East Suffolk & Noth Essex NHS FT (Colchester Hospital)

Foundation training

We offer 4 placements (3 x 12-month hospital placement and 1 x 6-month hospital placement plus 26-week CCG-GP placement).
Our trainee pharmacists are seen as integral members of the team and are supported by experienced foundation training tutors throughout the year. Our students are considered supernumery members of staff and are never included as part of the routine departmental rosters.

As a trainee pharmacist you will:

•    consistently work alongside the holistic pharmacy team and be given more than sufficient opportunities to apply your knowledge in practice
•    follow a comprehensive rotational programme timetable that provides a solid grounding in all aspects of hospital pharmacy practice but is predominantly focused on clinical pharmacy training. Rotations include:
-    Clinical ward speciality placements (including exposure to Critical Care, Neonatal unit and Paediatrics)
-    Medicines Information
-    Medication Safety
-    Aseptics and Cytotoxic Reconstitution
-    Non-Sterile Preparative Services
-    Quality Assurance
-    Procurement, Stores and Distribution
-    Dispensary Services
•    undertake cross sector placements in:
-    Community pharmacy: 4 weeks (in two blocks of 2 weeks)
-    Local Mental health Trust: 1 week
•    participate in the in-house foundation tutorial programme (in collaboration in neighbouring Trusts) designed to enhance the learning obtained both locally and regionally


We hope you will join our friendly, hard working team and choose to work in a fast-paced yet welcoming environment.

If you would like a printable PDF about this hospital then you can download a PDF leaflet here.

The Pharmacy department
The pharmacy service is currently provided by an established staff (May 2017) of 121.64 WTE, comprising of 145 members of staff, with a current vacancy status of 8 (7.3 WTE)
All Pharmacy services are provided in-house under the oversight of 0.5 WTE Chief Pharmacist, 1.0 WTE Deputy Chief Pharmacist, and consists of clinical services/medicines information and optimisation, 4 dispensaries (main pharmacy, chemotherapy, Clacton Hospital and out-patients which also has a small retail offering), Aseptics and Non Sterile production units, Quality assurance, Medicines Information, Procurement and Stores.

Clinical Service – Clinical Pharmacy Services are provided in specialist teams of pharmacists, technicians and assistants covering designated wards 5 days/week.  A reduced service is provided at weekends where pharmacists are available between 10 am and 2 pm, and an on call pharmacy service is available out of hours.  Clinical pharmacy services are also provided to 6 external customers under formally contracted arrangements and these includes the local hospice, Learning Disabilities and Anglian Community Enterprise.
Pharmacy provides a comprehensive clinical service to the in-patient wards, focussing activity on high-risk areas and ensuring the provision of medicines reconciliation, discharge planning (with associated checking of discharge letters) and associated routine activity such as therapeutic drug monitoring, interaction checking, patient counselling and routine treatment chart review. The Colchester Pharmacy Department is highly regarded at ward level and is an integral part of the multidisciplinary team,working collaboratively with doctors, nurses and other allied health professionals.

Dispensaries – The automated dispensary provides medication to all areas of the trust and also to a number of external hospitals. The dispensary is a busy, friendly area of the Pharmacy department dispensing a wide range of medication covering a variety of specialities.

Technical Services – Pharmacy Technical Services manufactures and wholesale a range of aseptic and non-sterile pharmaceutical products within the licensed unit, which houses its own quality assurance team and laboratory to ensure the safety of all our products. Aseptics staff work closely with the Trust’s oncology/haematology day unit, especially the Haematology/Oncology pharmacists who provide holistic clinical support.

Medicines Information – The Medicines Information team accept enquiries about medicines usage from patients as well as healthcare professionals from both internally and externally to the Trust. Staff provide proactive information to the North East Essex Medicines Management Committee and enjoy close links with the Regional Medicines Information Centre at Ipswich.

Stores – The Stores team are responsible for receiving all deliveries and supplying medication to the department’s four dispensaries, hospital wards, theatres and out-patient/clinical areas. The stores team also provide a ward stock top up service. Working collaboratively with the Procurement Team, Stores staff are also responsible for ordering and delivering medications externally to a wide range of customers.