PCN Clinical Pharmacist

Job responsibilities

Clinical Pharmacist

The post holder will be an experienced pharmacist acting within professional boundaries, working alongside a team of pharmacists in a group of general practices. They will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient-facing role, undertaking clinical medication reviews to proactively manage patients with long term conditions, complex polypharmacy ensuring medicine optimisation.

The post holder will provide primary prescription and medication support to staff, support the repeat prescription system, deal with acute prescription requests and support medicines reconciliation on transfer of care. The post holder will also implement systems for safer prescribing, providing expertise in clinical medicines advice.

The post holder will provide clinical leadership on medicines optimisation and quality improvement and manage some aspects of the quality and outcomes framework and enhanced services.

The post holder will ensure that the practice integrates with community and hospital pharmacy to improve patient outcomes, ensure better access to healthcare and help manage practices workload. The role is pivotal to improving the quality of care and operational efficiencies within the PCN.

Primary Duties and Key Areas of Responsibility:

Work closely with other pharmacy professionals across PCNs and the wider health and social care system

Undertake structured medication reviews ensuring medicine optimisation and improved patient outcomes. Patient groups include: frequent hospital attenders, unplanned hospital admissions, care home residents, and those on multiple medicines etc.

Be a prescriber, or be willing to undertake training to become a prescriber, and work alongside the general practice team

Advise patients re: common/minor/self-limiting ailments -while working within your scope of practice, directing patients to self-care in line with national guidance. You will signpost patients to the community pharmacy and refer to GPs or other healthcare professionals when appropriate.

Medicines information - Provide advice for patients with questions, queries and concerns about their medicines.

Medicines reconciliation - You will reconcile medicines following discharge from hospitals and intermediate care, and into care homes. This includes identifying and rectifying unexplained changes, and working with patients and community pharmacists to ensure that patients receive the medicines they need post-discharge.

Repeat prescribing - You will support the production and implementation of a repeat prescribing policy and undertake the repeat-prescribing reauthorisation process through reviews on patients repeat prescription requests, medicines reaching review dates, and through flagging those needing a review. You will also ensure patients have appropriate monitoring tests in place when required.

Risk stratification - You will identify cohorts of patients at high risk of harm from medicines through pre-prepared practice computer searches. These may include patient, and medicine related risks.

Service development - You will contribute pharmaceutical advice for the development and implementation of new services that have medicinal components (eg: advice on treatment pathways and patient information leaflets).

Information management - Analyse, interpret and present medicines data to highlight issues and risks to support decision making in General Practices.

Medicines quality improvement - You will undertake clinical audits of prescribing in areas directed by GPs. You will feedback the results and implement changes in conjunction with the practice team and the Senior Clinical Pharmacist.

Medicines safety - You will support the implementation of changes to medicines that result from MHRA alerts, product withdrawal and other local and national guidance.

Shared Care - Provide support in the 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.

Care Quality Commission - You will work with the general practice team to ensure compliance with CQC standards where medicines are involved.

Public Health - You will support public health campaigns, provide specialist knowledge on the public health programmes available to the general public.

Professional Clinical Network - Be part of a professional clinical network and have access to appropriate clinical supervision.

Person Specification - Knowledge, Skills and Experience Required

Qualifications

Essential:

Mandatory registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council

Vocational Masters Degree in Pharmacy (MPharm) or equivalent

Commitment to become an independent prescriber

Desirable:

Membership Primary Care Pharmacy Association (PCPA)

Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Specialist knowledge through a postgraduate diploma or equivalent Independent prescribing qualification

Experience

Essential:

At least 2 years post-registration experience in a hospital, community or general practice setting

Capacity to be innovative and to develop the role In depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of principles of evidence based healthcare

Ability to maintain effective working relationships and promote collaborative working

Excellent interpersonal, influencing and negotiating skills

Excellent communication (written and oral), and presentation skills

Ability to plan, manage, monitor, advice and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long term conditions.

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.

Involves patients in decisions about prescribed medicines and supporting adherence as per NICE guidelines.

Competent user of Microsoft Office programmes, including Outlook, Excel and Word to create simple plans and reports

Demonstrate understanding of the implications of national priorities for the team and/or service.

Demonstrate understanding of the process for effective resource utilisation.

Demonstrate 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 self-development through continuous professional development activity.

Understands and demonstrates the characteristics of a role model to members in the team and/or service.

Demonstrates ability to critically evaluate and review literature.

Demonstrates ability to identify where there is a gap in the evidence base to support practice.

Demonstrates ability to generate evidence suitable for presentations at practice and local level.

Demonstrates ability to apply research evidence base into working place.

Demonstrates understanding of principles of research governance.

Desirable:

Understanding of the nature of GP workload and general practice

Understanding of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing

Personal & Professional Attributes - Essential

Self-motivated

Ability to work on own initiative and as part of a team

Flexible and adaptable to work environment

Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines

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

Foster and maintain strong links with all services across the locality.

Explores the potential for collaborative working and takes opportunities to initiate and sustain such relationships.

Good timekeeping

Professional appearance

Full driving licence and access to transport

Health and Safety/Risk Management.

The post-holder must comply at all times with the Practices Health and Safety policies, in particular by following agreed safe working procedures and reporting incidents using the organisations Incident Reporting System.

The post-holder will comply with the Data Protection Act (1984) and the Access to Health Records Act (1990).

Equality and Diversity

The post-holder must cooperate with all policies and procedures designed to ensure equality of employment. Co-workers, patients and visitors must be treated equally irrespective of gender, ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion etc.

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.

Job Description Agreement

This job description 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 of the post and is not exhaustive.

Experience

Essential

• At least 2 years post-registration experience in a hospital, community or general practice setting

Desirable

• Experience of working in primary care
• Experience of working in general practice

Qualifications

Essential

• Mandatory registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council
• Vocational Masters Degree in Pharmacy (MPharm) or equivalent
• Commitment to become an independent prescriber

Desirable

• Membership Primary Care Pharmacy Association (PCPA)
• Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
• Specialist knowledge through a postgraduate diploma or equivalent Independent prescribing qualification

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Capacity to be innovative and to develop the role In depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of principles of evidence based healthcare
• Ability to maintain effective working relationships and promote collaborative working
• Excellent interpersonal, influencing and negotiating skills
• Excellent communication (written and oral), and presentation skills
• Ability to plan, manage, monitor, advice and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long term conditions.
• 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.
• Involves patients in decisions about prescribed medicines and supporting adherence as per NICE guidelines.
• Competent user of Microsoft Office programmes, including Outlook, Excel and Word to create simple plans and reports
• Demonstrate understanding of the implications of national priorities for the team and/or service.
• Demonstrate understanding of the process for effective resource utilisation.
• Demonstrate 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 self-development through continuous professional development activity.
• Understands and demonstrates the characteristics of a role model to members in the team and/or service.
• Demonstrates ability to critically evaluate and review literature.
• Demonstrates ability to identify where there is a gap in the evidence base to support practice.
• Demonstrates ability to generate evidence suitable for presentations at practice and local level.
• Demonstrates ability to apply research evidence base into working place.
• Demonstrates understanding of principles of research governance.

Desirable

• Understanding of the nature of GP workload and general practice
• Understanding of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing

Professional and Personal attributes

Essential

• Commit to attain the Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway.
• Self-motivated.
• Ability to work on own initiative and as part of a team.
• Flexible and adaptable to work environment.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Actively work toward developing and maintaining effective working relationships both within and outside the practice and locality.
• Foster and maintain strong links with all services across the locality.
• Explores the potential for collaborative working and takes opportunities to initiate and sustain such relationships.
• Good timekeeping.
• Professional appearance.
• Full driving licence and access to transport

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).