Clinical Pharmacist

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job Description - Clinical Pharmacist

Primary Duties and Areas of Responsibility

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 GPs for medicine improvement.

Patient facing clinical medication review

Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and produce recommendations for the nurses and/or GPs on prescribing and monitoring.

Patient facing care home medication reviews

Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and produce recommendations for the 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 nurses and GPs on prescribing and monitoring.

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

Implement the practics 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.

Medicines quality improvement

Undertake clinical audits of prescribing in areas directed by the GPs, feedback results and implement changes in conjunction with the practice team.

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).

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.

Collaborative Working Relationships

The post-holder shall be a professional who:

Recognises the roles of other colleagues within the organisation and their role to patient care

Demonstrates use of appropriate communication to gain the co-operation of relevant stakeholders (including patients, senior and peer colleagues, and other professionals, other NHS/private organisations e.g. CCG/PCNs)

Demonstrates ability to work as a member of a team

Other attributes

The post-holder shall be a professional who:

Is able to recognise personal limitations and refer to more appropriate colleague(s) when necessary.

Actively works toward developing and maintaining effective working relationships both within and outside the practice and locality

Fosters and maintain strong links with all services across locality

Explores the potential for collaborative working and takes opportunities to initiate and

sustain such relationships

Demonstrates ability to integrate general practice with community and hospital pharmacy teams

Liaises with CCG/PCN colleagues including CCG/PCN Pharmacists and others on prescribing related matters to ensure consistency of patient care and benefit

Knowledge, Skills and Experience required:

Completion of an undergraduate degree in pharmacy and full, valid registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council

Minimum of 2 years experience as a pharmacist, demonstrated within a practice portfolio and evidence of self-directed continuing professional development

Have experience and knowledge of common acute and long-term conditions that are likely to be seen in general practice settings and the common or important pharmaceutical issues relating to these

Hold or be working towards an independent prescribing qualification.

Recognises priorities when problem-solving and identifies deviations from normal pattern and is able to refer to seniors or GPs when appropriate

Able to follow legal, ethical, professional and organisational policies/procedures and codes of conduct

NB: it is anticipated level of qualification held may vary according to the level of position and the components of the role being carried out, see person specification for details.

Leadership:

Demonstrates understanding of the pharmacy role in governance and is able to implement this appropriately within the workplace.

Demonstrates understanding of, and contributes to, the workplace vision

Engages with Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) and involves PPGs in development of the role and services

Demonstrates ability to improve quality within limitations of service

Reviews yearly progress and develops clear plans to achieve results within priorities set by others and participates in appraisal processes.

Demonstrate ability to motivate self to achieve goals

Promotes diversity and equality in people management techniques and leads by example.

Management:

Demonstrates understanding of the implications of national priorities for the team

and/or service

Demonstrates understanding of the process for effective resource utilisation

Demonstrates understanding of, and conforms to, relevant standards of practice

Demonstrates ability to identify and resolve risk management issues according to policy/protocol

Follows professional and organisational policies/procedures relating to performance management

Demonstrates ability to extend boundaries of service delivery within the team

Respect for Patient Confidentiality

The post-holder should respect patient confidentiality at all times and not divulge

patient information unless sanctioned by the requirements of the role.

Special Working Conditions

The post-holder is required to travel independently between practice sites (where applicable), and to attend meetings etc. hosted by other agencies. The post-holder will have contact with body fluids i.e. wound exudates; urine etc. while in clinical practice.

Role Profile Agreement

This role profile is intended to provide an outline of the key tasks and responsibilities only. There may be other duties required of the post-holder commensurate with the position. This description will be open to regular review and may be amended to take into account development within the Practice. All members of staff should be prepared to take on additional duties or relinquish existing duties in order to maintain the efficient running of the Practice.

This job description is intended as a basic guide to the scope and responsibilities ofthe post and is not exhaustive. It will be subject to regular review and amendment as necessary in consultation with the post holder. For a full copy of the job descripion please email ritacabrita@nhs.net.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working within a GP Practice or a PCN

Qualifications

Essential

• Professional Registration
• Mandatory registration with General Pharmaceutical Council
• Qualifications
• Masters degree in pharmacy (MPharm) (or equivalent)
• Skills, Knowledge and experience
• Minimum of 2 years post- qualification experience.
• An appreciation of the nature of GPs and general practices
• An appreciation of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing
• Excellent interpersonal, influencing and negotiating skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrate the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information in an understandable form to a variety of audiences (e.g. patients)
• Is able to plan, manage, monitor, advise and review general medicine optimization issues in core areas for long term conditions
• Good IT skills
• Able to obtain and analyse complex technical information.
• Recognises priorities when problem solving and identifies deviations from the normal pattern and is able to refer to seniors or GPs when appropriate
• Able to work under pressure and to meet deadlines
• Produce timely and informative reports
• Gain acceptance for recommendations and influence/motivate/ persuade the audience to comply with the recommendations/agreed course of action where there may be significant barriers
• Work both effectively, independently and as a team member
• Demonstrates accountability for delivering professional expertise and direct service provision
• Other
• Self-Motivation
• Adaptable
• Full Driving License
• In date CRB
• Safeguarding adult and children level three
• Information Governance toolkit completion
• Basic life support training

Desirable

• Professional Registration
• Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
• A member of or working towards Faculty membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
• Qualifications
• Specialist knowledge acquired through post- graduate diploma level or equivalent training/experience
• Independent prescriber or working towards/intent of gaining independent prescribing qualification
• Skills, Knowledge and Experience
• In depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence- based healthcare.
• Other
• Immunisation status

Ethos and Flexible working

Essential

• Ability to provide excellent quality care
• Ability to work at another GP Practice that forms part of the Abingdon and District PCN, if necessary.

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

Berinsfield Health Centre

Address

Berinsfield Health Centre

Fane Drive

Berinsfield

Wallingford

Oxfordshire

OX10 7NE

Employer's website

https://berinsfieldhealthcentre.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)