PCN Clinical Pharmacist

Job responsibilities

The following are the core responsibilities of the PCN clinical pharmacist. There may be on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks. This will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels:

Patient facing long-term condition clinics

See (where appropriate) patients with single or multiple medical problems where medicine optimisation is required (e.g. COPD, asthma).

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.

Patient facing clinical medication review

Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and produce recommendations for senior clinical pharmacist, nurses and/or GP on prescribing and monitoring.

Patient facing care home medication reviews

Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and produce recommendations for the senior clinical pharmacist, nurses or GPs on prescribing and monitoring. Work with care home staff to improve safety of medicines ordering and administration.

Patient facing domiciliary clinical medication review

Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and produce recommendations for the senior clinical pharmacists, nurses and GPs on prescribing and monitoring. Attend and refer patients to multidisciplinary case conferences.

Management of common/minor/self-limiting ailments

Manage caseload of patients with common/minor/self-limiting ailments while working within a scope of practice and limits of competence.

Signpost to community pharmacy and refer to GPs or other healthcare professionals where appropriate

Patient facing medicines support

Provide patient facing clinics for those with medicines queries

Telephone medicines support

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

Medicine information to practice staff and patients

Answer relevant medicine-related enquiries from GPs, other practice staff, other healthcare teams (e.g. community pharmacy) and patients with queries about medicines. Suggest and recommend solutions.

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

Unplanned hospital admissions

Review the use of medicines most commonly associated with unplanned hospital admissions and readmissions through audit and individual patient reviews.

Put in place changes to reduce the prescribing of these medicines to highrisk patient groups.

Management of medicines at discharge from hospital

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. Set up and manage systems to ensure continuity of medicines supply to highrisk groups of patients.

Signposting

Ensure patients are referred to the appropriate healthcare professional for the appropriate level of care within an appropriate period of time.

Repeat prescribing

Produce and implement a practice repeat prescribing policy.

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.

Risk stratification

Identify cohorts of patients at high risk of harm from medicines through pre-prepared practice computer searches. This might include risks that are patient related, medicine related, or both.

Service development

Contribute pharmaceutical advice for the development and implementation of new services that have medicinal components.

Information management

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

Medicines quality improvement

Undertake clinical audits of prescribing in areas directed by the Accountable Clinical Director (ACD) for the network, feedback results and implement changes in conjunction with the ACD.

Medicines safety

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

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 the practices computer system. Auditing practices compliance against NICE technology assessment guidance. Provide newsletters or bulletins on important prescribing messages.

Education and Training

Provide education and training to primary healthcare team on therapeutics and medicines optimisation.

Care Quality Commission

Work with the general practice team to ensure the practice is compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved.

Public Health

Support public health campaigns. Provide specialist knowledge

General within the practice

a. To work with your line manager to undertake continual personal and professional development, taking an active part in reviewing and developing the roles and responsibilities

b. To work with your line manager to access regular clinical supervision, to enable you to deal effectively with the difficult issues that people present

c. To undertake all mandatory training and induction programmes

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

e. To attend a formal appraisal with their 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

f. To contribute to public health campaigns (e.g. flu clinics) through advice or direct care.

g. To maintain a clean, tidy, effective working area at all times

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. 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.

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

Qualifications

Essential

• Masters Degree in Pharmacy or equivalent.
• Registered with GPhC.
• Specialist knowledge through a Postgraduate Diploma & Qualification.
• Evidence of recent CPD.
• Independant Prescriber status or a commitment to undertake the course.

Experience

Essential

• At least 2 years post registration experience in a hospital, community or general practice setting.
• Experience of undertaking medication or medicine use reviews, and patient counselling.
• Experience of working with clinicians and multidisciplinary/multi-agency work.
• Experience in undertaking clinical audit.

Desirable

• Experience of facilitating change to improve clinical practice.
• Experience of delivering training sessions to varied groups.

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Effective interpersonal, communication (both written and oral) presentation and influencing skills.
• Ability to work with a range of clinical and non-clinical personnel as part of a team.
• Ability to communicate medicines and service related information to decision makers at all levels and have advice challenged.
• Ability to work independently and effectively with a high degree of motivation for long periods.
• Ability to prioritise and work to deadlines, often with frequent interruptions and urgent requests.
• Ability to define, collate, analyse and interpret data.
• Ability to communicate information to patients and careers in an appropriate manner, using well developed empathy skills.
• Ability to deal with occasionally distressing or emotional circumstances, including contact with terminally ill patients and their carers or relatives.
• Knowledge of issues regarding the protection of vulnerable adults and children, frail elderly and those with dementia.
• Knowledge of medicines management issues across primary, acute and domiciliary care settings including strategies for the improvement of prescribing.
• Understanding and appreciation of National and local policies which impinge on primary care prescribing.
• Understanding of the principles of clinical governance and how these apply in the broader arena.
• Understanding of personal health and safety responsibilities.

Desirable

• Capacity to be innovative and develop the role of a practice pharmacist.
• Ability to motivate people and facilitate change.
• Able to utilise databases and information technology, including word processing, spreadsheets and presentation packages effectively.
• Accepts responsibility for own work with freedom to take action based on own interpretation of broad clinical/professional policies.
• Understanding of the current issues facing primary care teams.
• An understanding of prescribing budgets and financial information.

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Professional approach to work demonstrating excellent interactive patient skills. Guided by professional code, accountable and responsible for own professional actions.
• Able to work under pressure and prioritise task to ensure urgent work is completed on time.
• Able to engage rapidly with existing stakeholder and networks.
• Builds credibility ( personal and organisational) and rapport quickly.
• Able to communicate effectively and engage with individuals from other agencies, including patients and the public.

Other Requirements

Essential

• Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check.
• Ability to travel between sites in a timely manner if required.

Desirable

• Willingness to work flexible hours when required to meet work demands.

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).