dispensary to just get on with the whole of the dispensing process on my own which i think is unacceptable, however i am not a complainer especially as i usually will be there the once.

QUOTE]
Have done this on many occasions...
Just tell them that some help in the dispensary is needed.
I'm also not phased by saying "Counter Please" if someone is waiting!
A list of suitable phrases is available for the inexperienced!

[dizzyb23]

Jaymags: You sound as though you have the same hassles I do. I worked on my own a couple of weeks ago with a Locum. I answered the phone, served on the counter, labelled the scripts and picked the items, finished the MDS stuff, put the orders away etc from 8.30 till 5.00pm for two days. I complained but it made no difference. I think I did the work of three people and still get paid the same.

[howe928]

To be fair , I'm not necessarily opposed to support staff sharing some of the blame if the s**t hits the fan.

I've worked at certain shops where the "support" staff seem happy to put pressure on the pharmacist - quoting unrealistically short waiting times to patients, interrupting repeatedly when I'm checking, not answering the phone, inability to deal with simple counter queries, and my personal favourite - rustling a bag to hurry me along when I'm checking.

If the judgment in this trial was more widely known (I haven't heard it mentioned in any shops) the very small minority of staff who behave like I've described, might start to be more supportive and realise the pharmacist (yes, even a locum) is part of the team.

Oh, and it's not our fault that their rates of pay from the multiples are so low.
.

in this case their trying to help actually have the opposite effect

Jaymags: You sound as though you have the same hassles I do. I worked on my own a couple of weeks ago with a Locum. I answered the phone, served on the counter, labelled the scripts and picked the items, finished the MDS stuff, put the orders away etc from 8.30 till 5.00pm for two days. I complained but it made no difference. I think I did the work of three people and still get paid the same.

reminds me about our neighbour in the ocean - octopus :: )

[jaymags]

Yes Dizzyb23 we are two of a kind.
I do have to agree whilst the cat is away some mice like to play but others do more than their fair share to make up for the others that like to play. I have learnt that complaining gets me nowhere. I turn a blind eye to lots of what goes on when the boss isn't there unless he finds out from other quarters, or if it is a serious matter and I try to avoid having to go to the shop out of my normal working hours because I know I'm going to see something the boss wouldn't like.
If anything, when we have a locum some of our staff, me included work harder when the boss/manager is not there, just to catch up on work left behind from the previous day that could have been done, hunting out deliveries that should have been put in the delivery box, stock not ordered for owings, specials ordering left "FAO of Jaymags" when they could and should have been able to do it themselves (other staff I mean not locums)
I may get just above the minimum for what I do but I am one of the lucky ones, I have no travel expenses to get to work other than a bit of shoe leather.

[dizzyb23]

I wish I worked with you JayMags. I'm not saying i'm perfect and the best coz i'm far from it but it seems as though i'm the only one that bothers about the shop/dispensary/customers/Pharmacist.
I did my training back in the day when being a member of the support staff meant making sure the Pharmacist went home without a massive headache and every customer was dealt with accordingly.....And we ALL pitched in....not just one person. And when we had a locum, they were looked after from the minute they walked in the door to when they left for the day and they ALWAYS came back. A locum was seen as a special guest in our pharmacy and we basically pampered them. I still try to do that but i'm not always there.

Oh no!!!!!! I'm moaning again.....that's three rants today already. I'll shut up now.

[Pharmanaut]

Oh no!!!!!! I'm moaning again.....that's three rants today already. I'll shut up now.

And when it all comes together...
Committed pharmacist and staff.
Almost have to start turning prescriptions away once word gets around that someone really cares.