Job summary
We are seeking an experienced and forward-thinking clinical pharmacist with advanced expertise in frailty, multi-morbidity, and polypharmacy to lead medicines optimisation for older adults across Lambeth and Southwark. As Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust hosts the pharmacy service for local care homes, this role provides both strategic oversight and expert clinical leadership for a system-wide service spanning the full continuum of frailty care, from acute hospital services to community pathways, care homes, and primary care, ensuring seamless and consistently high quality medicines optimisation for older adults wherever they receive care.
This position offers a clear development pathway towards consultant pharmacist practice, aligning with emerging consultant-level standards. Working closely with the Consultant Pharmacist for Older People, the post holder will benefit from structured mentorship, shared leadership opportunities, and support to grow as an expert practitioner and influential system leader.
The role requires a highly motivated clinician with strong leadership skills, a passion for innovation, and the ability to collaborate effectively across multidisciplinary teams.
Main duties of the job
The successful candidate will provide senior leadership for the Care Homes and Frailty Pharmacy Team, ensuring high-quality, coordinated service delivery.
Through innovative care models and strong multidisciplinary collaboration, they will drive the development and continuous improvement of a patient-centred medicines optimisation service that enhances safety, reduces medicines-related harm, and delivers exceptional outcomes for people living with frailty.
About us
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust comprises five of the UK's best known hospitals - Guy's, St Thomas', Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield - as well as community services in Lambeth and Southwark, all with a long history of high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation.
We are among the UK's busiest, most successful foundation trusts, providing specialist care for patients including heart and lung, cancer and renal services.We have a long tradition of clinical and scientific achievement and - as part of King's Health Partners - we are one of England's eight academic health sciences centres, bringing together world-class clinical services, teaching and research.
We strive to recruit and retain the best staff as the dedication and skills of our employees lie at the heart of our organisation and ensure that our services are of the highest quality, safe and focused on our patients.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Job responsibilities
The post holder will provide expert medicines advice to care homes and frailty teams, acting as the senior point of contact for complex medication-related decisions. They will manage a caseload of older adults with complex needs, delivering comprehensive medication reviews and coordinating all medicines-related aspects of care. Working in partnership with GPs, community pharmacists, care home staff and multidisciplinary teams, they will deliver holistic, person-centred care using frailty-informed approaches and shared decision making.
The postholder will lead and support the frailty and care homes pharmacy team to deliver high-quality, safe and evidence-based prescribing and deprescribing, aligned with national and local guidance.
Using population health data, they will identify high-risk patients and implement targeted interventions to reduce medicines-related harm and avoidable hospital admissions. They will also contribute expert input into medicines policies, safety initiatives and CQC compliance, while driving quality improvement through audit, evaluation and monitoring of medicines optimisation practices.
The role includes working closely with commissioners and system partners to align medicines optimisation with wider strategic priorities, including reducing overprescribing, medicines waste, reducing health inequalities and unnecessary admissions.
The post holder will support innovative care models, safe hospital discharge pathways and prevention of avoidable admissions. In addition, contribute to training, research, service evaluation and policy development to advance best practice in frailty and care homes pharmacy
See the attached JD and PS for more details and the full range of duties
Job description
Job responsibilities
Job responsibilities
The post holder will provide expert medicines advice to care homes and frailty teams, acting as the senior point of contact for complex medication-related decisions. They will manage a caseload of older adults with complex needs, delivering comprehensive medication reviews and coordinating all medicines-related aspects of care. Working in partnership with GPs, community pharmacists, care home staff and multidisciplinary teams, they will deliver holistic, person-centred care using frailty-informed approaches and shared decision making.
The postholder will lead and support the frailty and care homes pharmacy team to deliver high-quality, safe and evidence-based prescribing and deprescribing, aligned with national and local guidance.
Using population health data, they will identify high-risk patients and implement targeted interventions to reduce medicines-related harm and avoidable hospital admissions. They will also contribute expert input into medicines policies, safety initiatives and CQC compliance, while driving quality improvement through audit, evaluation and monitoring of medicines optimisation practices.
The role includes working closely with commissioners and system partners to align medicines optimisation with wider strategic priorities, including reducing overprescribing, medicines waste, reducing health inequalities and unnecessary admissions.
The post holder will support innovative care models, safe hospital discharge pathways and prevention of avoidable admissions. In addition, contribute to training, research, service evaluation and policy development to advance best practice in frailty and care homes pharmacy
See the attached JD and PS for more details and the full range of duties
Person Specification
Skills
Essential
- Significant and current clinical experience of providing a clinical pharmacist service to Care Homes or Frail patients
- Able to make considered recommendations and facilitate consensus-based decision-making with regards to the use of medicines
- Communicate highly complex or contentious medicines-related information to staff, using a variety of methods
- Able to challenge current practice of healthcare professionals working, with regards to medicines use in Care Homes, Frailty or Older Person's Care, using negotiating and influencing skills
- Able to confidently represent any issues related to the safe use of medicines at directorate or equivalent executive level
- Ability to reconcile national priorities with local realities
- Ability to utilise data to appraise operational delivery and inform service change
- Ability to identify gaps in the evidence base in Care Homes, Frailty or Older Person's Care and areas aligned with Pharmacy
Desirable
- Project management or Quality Improvement qualification or equivalent experience
- Undertake own research
Knowledge/Qualifications
Essential
- Higher degree (MSc) in Clinical Pharmacy/ Pharmacy Practice or relevant post registration Master's Qualification
Desirable
- Member of relevant professional groups (i.e. Royal Pharmaceutical Society, UKCPA)
Experience
Essential
- Demonstrated ability to deliver education and training, and competency assessment of pharmacy staff and other health care professionals
- Experience as a clinical tutor for Higher Education Institution diploma or MSc courses
- Experience of working as a clinical pharmacy team leader for a specialist team
- Experience of setting the standards of care / service specification for a specialist pharmacy team.
Person Specification
Skills
Essential
- Significant and current clinical experience of providing a clinical pharmacist service to Care Homes or Frail patients
- Able to make considered recommendations and facilitate consensus-based decision-making with regards to the use of medicines
- Communicate highly complex or contentious medicines-related information to staff, using a variety of methods
- Able to challenge current practice of healthcare professionals working, with regards to medicines use in Care Homes, Frailty or Older Person's Care, using negotiating and influencing skills
- Able to confidently represent any issues related to the safe use of medicines at directorate or equivalent executive level
- Ability to reconcile national priorities with local realities
- Ability to utilise data to appraise operational delivery and inform service change
- Ability to identify gaps in the evidence base in Care Homes, Frailty or Older Person's Care and areas aligned with Pharmacy
Desirable
- Project management or Quality Improvement qualification or equivalent experience
- Undertake own research
Knowledge/Qualifications
Essential
- Higher degree (MSc) in Clinical Pharmacy/ Pharmacy Practice or relevant post registration Master's Qualification
Desirable
- Member of relevant professional groups (i.e. Royal Pharmaceutical Society, UKCPA)
Experience
Essential
- Demonstrated ability to deliver education and training, and competency assessment of pharmacy staff and other health care professionals
- Experience as a clinical tutor for Higher Education Institution diploma or MSc courses
- Experience of working as a clinical pharmacy team leader for a specialist team
- Experience of setting the standards of care / service specification for a specialist pharmacy team.
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).
