PCN Clinical Pharmacist

Job responsibilities

The post holder will be a pharmacist who will work across the DMA organisation within their clinical competencies as part of the multi-disciplinary team to provide expertise in clinical medicines management, provide structured medication reviews, manage long term conditions, management of medicines on transfer of care and systems for safer prescribing, manage repeat prescription authorisations and reauthorisation, acute prescription requests, while addressing both the public health and social care needs of patients in the GP surgeries that make up DMA.

The post holder will perform medication reviews of patients with polypharmacy especially for older people, people in residential or nursing care homes and those with multiple co-morbidities. The post holder will provide leadership on quality improvement and clinical audit as well as managing some aspects of the quality and outcomes framework.

Main duties of the job

This role is pivotal to improving the quality of care and operational efficiencies so requires motivation and passion to deliver an excellent service within general practice.

The post holder will be supported to develop their role to become a non-medical prescriber if they do not already hold.

Key responsibilities for Clinical Pharmacist role

Clinical practice:

• See (where appropriate) patients with single or multiple medical problems where medicine optimisation is required (e.g. Respiratory, Cardiovascular and Diabetes). Review the on-going need for each medicine, a review of monitoring needs and an opportunity to support patients with their medicines taking, ensuring they get the best use of their medicines (i.e. medicines optimisation). Make appropriate recommendations to Senior Pharmacists or GPs for medicine improvement.

• Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and produce recommendations for the GP on prescribing and monitoring.

• Work with care home staff to improve safety of medicines ordering and administration. Undertake clinical medication reviews with care home patients and produce recommendations for the GP on prescribing and monitoring.
• Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients at home and produce recommendations for the GPs on prescribing and monitoring. Attend and refer patients to multidisciplinary case conferences
• Review the use of medicines most commonly associated with unplanned hospital admissions and readmissions through audit and individual patient reviews.
• Provide patient facing clinics for those with questions, queries and concerns about their

Medicines in the practice:

• Provide a telephone help for patients with questions, queries and concerns about their medicines.
• To reconcile medicines following discharge from hospitals, intermediate care and into Care Homes, including identifying and rectifying unexplained changes and working with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge.
• Answers relevant medicine-related enquiries from GPs, other surgery staff, other healthcare teams (e.g. community pharmacy) and patients with queries about medicines. Suggesting and recommending solutions. Providing follow up for patients to monitor the effect of any changes.

• Ensure that patients are referred to the appropriate healthcare professional for the appropriate level of care within an appropriate period of time e.g. pathology results, common/minor ailments, acute conditions, long term condition reviews etc
• Contribute pharmaceutical advice to repeat prescribing policy within each PCN practice. Manage the repeat prescribing reauthorisation process by reviewing patient requests for repeat prescriptions and reviewing medicines reaching review dates and flagging up those needing a review. Ensure patients have appropriate monitoring tests in place when required
• 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

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• In depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence-based healthcare
• Understanding of the wider determinants of health, including social, economic and environmental factors and their impact on communities
• An appreciation of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing
• Knowledge of IT systems, including ability to use word processing skills, emails and the internet to create simple plans and reports
• Able to plan, manage, monitor and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long term conditions
• Able to obtain and analyse complex technical information.
• Able to identify and resolve risk management issues according to policy/protocol.
• Communication skills, both written and verbal
• Communication of difficult messages to patients and families
• Negotiation and conflict management skills
• Problem solving skills
• Able to motivate and influence others
• Proven ability to work in partnership with GPs and other agencies
• Accountability of own role and responsibilities

Other

Essential

• Meets DBS reference standards and has a clear criminal record, in line with the law on spent convictions
• Self-directed practitioner
• Highly motivated
• Flexibility
• Enthusiasm
• Team player
• Ability to work across boundaries
• Access to own transport and ability to travel across the locality on a regular basis, including to visit people in their own homes

Experience

Essential

• Experience and an awareness of the breadth of common acute and long-terms conditions that are likely to be seen in general practice
• Experience of partnership/collaborative working and of building relationships across a variety of organisations

Desirable

• Audit
• Research
• Project management
• Home visits

Qualifications

Essential

• Bachelor or Master of Pharmacy.
• Registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council and up-to-date.
• Demonstrates and understanding of, and conforms to, relevant standards of practice.
• Follows professional and organisational policies/procedures relating to performance management.

Desirable

• May hold or be working towards an Independent Prescribing qualification.
• Clinical Certificate or Clinical Diploma (in Primary Care and Community).

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).