Job summary
Virtual
Ward- Advanced Clinical Pharmacist
There is 1
WTE position (37.5 hours per week) available. Applications for full and part
time working will be considered. No weekend, bank holiday or on call working. Hybrid working available.
Are you passionate about making a difference in the lives of
people in our communities across Plymouth, the South Hams, and West Devon? Do
you thrive in a dynamic and innovative healthcare environment? We have some
very exciting opportunities to join our integrated acute Virtual Ward team.
This project forms part of a wider plan to improve urgent and emergency
healthcare delivery as well as step up and step up down care from the acute
hospital.
We are committed to revolutionising healthcare delivery for
patients. Our aim is to provide high-quality, patient-centred care in the
comfort of their own homes, reducing length of hospital stay and admissions and
enhancing overall well-being through enhanced care coordination.
The Role
As the Advanced Clinical Pharmacist, you will play a critical
role in our multidisciplinary team, covering the expanded virtual ward that we
have planned for our locality. The post holder will work closely with
consultants, GPs, nurses, and other healthcare professionals to ensure
seamless, integrated care on the virtual ward, by providing specialist medicines
assessments and interventions for those admitted to the acute Virtual
Ward.
This role may not be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route.
Main duties of the job
Key Responsibilities
Leadership within the Virtual ward regarding
medicines and medicines governance
Medicine reconciliation
Structured medication reviews including complex
polypharmacy and deprescribing
Prescribing and accurate record keeping
regarding medications
Answering medication queries raised by the
multidisciplinary team and providing clinical support to the Virtual Ward
Technician
Discharge facilitation
Our Approach to Recruitment
For an informal discussion about the role, please email laurahauser@nhs.net.
Interviews will take place at the Beauchamp Centre, Mount
Gould Hospital. Successful candidates will be asked to bring in their
documentation to enable the start of the pre-employment check phase as soon as
they can post interview. If you are happy for this process to start prior to
receiving the outcome of the interview, please bring with you:
Copies of any qualifications relevant to the
role
Copies of training certificates -digital copies
are acceptable
2 forms of photographic identification
3 forms of identification, to include your
Right to Work documentation and 2 proof of address, ideally a printed bank
statement from a Current Account- this will allow us to start pre-employment
checks without delay.
Please note that we may close the job advertisement earlier than the specified deadline.
All staff are expected to be able and willing to work across a 7 day service.
About us
Livewell Southwest is an independent, award-winning social
enterprise delivering integrated health and social care services across
Plymouth, South Hams, and West Devon, with specialist services in parts of
Devon and Cornwall. Our teams work in community hospitals, GP practices, sports
centres, and health hubs.
As an organisation with a strong social conscience we are guided by our values,kindness, respect, inclusivity, ambition, responsibility, and
collaboration. We focus on transforming services to ensure sustainability, while
empowering staff and those we serve.
We involve the people we care for, along with their families and carers, in
shaping the care they receive, striving to deliver the right care at the right
time and place. Centering our work on individual needs helps people lead
healthy, independent lives.
We prioritise employees' development, offering protected CPD time, training
pathways, leadership programs, and funding for qualifications like the Care
Certificate and Nurse Training Scholarships. Our induction and preceptorship
programs ensure a smooth transition into our organisation.
Livewell Southwest values diversity and encourages applications from all
sections of the community, including those with armed forces experience, lived experience of mental
health, neuro-diverse conditions and learning disabilities. If you need assistance or reasonable adjustments during the
application process, contact the Recruiting Manager listed in the job advert.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Clinical and Professional
To be responsible for and lead the provision of
a high quality, specialised clinical pharmacy service to ensure the safe,
clinically effective and cost-efficient use of medicines.
To be responsible for the delivery of the
clinical pharmacy services to nominated areas, including attendance at
consultant ward rounds, providing expert pharmaceutical advice and setting
standards for junior pharmacists to emulate.
To be responsible for the provision of
professional pharmaceutical advice to healthcare colleagues, patients, and
carers as necessary.
To develop and monitor pharmacy initiatives such
as medicines reconciliation on admission and provision of discharge summaries
to GPs, which promote seamless transfer of patients from secondary care to
primary care and vice versa.
To be responsible for the development of virtual
based pharmaceutical care initiatives e.g. poly-pharmacy medication reviews,
patient and carer counselling, discharge planning, assessing patient
concordance and improved communication with primary care healthcare professionals.
To lead on and develop policy or service changes
within Virtual Wards which improve ward or community services and be
responsible for their implementation.
To promote and monitor compliance with the South
and West Devon Joint Formulary and to assist in formulary applications and
review for medicines relevant to patients within the Virtual Ward.
To be responsible for monitoring prescribing
practice to promote cost-effective and economic use of resources and contribute
to the establishment and implementation of prescribing guidelines within Virtual Wards.
To be lead on and be responsible for reporting
and review of clinical and other pharmacy related audits within Virtual Wards.
To be responsible for the development of junior
pharmacy staff within Virtual Wards including rotational pharmacists and trainee
pharmacists.
To provide evidence of Continuing Professional
Development on an annual basis at appraisal, in accordance with guidance issued
by the General Pharmaceutical Council.
To cover for ward pharmacists as required,
during periods of absence.
Occasional
dispensary cover including dispensing and checking of medication following
local SOPs.
Analytical and
Judgemental Skills
Have
highly developed skills for analysing medications, patient intimation in order
to provide advice on medicines, dosages, production issues/ in areas where
information and evidence is lacking, and medical or other opinion differs.
Clinical
screening of prescription charts and discharge prescriptions, to ensure
prescriptions are safe and appropriate.
Responding
to and recording medicines information requests from prescribers and other
healthcare professionals and providing advice on medicines proactively. In many
cases this is a complex task involving highly specialist up to date knowledge,
effective search strategies, evaluation of the evidence base and formulation of
an appropriate response.
To
be responsible for the investigation and monitoring of medicines related
incidents relating to Virtual Wards, recommending and implementing change as
required to improve patient safety, collating these for discussion at pharmacy
team meetings and at the Medicines
Governance Group.
Clinical Governance
To
be responsible for and lead on clinical governance and risk management through
interventions which optimise the management of medicines in Virtual Wards,
supporting best practice throughout all areas of responsibility
To
participate in and lead multidisciplinary groups in the review and development
of selected medicines related policies and procedures relating to Virtual Wards
and present to the MGG.
To
lead on the development and review of documents e.g. Patient Group Directions,
Policies, Guidelines and Protocols relating to Virtual Wards and presenting
reviewed documents to the MGG and DTC.
To
support professional leads in identifying and addressing evidence-based
medicine practice consistent with the requirements of clinical governance and
of national directives
To
work with the Pharmacy Senior Management Team to lead on continuous quality
improvement projects and audit within Virtual Wards
Managerial
To
provide mentoring, training, supervision and line management of substantive and
rotational pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and other pharmacy staff and
students as required, including appraisals and performance reviews.
To
organise the trainee pharmacist timetable when they rotate through Virtual
Wards.
To
act as Designated Supervisor to a Trainee Pharmacist annually as required.
To
mentor/buddy other NMPs within Livewell SW.
To
Act as a Designated Prescribing Practitioner, Educational supervisor or
Practice Supervisor as appropriate for members of the team undertaking their
independent prescribing training.
Freedom to Act
Pharmacists
are expected to work largely unsupervised and to act on their own professional
judgement.
Clinical
supervision from another health professional can be arranged and is to be
encouraged.
Technical
roles are defined by standard operating procedures which should always be
followed.
Clinical
roles are supported by policies and guidelines within which the pharmacist is
allowed professional discretion / interpretation.
This
role includes setting the parameters under which other pharmacy staff will operate.
Training and Education
To
lead on the training and development of pharmacy staff within Virtual Wards and
support training of other staff members within the team as appropriate.
To
plan, develop and deliver appropriate training and education to healthcare
colleagues, carer groups and outside agencies to promote the safe use and
clinical application of medicines.
To
be responsible for and lead on the induction of new pharmacy staff within Virtual Wards.
To
assist and lead, where appropriate, on the training provided to pharmacy
students, trainee pharmacists and other pharmacy staff.
Health, Safety and Security
To
work safely in the dispensary, ward, patient residence, and office environments
ensuring any risks identified to health and safety are managed or escalated to
line manager.
To
ensure safety and security of medicines, prescription stationery and patient
identifiable documents according to locally agreed standard operating procedures.
To
inform line manager of any breaches of safety or security or if agreed
procedures are thought to be inadequate to manage the risk.
Please refer to attachment for full job description.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Clinical and Professional
To be responsible for and lead the provision of
a high quality, specialised clinical pharmacy service to ensure the safe,
clinically effective and cost-efficient use of medicines.
To be responsible for the delivery of the
clinical pharmacy services to nominated areas, including attendance at
consultant ward rounds, providing expert pharmaceutical advice and setting
standards for junior pharmacists to emulate.
To be responsible for the provision of
professional pharmaceutical advice to healthcare colleagues, patients, and
carers as necessary.
To develop and monitor pharmacy initiatives such
as medicines reconciliation on admission and provision of discharge summaries
to GPs, which promote seamless transfer of patients from secondary care to
primary care and vice versa.
To be responsible for the development of virtual
based pharmaceutical care initiatives e.g. poly-pharmacy medication reviews,
patient and carer counselling, discharge planning, assessing patient
concordance and improved communication with primary care healthcare professionals.
To lead on and develop policy or service changes
within Virtual Wards which improve ward or community services and be
responsible for their implementation.
To promote and monitor compliance with the South
and West Devon Joint Formulary and to assist in formulary applications and
review for medicines relevant to patients within the Virtual Ward.
To be responsible for monitoring prescribing
practice to promote cost-effective and economic use of resources and contribute
to the establishment and implementation of prescribing guidelines within Virtual Wards.
To be lead on and be responsible for reporting
and review of clinical and other pharmacy related audits within Virtual Wards.
To be responsible for the development of junior
pharmacy staff within Virtual Wards including rotational pharmacists and trainee
pharmacists.
To provide evidence of Continuing Professional
Development on an annual basis at appraisal, in accordance with guidance issued
by the General Pharmaceutical Council.
To cover for ward pharmacists as required,
during periods of absence.
Occasional
dispensary cover including dispensing and checking of medication following
local SOPs.
Analytical and
Judgemental Skills
Have
highly developed skills for analysing medications, patient intimation in order
to provide advice on medicines, dosages, production issues/ in areas where
information and evidence is lacking, and medical or other opinion differs.
Clinical
screening of prescription charts and discharge prescriptions, to ensure
prescriptions are safe and appropriate.
Responding
to and recording medicines information requests from prescribers and other
healthcare professionals and providing advice on medicines proactively. In many
cases this is a complex task involving highly specialist up to date knowledge,
effective search strategies, evaluation of the evidence base and formulation of
an appropriate response.
To
be responsible for the investigation and monitoring of medicines related
incidents relating to Virtual Wards, recommending and implementing change as
required to improve patient safety, collating these for discussion at pharmacy
team meetings and at the Medicines
Governance Group.
Clinical Governance
To
be responsible for and lead on clinical governance and risk management through
interventions which optimise the management of medicines in Virtual Wards,
supporting best practice throughout all areas of responsibility
To
participate in and lead multidisciplinary groups in the review and development
of selected medicines related policies and procedures relating to Virtual Wards
and present to the MGG.
To
lead on the development and review of documents e.g. Patient Group Directions,
Policies, Guidelines and Protocols relating to Virtual Wards and presenting
reviewed documents to the MGG and DTC.
To
support professional leads in identifying and addressing evidence-based
medicine practice consistent with the requirements of clinical governance and
of national directives
To
work with the Pharmacy Senior Management Team to lead on continuous quality
improvement projects and audit within Virtual Wards
Managerial
To
provide mentoring, training, supervision and line management of substantive and
rotational pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and other pharmacy staff and
students as required, including appraisals and performance reviews.
To
organise the trainee pharmacist timetable when they rotate through Virtual
Wards.
To
act as Designated Supervisor to a Trainee Pharmacist annually as required.
To
mentor/buddy other NMPs within Livewell SW.
To
Act as a Designated Prescribing Practitioner, Educational supervisor or
Practice Supervisor as appropriate for members of the team undertaking their
independent prescribing training.
Freedom to Act
Pharmacists
are expected to work largely unsupervised and to act on their own professional
judgement.
Clinical
supervision from another health professional can be arranged and is to be
encouraged.
Technical
roles are defined by standard operating procedures which should always be
followed.
Clinical
roles are supported by policies and guidelines within which the pharmacist is
allowed professional discretion / interpretation.
This
role includes setting the parameters under which other pharmacy staff will operate.
Training and Education
To
lead on the training and development of pharmacy staff within Virtual Wards and
support training of other staff members within the team as appropriate.
To
plan, develop and deliver appropriate training and education to healthcare
colleagues, carer groups and outside agencies to promote the safe use and
clinical application of medicines.
To
be responsible for and lead on the induction of new pharmacy staff within Virtual Wards.
To
assist and lead, where appropriate, on the training provided to pharmacy
students, trainee pharmacists and other pharmacy staff.
Health, Safety and Security
To
work safely in the dispensary, ward, patient residence, and office environments
ensuring any risks identified to health and safety are managed or escalated to
line manager.
To
ensure safety and security of medicines, prescription stationery and patient
identifiable documents according to locally agreed standard operating procedures.
To
inform line manager of any breaches of safety or security or if agreed
procedures are thought to be inadequate to manage the risk.
Please refer to attachment for full job description.
Person Specification
Personal Attributes
Essential
- Well-motivated, conscientious and reliable.
- Readily approachable, sensitive and supportive.
- Strong professional values.
Experience
Essential
- Experience as a practising pharmacist, including experience of working as a member of a Multidisciplinary Team.
- Experience of networking with other healthcare professionals across the full range of disciplines at all levels.
- Experience of review and development of pharmacy or medication related policies, procedures and PGDs.
- Experience of audit work.
- Experience of delivering education to healthcare staff and patients or carers via workshops, informal discussion or formal lectures.
Desirable
- Experience of working in different sectors of Pharmacy across the system.
- Experience of preparing documents for clinical governance groups and presenting these to a committee.
- Experience of leading on audit and producing reports.
- Experience of mentoring, supervision and line management.
- Experience of influencing, negotiating and implementing change in practice.
Specific skills
Essential
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills including verbal, written and formal presentation skills for a wide variety of audiences.
- Computer literate including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Email and Internet.
- Excellent critical appraisal and analytical skills, with a sound understanding of evidence-based medicine.
- Good listening skills & excellent networking and negotiating skills.
- Can work with and influence managers, nursing and medical staff.
- Leadership and team working skills.
- Ability to act as an excellent role model or mentor.
- Self-motivated and able to motivate others with enthusiasm.
- Able to reflect on and appraise own performance and that of others.
- Ability to plan and prioritise own work and that of others with good organisational and time- management skills.
- Able to work under pressure and to tight deadlines.
Desirable
- Ability to influence and negotiate with a range of stakeholders to implement change in practice.
- Computer literate with SystmOne, SeeEHR.
- Able to resolve conflict and disagreement.
- Ability to manage change.
- Access to own transport.
- Ability to travel across the LSW area.
Knowledge
Essential
- Excellent knowledge of clinical pharmacy as it relates to acute and general medicine, and general surgery.
- Knowledge and understanding of antimicrobial stewardship.
- Understanding of non-medical prescribing, patient group directions and other alternatives to medical prescribing.
- Aware of current healthcare targets, NICE guidance and other national directives and the implications for implementation in primary and secondary care.
Desirable
- Highly specialised knowledge of drug use in acute and general medicine, and surgery.
- .Broad knowledge of the structure, organisation and priorities of the NHS and other healthcare services at a national and local level.
Qualifications
Essential
- Masters Degree or equivalent in Pharmacy.
- Registered Practising Member of the General Pharmaceutical Council.
- Specialist knowledge acquired by postgraduate diploma or equivalent evidence of specialist knowledge, competence and achievements in practice in pharmacy.
- Evidence of Continuing Professional Development and revalidation.
Desirable
- Postgraduate qualification in clinical pharmacy.
- Member of specialist interest groups.
- Working towards membership of the RPS Faculty.
- Independent prescriber or willingness to work towards.
Person Specification
Personal Attributes
Essential
- Well-motivated, conscientious and reliable.
- Readily approachable, sensitive and supportive.
- Strong professional values.
Experience
Essential
- Experience as a practising pharmacist, including experience of working as a member of a Multidisciplinary Team.
- Experience of networking with other healthcare professionals across the full range of disciplines at all levels.
- Experience of review and development of pharmacy or medication related policies, procedures and PGDs.
- Experience of audit work.
- Experience of delivering education to healthcare staff and patients or carers via workshops, informal discussion or formal lectures.
Desirable
- Experience of working in different sectors of Pharmacy across the system.
- Experience of preparing documents for clinical governance groups and presenting these to a committee.
- Experience of leading on audit and producing reports.
- Experience of mentoring, supervision and line management.
- Experience of influencing, negotiating and implementing change in practice.
Specific skills
Essential
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills including verbal, written and formal presentation skills for a wide variety of audiences.
- Computer literate including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Email and Internet.
- Excellent critical appraisal and analytical skills, with a sound understanding of evidence-based medicine.
- Good listening skills & excellent networking and negotiating skills.
- Can work with and influence managers, nursing and medical staff.
- Leadership and team working skills.
- Ability to act as an excellent role model or mentor.
- Self-motivated and able to motivate others with enthusiasm.
- Able to reflect on and appraise own performance and that of others.
- Ability to plan and prioritise own work and that of others with good organisational and time- management skills.
- Able to work under pressure and to tight deadlines.
Desirable
- Ability to influence and negotiate with a range of stakeholders to implement change in practice.
- Computer literate with SystmOne, SeeEHR.
- Able to resolve conflict and disagreement.
- Ability to manage change.
- Access to own transport.
- Ability to travel across the LSW area.
Knowledge
Essential
- Excellent knowledge of clinical pharmacy as it relates to acute and general medicine, and general surgery.
- Knowledge and understanding of antimicrobial stewardship.
- Understanding of non-medical prescribing, patient group directions and other alternatives to medical prescribing.
- Aware of current healthcare targets, NICE guidance and other national directives and the implications for implementation in primary and secondary care.
Desirable
- Highly specialised knowledge of drug use in acute and general medicine, and surgery.
- .Broad knowledge of the structure, organisation and priorities of the NHS and other healthcare services at a national and local level.
Qualifications
Essential
- Masters Degree or equivalent in Pharmacy.
- Registered Practising Member of the General Pharmaceutical Council.
- Specialist knowledge acquired by postgraduate diploma or equivalent evidence of specialist knowledge, competence and achievements in practice in pharmacy.
- Evidence of Continuing Professional Development and revalidation.
Desirable
- Postgraduate qualification in clinical pharmacy.
- Member of specialist interest groups.
- Working towards membership of the RPS Faculty.
- Independent prescriber or willingness to work towards.
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
