# Senior Dispensing Assistant > NHS job listing from Job Clerk for East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust. ## Canonical URLs - **HTML:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/senior-dispensing-assistant/5043b7f1-7dcd-4969-8f9a-70fc2e822c7e - **Markdown:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/senior-dispensing-assistant/5043b7f1-7dcd-4969-8f9a-70fc2e822c7e.md ## Summary - **Status:** Live - **Employer:** East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust - **Town:** Colchester - **Region:** East of England - **Country:** England - **Profession:** Healthcare support worker - **Grade:** Band 3 - **Salary:** £25,760 - £27,476 per annum - **Contract type:** Permanent - **Employment type:** Full time - 37.5 hours per week - **Closing date:** 2026-06-09T23:59:00.000Z - **Posted:** 2026-05-29T13:22:20.594Z - **Source information URL:** https://www.healthjobsuk.com/job/UK/Essex/Colchester/East_Suffolk_North_Essex_NHS_Foundation_Trust/Pharmacy/Pharmacy-v8045744 - **Application URL:** https://apps.trac.jobs/job-advert/8045744?ShowJobAdvert=&feedid=9002 - **Employer website:** https://www.esneft.nhs.uk ## Job Content ### Job overview Have you got the enthusiasm to take up the challenge of this fixed term post? We are looking for Senior Dispensing Assistants to join our Pharmacy team. You will work within most areas of the ESNEFT Pharmaceutical Service based at Colchester Hospital, providing dispensing support to qualified staff 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/buqzfou/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. ### Detailed job description and main responsibilities For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description. ## Job Details Have you got the enthusiasm to take up the challenge of this fixed term post? We are looking for Senior Dispensing Assistants to join our Pharmacy team. You will work within most areas of the ESNEFT Pharmaceutical Service based at Colchester Hospital, providing dispensing support to qualified staff 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/buqzfou/1 ## Job Description 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. ## Responsibilities For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description. ## Person Specification ### 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. ## Documents - [staff networks (pdf, 230.1kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=2724) - [dbs information (pdf, 272.6kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=1262) - [apprenticeship handbook (pdf, 373.9kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=2499) - [esneft values and behaviours (pdf, 74.8kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=2146) - [value of joining nhs pension (pdf, 125.2kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=2404) - [job description and person specification (pdf, 448.6kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?vdoc=10334533) ## Agent Notes - This Markdown page is generated from the same Job Clerk job record as the HTML job detail page. - Use the canonical HTML URL for user-facing references. - Use the application URL when the user wants to apply on the source NHS site.