5 training places available: 4 places on the hospital programme and 1 on the hospital-GP split programme
The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest general hospital Foundation Trusts in the country. Its medical and surgical services span Reading, Wokingham and West Berkshire.
The Trust has a progressive Pharmacy team and provides a comprehensive and supportive training programme that facilitates clinically-focussed placements. There are a wide range of specialties and services for you to visit and clinically take part in under the supervision of a specialist pharmacist, including aseptics, cardiology, respiratory, care of the elderly, clinical trials, critical care, haematology and oncology, home care, Mental Health, paediatrics and obstetrics, rheumatology, and surgery.
The pharmacy team
The Pharmacy team consists of approximately 100 members of staff (pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, pharmacy assistants and administrative staff). The senior management team engages closely with the network care board to provide on-going progress with service provision. Implementation of ePMA in Sept 2018 and investment with dispensary transformation has revolutionised the Trust’s clinical pharmacy service and the expedition of TTOs to approximately 45 minutes turnaround time. The pharmacy team provide 100% pharmacist support to our ward areas, and the high-functioning home care and procurement and distribution teams have successfully managed to achieve minimal drug wastage and monumental cost savings for the Trust.
The training programme
Each trainee is allocated an experienced mentor whilst undertaking ward based clinical duties right from the onset. Royal Berkshire has a full ePMA integrated system which helps deliver the best care to patients. Trainees will spend time with the multi-disciplinary teams, including nurses, dieticians, physiotherapists, the acute pain team and the psychiatric medicine team, to help facilitate understanding and gain an insight into a holistic patient approach.
The training programme has an excellent first time pass rate and high retention rate post-registration. See how a typical trainee year looks in the sample timetable. The shift pattern is 9am to 5.15pm Monday to Friday, with 1 weekend in 10 (Saturday and Sunday) plus one bank holiday in the year. Trainees may be able to access hospital accommodation through Sovereign Accommodation Office.
Watch a video from the Chief Pharmacist at Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.
The GP-split programme includes a 6-month placement at Balmore Park Surgery. The trainee undertaking this placement may require their own transport, depending on the location of their accommodation.
More about the Trust
Rated as “Good” in a recent CQC report (Jan 2020), Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust an 800+ bed hospital that employs in excess of 5000 members of staff.
Geographically, the Trust is located in Reading close to the city centre with good transport links (M4 and Railway) and bus routes that operate regularly past the Trust. Regular transport between London and the West Country make Reading an ideal location that suits commuters from beyond each side of the county. With only a stone’s throw away from our affiliated University of Reading, the Trust offers placements and work experience opportunities to higher education undergraduates and engage with the widening participation strategy via careers events at senior schools, sixth form colleges and further education colleges within the locality.
Find out about the Trust’s vision for 2025 in this video.
Contact
More information about the Trust is available on the Royal Berkshire website.
To find out more about pre-registration training, please email Anand Pankhania or call 01183 225370