Clinical Pharmacist

Job responsibilities

Management of medicines at discharge from hospital

Reconcile medicines following discharge from hospital, intermediate care and into care homes; identify and rectify unexplained changes; perform a clinical medication review; produce a post-discharge medicines care plan including dose titration and booking of follow-up tests and working with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge

Set up and manage systems to ensure continuity of medicines supply to high-risk groups of patients (e.g., those with medicine compliance aids or those in care homes)

Risk stratification

Design, development, and implementation of computer searches to identify cohorts of patients at high risk of harm from medicines

Responsibility for management of risk stratification tools on behalf of the Practice

Working with patients and the primary care team to minimise risks through medicines optimisation

Unplanned hospital admissions

Review the use of medicines most associated with unplanned admission and readmissions from medicines

Put in place changes to monitor and review the prescribing of these medicines to high-risk patient groups

Repeat prescribing

Manage the repeat prescribing reauthorisation process by reviewing patient requests for repeat prescriptions and reviewing medicines reaching review dates; make necessary changes as an independent prescriber, and ensure patients are booked in for necessary monitoring tests where required

Telephone and patient facing medicines support

Provide a telephone help line for patients with questions and concerns about their medicines

Medication review

Hold clinics for patients requiring face-to-face and telephone Structured Medication Reviews. I.e., a review of the ongoing need for each medicine, a review of monitoring needs and an opportunity to support patients with their medicine taking.

Implement own prescribing changes (if an independent prescriber) and order relevant monitoring tests

Care home medication reviews

Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients with multi-morbidity and polypharmacy

Work with care home staff to improve safety of medicines ordering and administration

Long-term condition clinics

Run own long-term condition clinics where responsible for prescribing as an independent prescriber for conditions where medicines have a large component (e.g., medicine optimisation for hypertension and asthma)

Service development

Provide advice on the development of new services and NICE guidance that have a medicine component

Care Quality Commission

Provide leadership to the Partners to ensure the Practice is compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved

Public health

Support public health campaigns

Provide pharmaceutical knowledge on immunisation

Cost saving programmes

Make recommendations for cost saving medication changes and support the GCCG Medicines Optimisation team in cost-saving initiatives

Medicine information to practice staff and patients

Answer all medicine-related enquiries from GPs, other practice staff and patients

Suggest and recommend solutions

Provide follow up for patients to monitor the effect of any changes

Information management

Analyse, interpret and present medicines data to highlight issues and risks to support decision making

Medicines quality improvement

Identify and provide leadership on areas of prescribing requiring improvement.

Conduct audits and improvement projects

Present results and provide leadership on suggested change

Contribute to national and local research initiatives

Training

Provide education/training to the Practice team on therapeutics and medicines optimisation

Provide training to students

Implementation of local and national guidelines and formulary recommendations

Monitor prescribing against the GCCG RAG list for medicines that should be prescribed by hospital doctors (red drugs) or subject to shared care (amber drugs). Liaise directly with hospital colleagues where prescribing needs to be returned to specialists

Assist in setting and maintaining a practice formulary

Auditing compliance against NICE technology assessment guidance

Medicines safety

Horizon scan to identify national and local policy and guidance that affects patient safety through the use of medicines, including MHRA alerts, product withdrawals

Manage the process of implementing changes to medicines and guidance for practitioners

Performance Indicators

Support the Practice with the delivery of Quality and Outcomes Framework, and Investment and Investment and Impact Fund targets

General

To develop and facilitate a good working relationship with community pharmacists and other local providers of healthcare

To plan and organise the post holders own workload, including audit and project work, and training sessions for members of the medicines management team, Practice team, community pharmacy team, community nurse team, patients, carers, etc

To prioritise, supervise and support the day-to-day work of medicines management technician(s)/facilitators(s) working under the direction of the post-holder. This includes any agreed HR-related activity and any formal and informal teaching of medicines management colleagues, as required

The database includes maintaining up-to-date, detailed records of all work done in the Practice for which the post holder is accountable (done by the post holder or others)

Maintain registration as a pharmacist and comply with appropriate professional codes

Maintain and develop professional competence and expertise, keep up to date with medical/therapeutic evidence and opinion, and local and national service, legislation, and policy developments, agree objectives and a personal development plan and participate in the appraisal process

Attend local, regional, and national meetings of relevance

Undertake any other duties commensurate with the post holders grade as agreed with the post holders line manager

All employees should understand that it is their personal responsibility to comply with all organisational and statutory requirements (e.g., health and safety, equal treatment and diversity, confidentiality, and clinical governance)

Confidentiality

While seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately.

In the performance of the duties outlined in this Job Description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, to Practice staff, and to other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential.

Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.

Health & Safety

Assist in promoting and maintaining health, safety and security by:

• Using personal security systems within the workplace
• Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks
• Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills
• Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining tidy, safe work areas free from hazards
• Reporting potential risks identified

Equality and Diversity

Support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers, and colleagues by:

• Acting in a way that recognises the importance of peoples' rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current legislation
• Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers, and colleagues
• Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights

Personal/Professional Development

• Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development
• Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work

Quality

Strive to maintain quality within the Practice, and:

• Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk
• Assess their own performance and take accountability for own actions
• Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance
• Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs
• Effectively manage own time, workload, and resources

Communication

Recognise the importance of effective communication and strive to communicate effectively with other team members, patients and carers

Recognise peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly

Contribution to the Implementation of Services

Apply Practice policies, standards, and guidance

Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work

Participate in audit

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Ability to adapt to and embrace change across own service and wider MDTs
• A sound understanding of the NHS principles and values, and ability to integrate latest evidence-based practice into services
• Ability to understand and analyse complex issues, balancing competing priorities to make difficult decisions
• Independent thinker with demonstrated good judgement, problem-solving, negotiation and analytical skills
• Ability to understand, analyse and interpret complex, often incomplete information, pre-empt, and evaluate issues, and recommend an appropriate course of action to address the issues
• Ability to build effective relationships with a range of stakeholders, and to influence and persuade others, articulating a balanced view and constructively question information
• Excellent interpersonal, organisational and communication skills

Desirable

• Understanding of the background to and aims of general practice
• Strong knowledge of motivational interviewing approaches / skills
• Evidence of inspiring and motivating teams with the ability to communicate passionately, effectively, and persuasively across a diverse set of stakeholders

Experience

Essential

• Evidence of commitment to CPD as a minimum to meet mandatory requirements of the GPhC
• Experience within NHS pharmacy practice
• Up-to-date knowledge/experience of relevant legislation
• An appreciation of new NHS architecture including the relationship between individual provider, PCN and commissioners
• Good understanding of primary care

Desirable

• Experienced prescriber
• Experience using GP clinical IT systems - SystmOne
• Experience of working within a primary care setting
• Evidence of working across organisational boundaries within health and social care

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Enthusiastic and cheerful, with a professional appearance
• High degree of personal credibility, emotional intelligence, patience, and flexibility
• Ability to cope with unpredictable situations, and to coordinate and prioritise workloads
• An innovative thinker with an ability to multi-task, be self-disciplined, and be highly motivated
• Confident in facilitating and challenging others
• Demonstrate a flexible approach in order to ensure patient care is delivered

Qualifications

Essential

• MPharm or equivalent first degree in Pharmacy
• Registration as a Pharmacist with GPhC

Desirable

• Qualified Pharmacist prescriber
• Postgraduate clinical qualification to diploma level or above

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).