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Form of workNHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.
NHS Scotland is reducing their full-time working week from 37.5 to 37 hours per week from 1 April 2024 but with no change in pay. This reduction will also be applied pro rata for part time staff. This advert and any subsequent offer/contract of employment therefore reflects the new working hours. However, as not all service areas will be able to adopt the 37 hour working week immediately from 1 April 2024, you may be required to work up to an additional 30 minutes per week for a temporary period for which you would be paid until the service you are working in changes rosters or working patterns to accommodate the new reduced working week. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Recruiting Board.
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NHS Lothian
Radiopharmacy
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
Specialist Radiopharmacy Technicians (2 posts):
Band 5, 1.0wte, 37 hrs/week
£30,229 - £37,664
What is Radiopharmacy?
Radiopharmacy is the part of the pharmacy department in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh that makes sterile radioactive medicines for administration to patients receiving a Nuclear Medicine scan for the diagnosis of various conditions, including cancer.
The Radiopharmacy team at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh is a high-performance team of specialist technicians, pharmacists, scientists and support workers that have built a positive team culture to ensure we have an enjoyable experience at work, supporting each other to reach our full potential and deliver a high-quality service.
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for someone who is friendly, approachable, efficient and team-orientated, who will make our team even better. Over the last five years, our staff feedback survey results show that our staff would recommend our team as a good team to be a part of, with an approval score of 93-100%, and we now have an opportunity for two more people to join the team.
We’re looking for two people, who are either registered pharmacy technicians, or have a relevant life sciences degree, such as physics, chemistry, biochemistry or biomedical science. It is desirable for science graduates to be able to become registered on an accredited healthcare register in the future, such as the Register of Clinical Technologists, the Academy of Healthcare Sciences or the Health and Care Professionals Council registers. Pharmacy technician applicants should have a Higher National Certificate qualification, or equivalent experience and a dispensary checking qualification is desirable. We are currently supporting existing team members through these qualifications and will continue to support this development in new staff.
Knowledge and experience relating to Radiopharmacy and skills in the handling of hazardous materials is beneficial, but not essential, as the Radiopharmacy has a long history of training new staff and supporting team members to undertake further education, including post-graduate and vocational qualifications, and we also currently support the training of one Scientist Training Programme (STP) trainee.
What will you be doing?
In accordance with the rules and guidance for Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), you will be working in clean room (sterile) environments on a daily basis, using aseptic technique to prepare medicines that contain a small amount of radioactivity. You’ll be using a range of laboratory instruments to perform quality control tests on the medicines manufactured and you’ll be involved in the procurement of medicines and materials used in manufacture.
If you’d like to see what it looks like to work in our Radiopharmacy, here’s a short video showing what we do: https://vimeo.com/963241575?share=copy
The NHS Lothian Radiopharmacy manufactures radiopharmaceuticals for eight hospitals across NHS Lothian, NHS Fife, NHS Borders, the University of Edinburgh and other non-NHS hospitals, operating under a Manufacturer’s “Specials” Licence, issued by the MHRA. Our opening hours are 0730 to 1600 Monday to Friday, with additional contribution to the RIE Pharmacy weekend service (one weekend shift of five hours, every five weeks).
The two posts being advertised are vacant due to the promotions of two of our existing Band 5 technicians to Band 6 and Band 7 posts within the Radiopharmacy team, demonstrating our commitment to staff development and the opportunity for career progression in the future.
We’re looking for someone who wants to apply their scientific knowledge and training to join the NHS workforce and bring real benefits to patients every day. So, if you want to start your career in a scientific field, performing highly-specialised work for NHS patients, then please contact Clint Waight (Principal Pharmacist, Radopharmacy) or James Thompson (Radiopharmacy Production Manager) by phone on 0131 242 2930, or by email (clint.waight@nhs.scot or james.thompson@nhs.scot).
We can’t wait to hear from you!
About the NHS Lothian Pharmacy & Medicines Service
NHS Lothian are the second largest health system in NHS Scotland and one of only four teaching Boards. We have strategic partnerships with local Universities, Local Authorities and our four Integration Joint Boards. We serve a population of 900,000, providing a range of primary, community based and acute hospital services. We also provide regional and national services across a range of clinical specialties.
The vision for the Pharmacy & Medicines service is to deliver clinically led, person-centred services to ensure patients across Lothian get the best from their medicines and pharmacy services. We are focused on creating an environment where each person in the team has the opportunity to flourish, develop and make the best use of their skills.
We will fully support disabled candidates, and candidates with long-term conditions or who are neurodivergent by making reasonable adjustments to our recruitment policy and practices.
This post requires the post holder to have a PVG Scheme membership/record. If the post holder is not a current PVG member for the required regulatory group (i.e. child and/or adult) then an application will need to be made to Disclosure Scotland and deemed satisfactory before they can begin in post.
