Clinical Pharmacist

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job title

Clinical Pharmacist

Line manager

Lead Pharmacist

Accountable to

Practice Manager, The Partners

Job summary

The post holder is a clinical pharmacist who acts within their professional boundaries, working alongside a team of pharmacists in general practice.

They will improve patients health outcomes and the efficiency of the primary care team by providing direct, accessible and timely medicines and expertise including face to face contact with patients.

The post holder will be an integral part of the general practice team, as well as part of a wider pharmacist network and multi-disciplinary team. They will work to optimise medication issues to improve patient care and safety, and support clinical staff in the management of patients.

As part of their employment, the post holder will achieve qualifications from an accredited training pathway, including independent prescribing, equipping the clinical pharmacist to be able to practise and prescribe safely and effectively in a primary care setting.

The supervision and mentorship network will be provided to support the clinical pharmacist.

Primary key responsibilities

The clinical pharmacist in a general practice organisation has the following key responsibilities in relation to delivering health services.

There may be, on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels.

a. Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient-facing role to clinically assess and treat patients using their expert knowledge of medicines for specific disease areas

b. Be a prescriber, or completing training to become a prescriber, and work with and alongside the general practice team

c. Be responsible for the care management of patients with chronic diseases and undertake clinical medication reviews to proactively manage people with complex polypharmacy, especially the elderly, people in care homes, those with multiple co-morbidities (in particular frailty, COPD and asthma) and people with learning disabilities or autism (through STOMP Stop Over Medication Programme)

d. Provide specialist expertise in the use of medicines whilst helping to address both the public health and social care needs of patients at the organisation and to help in tackling inequalities

e. Through structured medication reviews, support patients to take their medications to get the best from them, reduce waste and promote self-care

f. Develop relationships and work closely with other pharmacy professionals across the wider health and social care system

g. Provide support and guidance on clinical aspects of shared care protocols, clinical research with medicines, liaison with specialist pharmacists (including mental health and reduction of inappropriate antipsychotic use in people with learning difficulties), liaison with community pharmacists, and anticoagulation

h. Be part of a professional clinical network and have access to appropriate clinical supervision. Appropriate clinical supervision means:

i. Each clinical pharmacist must receive a regular supervision session with your line manager and/or GP clinical supervior

ii. Each clinical pharmacist will have access to an assigned GP clinical supervisor for support and development

i. To consult patients within defined levels of competence and independently prescribe acute and repeat medication

j. To receive referrals and directed patients from triage services and other clinicians

k. To receive and resolve medicines queries from patients and other staff

l. To provide medication review services for patients in the practice and during domiciliary visits to the local nursing home

m. To manage a caseload of complex patients

n. To manage a therapeutic drug monitoring system and the recall of patients taking high risk drugs, i.e., anticoagulants, anticonvulsants and DMARDs, etc.

o. To deliver long term condition clinics and home visits, particularly for patients with complicated medication regimes, and prescribe accordingly

p. To provide pharmaceutical consultations to patients with long term conditions as an integral part of the multidisciplinary team

q. To review medications for newly registered patients

r. To Assist with MHRA alerts for the practice ensure they are distributed and actioned where required and regular audits undertaken.

s. To improve patient and carer understanding of confidence in and compliance with their medication

t. To maintain accurate clinical records in conjunction with extant legislation

u. To encourage cost-effective prescribing throughout the organisation

v. To provide advice and answer medication related queries from patients and staff

w. To provide support in regards the organisations medicines optimisation systems, including the repeat prescribing and medication review systems

x. To improve the quality and effectiveness of prescribing through clinical audit and education, to improve performance against NICE standards and clinical and prescribing guidance.

y. To develop yourself and the role through participation in clinical supervision, training and service redesign activities

z. To support clinicians with the management of patients suffering from drug and alcohol dependencies

aa. To actively signpost patients to the correct healthcare professional

bb. To manage a caseload of complex patients and potential care institutions and to provide advice for the GP management of more complex patients or areas such as addictive behaviours, severe mental illness or end of life care

cc. To review the latest guidance, ensuring the organisation conforms to NICE, CQC etc.

dd. To provide targeted support and proactive reviews for vulnerable, complex patients and those at risk of admission and re-admission to secondary care

ee. To handle prescription queries and requests directly

ff. To support in the delivery of enhanced services and other service requirements on behalf of the organization

To participate in the management of patient complaints when requested to do so, and participate in the identification of any necessary learning brought about through clinical incidents and near-miss events

gg. To undertake all mandatory training and induction programmes

hh. To contribute to and embrace the spectrum of clinical governance

ii. To attend a formal appraisal with your line manager and practice manager at least every 12 months. Once a performance/training objective has been set, progress will be reviewed on a regular basis so that new objectives can be agreed

jj. To contribute to public health campaigns (e.g., COVID-19 or flu clinics) through advice or direct care

Secondary responsibilities

In addition to the primary responsibilities, the clinical pharmacist may be requested to:

a. Support delivery of QOF, incentive schemes, QIPP and other quality or cost effectiveness initiatives

b. Agree and review prescribing formularies and protocols, and monitor compliance levels

c. Improve the data quality of medicines records and linking to conditions

d. Work with community pharmacists, hospital pharmacists and other stakeholders in the medicines supply chain to improve patient experience and manage incidents

e. 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

f. Duties may vary from time to time without changing the general character of the post or the level of responsibility

Person Specification

Personal qualities and other requirements

Essential

• Ability to use own initiative, discretion and sensitivity Able to get along with people from all backgrounds and communities, respecting lifestyles and diversity Flexible and cooperative Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when working with individuals Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations Able to provide leadership and to finish work tasks Problem solving and analytical skills Ability to maintain confidentiality Knowledge of and ability to work to policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance and health and safety Flexibility to work outside core office hours Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check Evidence of continuing professional development Access to own transport and ability to travel across the locality on a regular basis, including to visit people in their own home

Skills

Essential

• Ability to communicate complex and sensitive information effectively with people at all levels by telephone, email and face to face Excellent interpersonal, influencing, negotiation and organisational skills with the ability to constructively challenge the views and practices of managers and clinicians Knowledge of IT systems, including ability to use word processing skills, emails and the internet to create simple plans and reports Clear, polite telephone manner Ability to promote best practice regarding all pharmaceutical matters Effective time management (planning and organising) Demonstrate personal accountability and emotional resilience, and work well under pressure

Desirable

• Good clinical system IT knowledge of SystmOne

Experience

Essential

• An appreciation of the nature of GPs and general practice. An appreciation of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing Experience and an awareness of common acute and chronic conditions that are likely to be seen in general practice An appreciation of the new NHS landscape, including the relationships between individual practices, PCNs and the commissioners

Desirable

• Experience of pharmacy services in primary care

Qualifications

Essential

• Essential criteria
• GPhC registered pharmacist

Desirable

• Desirable criteria
• Hold or be working towards an GPhC independent prescribing qualification

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

Bretton Park Healthcare

Address

Bretton Medical, Rightwell East

Bretton

Peterborough

PE1 2UF