Job responsibilities
Job
Title: Pharmacist
Reports
To: The Partners (Clinical) Practice Manager (Non Clinical)
Hours:
37.5 (Monday Friday) Saturdays as required.
Launceston
Medical Centre has a fantastic opportunity for an experienced Clinical
Pharmacist to become part of our amazing team. We are a busy, committed team working together in a recently extended
and refurbished Practice in Launceston, close to the beautiful beaches of the
north coast of Cornwall and surrounded by moorland countryside. The successful candidate will work within the support team to the GPs,
already comprising of a Nurse Practitioner, Minor Illness Nurse and 6
Paramedics, in addition to our Nurses and HCAs. We have 6 Partners and 7
Salaried GPs (including remote GPs) with very experienced Management, IT,
Reception, and Administration support. Additional allied professionals who work
within our team are our Clinical Psychologist, Pharmacist, Physiotherapists and
Social Prescriber. We are also proud to
be a training practice.
The work ethic at Launceston Medical Centre is that we place people
first in everything we do. We run our own Primary Care Network together with
our neighbourhood Practice, Tamar Valley Health, and we use our resources for
the benefit of the whole community inclusively. We recognise and accept our
responsibility in playing our part in making our community healthier and
happier.
The benefits of working within our team are that we value each person as
an individual and respect their aspirations. We are honest, open, trustworthy,
and supportive and encourage our team to improve and advance their skill base.
We also benefit from living and working in one of the most beautiful parts of
the country!
The
post is for 37.5 hours a week, with the requirement to cover any absence of
your colleagues, therefore flexibility is an essential requirement.
Rate
of pay is dependent upon relevant experience.
Job
Summary:
The
Clinical Pharmacist will improve the quality and safety of care offered to our
patients. They will have regular contact with patients and work alongside the
GPs. Our ideal candidate is an independent prescribing Clinical Pharmacist who
has a keen interest in providing long term conditions management with our
patients. The clinical
pharmacy in general practice model is supported by the direction of national
policy including the Five Year Forward View and GP Forward View where there is
a need to better utilise the role of pharmacy professionals within primary care to pro-actively help patients stay
safe and well and out of hospital as well as helping to reduce the demands on
general practice. This is an exciting time to be involved in general practice
and to be part of shaping primary care for the future.
Job
Duties and Responsibilities:
Identify
patients that require medication reviews and conduct appropriate medication
review clinics or home visits if required by the practice.
Liaising
with carers, Community Health teams or social care staff to optimise drug
therapy, reduce polypharmacy and minimise unnecessary waste, communicating
directly with patients as necessary.
Provide
medicines and long-term disease advice and support to GP practice staff,
practice registered patients, and the wider practice team such as community
staff (district nurses, midwives, and physiotherapists) where appropriate.
Discuss
complex and sensitive information with patients during medication reviews,
including medical history, lifestyle and personal circumstances and refer to
external service providers and medical professionals as appropriate.
Improve
patient and carer understanding of, confidence in and compliance with their
medications.
Help
support the safe and effective operation of the prescribing system in the GP
practice, including updating repeat medication regimes, issuing of appropriate
acute prescriptions, ordering relevant laboratory testing, and if required,
when necessary, completing patient referrals (for example audiology, x-ray,
diabetes prevention schemes).
Provide
pharmaceutical support to the GPs to enable them to develop, implement and
monitor an agreed prescribing plan which meets the objectives of the medicines
management plan.
Assist
practice and care settings in developing formularies, guidelines and policies
to ensure the implementation of NICE guidelines, National Service Frameworks
and the requirements of the medicines-related aspects of the GMS contract.
Advise
GPs, care staff and primary health care teams on risk management processes
relating to the prescribing and monitoring of specialist drugs e.g. controlled
drugs and those subject to shared care arrangements.
Support
practice to review specific areas of prescribing, specified by the line
management or identified with the GP prescribing lead, including the
interpretation of e-PACT data and the use of practice information to review
prescribing and identify areas for action.
Assist
with the development and ongoing review of practice policy with regard to
repeat prescribing systems and repeat dispensing to encourage the
implementation of prescribing guidance and monitoring guidelines where
appropriate.
Liaise
with Community Pharmacists to encourage them to reinforce changes made,
encouraging them to identify savings which can be achieved with regard to
generics, dose optimisations etc. and to assist in building their relationship
with the practice.
Answer
any medicine related queries from GPs, care settings, practice staff, PALS,
social care staff and the patients in a timely and appropriate manner, using
professional judgement where specific guidance is unavailable.
Provide
advice and support to improve the disease registers within each practice to
ensure all suitable patients are identified and offered suitable treatment and
monitoring for their condition.
Facilitate
and participate in multi-disciplinary meetings related to prescribing topics
and to engage in the training of other healthcare professionals and practice
staff on matters relating to medicines usage.
Attend
primary/secondary care interface meetings in designated specialist therapeutic
areas to improve the cost effective and evidence-based use of medicines across
locality and develop links with the hospital pharmacists involved in these
areas.
Undertake
any other duties appropriate to the grade as allocated by line management.
Undertake
clinical medication reviews.
QOF & Enhanced Services areas of responsibility to
maximise achievement
Encourage cost effect prescribing within the practice.
Review
all safety alerts, ensuring the required actions are taken.
Review
medication for all newly registered patients.
Confidentiality
In
the course of 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, Practice staff
and 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
The
post-holder will ensure the promotion and management of their own and others
health, safety and security as defined in the organisations Health & Safety
policy and the Infection Control policy and published procedures.
Equality & Diversity
The post-holder will support the equality,
diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues.
Personal/Professional
Development
The
post holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the
Practice as part of their employment, such training to include 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 demonstrate
skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.
Quality
The
post holder will strive to maintain quality within the Practice and will alert
other team member to issues of quality and risk. Assess own performance and
take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision. 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. Participate in audit where appropriate.
Contribution
to the implementation of Services
Will
apply Practice policies, standards and guidelines and will discuss these with
other members of the team as to how they will affect their own work.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of
Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for
submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service
(formerly CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applicants must have current UK professional
registration.