Clinical Pharmacist (PCN Lead)

Job description

Job responsibilities

A successful candidate would be a highly motivated individual, with a flexible attitude and the ability to adapt to new ways of working, and be able to demonstrate this in previous roles. They would need to be confident in their ability to work independently within their clinical scope of practice providing care for patients through careful history taking, clinical assessment, diagnosis, treatment and evaluation of their ongoing care. Completion of the CPPE already would be desirable although the PCN is supportive of those new to primary care requiring the complete the relevant training course.

The responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

1. Medication Reviews

Undertake clinical medication reviews in a variety of settings, face to face in practice, remotely, in care homes, for patients requiring medication review. Optimise medication in line with patient symptoms, preferences monitoring results and other indicators of control. Produce guidance and recommendations on ongoing prescribing and monitoring.

2. Long Term Conditions Reviews

Where appropriate review patients on long term conditions registers where medicine optimisation is required. Review the ongoing need for each medicine, review monitoring needs, empower patients to manage their own medications and get the best results. Make appropriate recommendations for the continuation, monitoring or stopping of medications as appropriate.

3. Multi-Disciplinary Team Working

Where appropriate attend PCN multi-disciplinary team meetings to give input to the optimisation of medicines in the frail, elderly or at-risk patients on the case load. Liaises with other stakeholders (patients, patients' representatives, clinical staff, community pharmacists, locality leads, nursing homes, secondary care providers) as needed for the collected benefit of patients

4. Risk Stratification

Use systems to identify and review patients at high risk of harm through medicines. This might include risks that are patient related, medicine related or both and will be achieve through a system one reports and medication safety software like Eclipse.

5. Unplanned hospital Admissions

Review the patients at high risk of hospital admission using pre-prepared searches to identify those at risk through either polypharmacy or drugs associated with high risk of admission. Put in plans to change or reduce the prescribing of these medicines in high-risk patient groups.

6. Management of minor/self-limiting ailments

Within scope of practice manage a caseload of patients with minor or self-limiting ailments.

7. Medicines Supports

Provide support to patients with questions, queries or concerns relating to their medications.

8. Management of medicines at discharge from hospital

Review and reconcile medications following discharge from hospitals, rest bite, intermediate or community care settings. Monitor systems to ensure continuity of supply in high-risk groups particularly those with medication compliance aids or in care homes.

9. Medicine Information for Primary Care Teams

Participate in clinical governance programmes and share medication related updates and alerts with GPs, and other clinical practice and network teams. Answer medication related queries and provide recommendations and solutions where appropriate.

10. Repeat Prescribing

Manage the repeat prescribing and re-authorisation process by reviewing processes for patient requests for repeat prescriptions. Reviewing medicines and concordance and flagging monitoring in place where required and review arranged where appropriate. Asplands and Woburn Surgeries have inhouse Dispensaries and a team of dedicated dispensers to support this process.

11. Signposting

Signposting patients to allied services of healthcare professions where appropriate

12. Service Development

Contribute pharmaceutical advice for the development and implementation of new services that have medicinal components (e.g. advice on treatment pathways and patient information leaflets)

13. Information Management

Interpret and present medicines data to highlight issues and risks to support decision making. Co-ordinate and plan the care of patients with specific diseases to ensure that this is optimised and that the practice achieves QOF and DES targets. Coordinate efforts to ensure the practice improves its cost-effective prescribing, remains within budget and achieves CCG Prescribing Incentive Scheme targets.

14. Medicines Quality Improvement

Undertake clinical audits of prescribing in areas directed by the GPs, feedback the results and implement changes in conjunction with the relevant practice team.

15. Medicines Safety

Implement changes to medicines that result from MHRA alerts, product withdrawal and other local and national guidance.

16. Implementation of local and national guidelines and formulary recommendations

Monitor practice prescribing against the local health economys RAG list and make recommendations to GPs for medicines that should be prescribed by hospital doctors (red drugs) or subject to shared care (amber drugs). Assist practices in seeing and maintaining a practice formulary that is hosted on each practices computer system. Auditing practices compliance against NICE technology assessment guidance. Provide newsletters or bulletins on important prescribing messages

17. Education and Training

Provide education and training to primary healthcare team on therapeutics and medicines optimisation. We are keen to continue providing training placements for trainee pharmacists.

18. Care Quality Commission

Work with general practice teams to ensure the practices are compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved.

19. Public Health

To support public health campaigns. To provide specialist knowledge on all public health programmes available to the general public

20. Professional Development

Work with your line manager to undertake continual personal and professional development, taking an active part in reviewing and developing the role and responsibilities. Adhere to organisational policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, and health and safety. Work with your line manager to access regular clinical supervision to enable you to deal effectively with the difficult issues that people present. Review yearly progress and develop clear plans to achieve results within priorities set by others. Participate in the delivery of formal education programmes. Demonstrate an understanding of current educational policies relevant to working areas of practice and keep up to date with relevant clinical practice.

21. Research and Evaluation

Critically evaluate and review literature. Identify where there is a gap in the evidence base to support practice. Generate evidence suitable for presentations at practice and local level. Apply research evidence base into the workplace.

22. Health and Safety / Risk Management

Must always comply with the health and safety policies, in particular following safe working procedures and reporting incidents using the organisations Incident Reporting Systems. Comply with the Data Protection Act (2018) and the Access to Health Records Act (1990).

23. Special Working Conditions

The post holder is required to travel independently between work sites and to attend meetings etc hosted by other agencies. The post holder may have contact with body fluids, I.e., wound exudates, urine etc while in clinical practice.

24. Miscellaneous

Work as part of the team to seek feedback, continually improve the service and contribute to business planning.Supervision of the Medicines Management Team, including 2 other Practice Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technician, Care Co-ordinator and Trainees. Undertake any tasks consistent with the level of the post and the scope of the role, ensuring that work is delivered in a timely and effective manner. Duties may vary from time to time, without changing the general character of the post or the level of responsibility. There may be occasional requirement to deliver an evening or Saturday clinic to support enhanced access for patients and target working age patients not able to attend during the week.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Hold an undergraduate degree in pharmacy.
• Be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council.
• Have completed or close to completion of the CPPE Pathway.

Desirable

• Independent Prescribing qualification

Experience

Essential

• Have previous experience working in Primary Care
• Have line management or team leader experience
• Have experience of writing and updating processes and policies
• Audit and quality improvement examples

Desirable

• While we are ideally looking for a candidate that has an interest in developing skills in managing hypertension and lipids, we are open to other interests.
• Have experience in supervising student/pre-registration pharmacy training.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Asplands Medical Centre

Address

Asplands Close

Woburn Sands

Milton Keynes

MK17 8QP

Employer's website

https://www.asplandsmedicalcentre.co.uk (Opens in a new tab)