Foundation Pharmacist

🔒 Confidential Employer
Posted 8 May 2026
LOCATION
Wakefield
TYPE
Contract
LEVEL
Entry-level
SALARY
£48,117 / year
CATEGORY
Healthcare
This employer holds a UK Home Office sponsor license — sponsorship for this specific role is at the employer’s discretion

SKILLS

Clinical pharmacy Medicines reconciliation Dispensing Accuracy checking Patient counselling Multi-disciplinary team working Clinical trials Medicines information

FULL DESCRIPTION

Foundation Pharmacist

[Employer hidden — sign up to reveal] - Wakefield, UK

Band: 6 - £39,959 - £48,117 per annum (2026/2027 payscales)

Closing date: 19/05/2026

Employment type: Fixed Term / Temporary (3 years)

Hours: 37.5 per week

Contact: Louise Benton - Pharmacy Lead for Education and Training - [contact hidden] | [contact hidden]

About the role

The Pharmacy team at [Employer hidden — sign up to reveal] are a friendly, innovative, and successful team. The Foundation Pharmacist programme will support you in your initial journey in hospital pharmacy. The programme includes clinical rotations through various specialties at each of our hospital sites including medicine for older people, general surgery, paediatrics, cardiology, endocrinology, maternity and acute admissions. You will also gain experience working in our dispensaries, technical services and medicines information departments.

Training and support will be led by our Advanced Clinical Pharmacist for Education & Training with additional support provided by our senior and specialist pharmacists and our team of experienced technicians and support workers, which will enable the successful candidate to gain a thorough knowledge base and experience of clinical pharmacy. You will be supported through a structured induction process as well as provided with a wide range of training and development opportunities to build your foundation portfolio, including support to complete a Post Graduate Diploma in clinical pharmacy and the opportunity to undertake a non-medical prescribing qualification.

The successful candidate will contribute to our emergency out of hours service, late night and weekend service on a rotational basis.

Main duties

  • Carry out duties in the dispensary to help ensure that medicines are provided in a timely fashion for in-patients. These duties will include: Act as the Responsible Pharmacist in line with local procedure. Clinical and accuracy checking of prescriptions. Dispensing medicines. Dealing with medicines for clinical trial patients. Supervising technicians and trainee pharmacists. Educating patients and/or their representatives about their medicines. Liaising with various members of the multi-disciplinary team. Managing and prioritising own workload to tight deadlines and ensuring urgent work is done.
  • Carry out duties in the Technical Services section, which will include: Clinical and accuracy checking of prescriptions. Dispensing and supervision of others in dispensing (by manipulation and reconstitution) injectable medicines (and ensuring safe and appropriate disposal of sharps and other waste). Preparation and dispensing of special formulations for external or internal use. Liaising with medical and nursing staff with a view to providing advice about intravenous nutrition (TPN) prescriptions. Handling and dispensing medicines used in the treatment of cancer (cytotoxic medicines).
  • Carry out duties in Medicines Information in order to provide help and advice to medical and nursing colleagues and where appropriate patients about the use of medicines. These duties will include: Development and usage of sound telephone techniques. Researching the literature through manual and computer based sources. Providing written and/or verbal responses to enquirers who may include hospital and external staff, eg GPs, Community nurses etc. Keeping appropriate records relating to these queries. Reporting suspected adverse reactions to drugs to the Committee on Safety of Medicines via the national reporting scheme.
  • Work at ward level, across the trust, to provide pharmaceutical care to patients. This care will include: Talking to patients about their medications. Checking &/or taking full medication histories. Medicines Reconciliation and review assessment of medicines brought into hospital by the patient, appropriate monitoring of treatment given during the hospital stay to ensure safe, effective and cost efficient medicines use. Liaison with appropriate professionals and or carers to ensure seamless transition back to the community. To facilitate implementation of local and national guidelines for medicines use. Provide evidence based pharmaceutical advice to the medical and nursing staff in the Medical/Surgical Unit/Directorate. This may be active - where pharmaceutical problems identified by the post holder from the care plans require resolution, or passive - where doctors or nurses seek advice from the pharmacist. In a learning capacity, to attend and contribute to consultant/medical ward rounds and team meetings as part of the multidisciplinary team, where appropriate. Maintain professional accountability by keeping up to date and maintaining his/her own professional development record as required by the General Pharmaceutical Council.

Essential person specification requirements

  • Masters Degree in pharmacy obtained through four year undergraduate training.
  • Membership of the General Pharmaceutical Council achieved by 12 months pre-registration training/experience and examination.
  • Experience in pharmacy practice obtained through one year's pre-registration training and examination.

Be part of MY team

We are an acute trust caring for over one million people in Wakefield and Kirklees. Our 10,000 staff work in patients' homes, the community, and our three hospitals in Pontefract, Dewsbury, and Pinderfields (Wakefield). We prioritise our people and values so we can deliver the best possible care to patients. Our team is friendly, passionate, and innovative, always seeking better ways to work.

We support work-life balance and foster a diverse, inclusive environment where everyone belongs. Our staff networks offer safe spaces to share ideas and concerns so we can increase awareness and appreciation of equality, diversity, and inclusion. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and especially encourage members of the LGBTQ+ community, ethnic minority groups, and people with disabilities or neurodivergence to apply, as they are currently underrepresented in the Trust.

If you value caring, high standards, improvement, and respect, join the MY team to make a difference every day.

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