Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a motivated and patient centered clinical pharmacist to work in both the General Practice setting in Lewisham as part of The Lewisham Care Partnership (TLCP) Primary Care Network (3 days a week) and the domiciliary care service arm of the Lewisham Integrated Medicines Optimisation service - LIMOS (2 days a week).
The award winning LIMOS service provides a formal pathway for the referral of patients with medicines-related problems for assessment, support and follow up by a specialist pharmacy team working across primary and secondary care interfaces and also health and social care boundaries. TLCP is a forward thinking and friendly PCN formed of 5 local GP partnerships which merged in 2017 and now form a PCN with a population of nearly 60,000 patients
Main duties of the job
The role will involve working as part of an existing team of clinical pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who form part of the Lewisham Integrated Medicines Optimisation Service (LIMOS) in both parts of the role, together with other members of the PCN and multidisciplinary team to drive improvement and the quality of patient care through the provision of efficient, safe and effective use of medicines. Work within the GP setting will also include working within a pharmacy HUB together with other pharmacy professionals.
Responsibilities in both settings will include providing direct patient care and undertaking full, patient centered, structured medication reviews to proactively manage people with complex polypharmacy particularly the elderly and those with multiple long term conditions.
About us
The postholder will have the opportunity to undertake the Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway delivered by the CPPE, unless already gained or equivalent qualification held already.
Whilst experience in primary care is not essential, lots of enthusiasm and a desire to use transferable clinical skills around medicines optimisation and holistic patient care in a primary care setting is the key.
Being supported by a network of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, this split post is an ideal opportunity for pharmacists who have not worked in primary care but are interested in gaining experience in a role which combines GP practice work with a LIMOS role to support elderly patients in home settings. The post maintains close links with secondary care through integrated pathways around medicines support within Lewisham. This close working includes accessing CPD via peer learning events with pharmacy professionals within the borough and across community and secondary care settings.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Post Title: Clinical Primary Care Pharmacist Lewisham Integrated Medicines Optimisation Service - PCNs
Grade: Band 7
Base Location: Working in community and designated GP Practice / PCN settings in Lewisham
Hours: 37.5 hours
Accountable to: The partners of the Primary Care Network Director of Pharmacy
Responsible to: Clinical Directors within Primary Care Networks & Associated Partners
Principal PCN Pharmacist Lewisham
Supervises: PCN Pharmacy Technicians & Pre-registration Pharmacists Undergraduate Pharmacy Students
Liaises with: All Pharmacy staff across secondary primary and secondary care settings
Medical and Nursing staff
General Practitioners and other staff in the general practice setting
Other Health and social care Professionals
Job Purpose:
Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, along with Lewisham Borough and Primary Care Networks (PCNs), have developed an integrated approach to medicines optimisation across the interface, community and care home settings and improved community management of long term conditions. This role will be to support the medicines management aspects of this initiative through working within the general practice setting. This role will work as part of the general practice team to provide specialist advice to patients, and undertake full patient centred medication reviews to proactively manage people with complex polypharmacy, particularly the elderly and those with multiple conditions. Work in general practice will also involve medicines reconciliation and management of prescribing queries, including following hospital discharges, and the development and implementation of safe systems for medication ordering and prescribing in the context of improving safety and reducing waste. The role will also involve partnership working across health and social care interfaces in line with the pathway for medicines support in Lewisham.
This is a specialised post, which involves analysing and interpreting complex clinical situations to develop, provide and communicate effective medicines management solutions and provide expert advice in this area.
Key Result Areas & Performance
- To provide medicine management reviews for identified and targeted patients including those who have medication issues or adherence related problems, or are on multiple or high risk medications, in the general practice.
- To deliver quality improvement, while contributing to the delivery of the general practice quality and outcomes framework or other enhanced services or prescribing workstreams.
- To participate in clinical audit and collect appropriate outcome data.
- To work with general practice colleagues and community pharmacy colleagues to support implementation of safe systems for repeat prescribing and reduction of waste within a general practice setting.
- To work with primary care healthcare professionals to ensure agreed changes in medication are implemented and sustained.
- To provide expertise and clinical leadership on medicines optimisation as part of a team member within a general practice setting.
- To provide support to improve adherence and help patients get the best from their medicines, reducing medicines related admissions (including falls), and promoting appropriate evidence-based and cost effective prescribing. This will involve advice on de-prescribing where appropriate.
- To provide medicines management support to, and training for patients, carers and members of the multi-disciplinary general practice team.
- To contribute to the development of protocols to support improvement in systems around medication ordering and supply in the general practice setting in the context of improving safety and reducing waste.
Service Development
- To work with general practice and Primary Care Network staff to promote and embed the role of a GP practice and PCN pharmacist and pharmacy technician, and raise awareness of services available to patients.
- To provide general practice staff with recommendations and plan action to proactively improve the quality of systems and processes to improve medicines optimisation within the general practice and across the PCN setting.
- To provide training regarding medication related issues and policies/guidelines to general practice staff in order to promote medicines optimisation and high quality and cost-effective prescribing as appropriate.
- To provide operational and clinical support to medicines optimisation developments and prescribing initiatives as dictated by GP practice, CCG, and hospital Trust and service objectives.
- To collate and feedback on electronic discharge related information to ensure continuing improvement of the hospital computerised discharge letter and process of communication.
- To assist with the implementation of policies and guidelines to improve medicines optimisation across primary/ secondary care interface and into the general practice setting.
- To provide training to general practice staff to promote medicines optimisation in practice.
Clinical Services & Patient Care
- To provide medication review and optimisation of identified groups of patients to maximise the gain from medicines and provision of safe, clinically effective and cost efficient use of drugs.
- To provide information in medicines related issues to doctors, nurses and other members of the multidisciplinary team in general practice and where appropriate across primary and secondary care interfaces including to community pharmacies within the Borough.
- To develop skills including management of both minor ailments and specified long term conditions as required to practice as a part of the multidisciplinary team so as to ensure clinically effective and cost efficient use of drugs.
- To reconcile information related to medicines received in the general practice setting, liaising with community and hospital colleagues to support the safe transfer of care for vulnerable patients with complex medicines management needs.
- To work as an independent prescriber in line with competency and agreed area of practice as approved by the relevant Trust governance process through the non-medical prescribing committee with ratification by the MMC.
- Provide patient facing or telephone support to patients those with questions, queries and concerns about their medicines in the practice.
Information & Data Management
- To accurately record clinical activity within patient notes and the relevant electronic clinical systems such as EMIS and iCARE.
- To undertake clinical audit in areas in collaboration with GPs, feedback results, implement changes and ensure learning is shared to ensure quality improvement is achieved.
- To collate any quantitative and qualitative performance measures for the service as required.
- To collect and support the review of audit data associated with monitoring outcomes of relevant work streams of medicines optimisation services in the general practice setting
Education and Training
- To provide education and training on medicines issues to GPs and members of the general practice team and local community pharmacists. .
- To commit to undertake relevant training to qualify as a pharmacist independent prescriber.
- To ensure continuous development of professional knowledge competencies by attendance at in house/external training programmes and appropriate self-education.
- To act as a tutor and educational supervisor for the pre-registration pharmacist and pharmacy diploma practitioners.
- To provide support when required for junior and pre-registration pharmacists including provision of information, informal teaching and assessment of pre-registration and diploma practitioners.
- To provide teaching and training sessions on pharmacy related issues to pharmacy, ward and clinical staff.
Financial
- To support the delivery of targets in the general practice setting in relation to medicines optimisation and service delivery within quality and outcomes framework areas and enhanced services as required.
- To provide pharmaceutical advice on the use of more cost effective drugs across the primary and secondary care interface and within the general practice setting, including the provision of advice and implementation of formulary recommendations and shared care guidance.
Research & Development
- To participate in clinical audit in medicines optimisation initiatives to influence quality improvement around use of medicines within general practice and across local healthcare settings.
- To support the development and evaluation of local initiatives in the delivery of medicines optimisation
Job description
Job responsibilities
Post Title: Clinical Primary Care Pharmacist Lewisham Integrated Medicines Optimisation Service - PCNs
Grade: Band 7
Base Location: Working in community and designated GP Practice / PCN settings in Lewisham
Hours: 37.5 hours
Accountable to: The partners of the Primary Care Network Director of Pharmacy
Responsible to: Clinical Directors within Primary Care Networks & Associated Partners
Principal PCN Pharmacist Lewisham
Supervises: PCN Pharmacy Technicians & Pre-registration Pharmacists Undergraduate Pharmacy Students
Liaises with: All Pharmacy staff across secondary primary and secondary care settings
Medical and Nursing staff
General Practitioners and other staff in the general practice setting
Other Health and social care Professionals
Job Purpose:
Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, along with Lewisham Borough and Primary Care Networks (PCNs), have developed an integrated approach to medicines optimisation across the interface, community and care home settings and improved community management of long term conditions. This role will be to support the medicines management aspects of this initiative through working within the general practice setting. This role will work as part of the general practice team to provide specialist advice to patients, and undertake full patient centred medication reviews to proactively manage people with complex polypharmacy, particularly the elderly and those with multiple conditions. Work in general practice will also involve medicines reconciliation and management of prescribing queries, including following hospital discharges, and the development and implementation of safe systems for medication ordering and prescribing in the context of improving safety and reducing waste. The role will also involve partnership working across health and social care interfaces in line with the pathway for medicines support in Lewisham.
This is a specialised post, which involves analysing and interpreting complex clinical situations to develop, provide and communicate effective medicines management solutions and provide expert advice in this area.
Key Result Areas & Performance
- To provide medicine management reviews for identified and targeted patients including those who have medication issues or adherence related problems, or are on multiple or high risk medications, in the general practice.
- To deliver quality improvement, while contributing to the delivery of the general practice quality and outcomes framework or other enhanced services or prescribing workstreams.
- To participate in clinical audit and collect appropriate outcome data.
- To work with general practice colleagues and community pharmacy colleagues to support implementation of safe systems for repeat prescribing and reduction of waste within a general practice setting.
- To work with primary care healthcare professionals to ensure agreed changes in medication are implemented and sustained.
- To provide expertise and clinical leadership on medicines optimisation as part of a team member within a general practice setting.
- To provide support to improve adherence and help patients get the best from their medicines, reducing medicines related admissions (including falls), and promoting appropriate evidence-based and cost effective prescribing. This will involve advice on de-prescribing where appropriate.
- To provide medicines management support to, and training for patients, carers and members of the multi-disciplinary general practice team.
- To contribute to the development of protocols to support improvement in systems around medication ordering and supply in the general practice setting in the context of improving safety and reducing waste.
Service Development
- To work with general practice and Primary Care Network staff to promote and embed the role of a GP practice and PCN pharmacist and pharmacy technician, and raise awareness of services available to patients.
- To provide general practice staff with recommendations and plan action to proactively improve the quality of systems and processes to improve medicines optimisation within the general practice and across the PCN setting.
- To provide training regarding medication related issues and policies/guidelines to general practice staff in order to promote medicines optimisation and high quality and cost-effective prescribing as appropriate.
- To provide operational and clinical support to medicines optimisation developments and prescribing initiatives as dictated by GP practice, CCG, and hospital Trust and service objectives.
- To collate and feedback on electronic discharge related information to ensure continuing improvement of the hospital computerised discharge letter and process of communication.
- To assist with the implementation of policies and guidelines to improve medicines optimisation across primary/ secondary care interface and into the general practice setting.
- To provide training to general practice staff to promote medicines optimisation in practice.
Clinical Services & Patient Care
- To provide medication review and optimisation of identified groups of patients to maximise the gain from medicines and provision of safe, clinically effective and cost efficient use of drugs.
- To provide information in medicines related issues to doctors, nurses and other members of the multidisciplinary team in general practice and where appropriate across primary and secondary care interfaces including to community pharmacies within the Borough.
- To develop skills including management of both minor ailments and specified long term conditions as required to practice as a part of the multidisciplinary team so as to ensure clinically effective and cost efficient use of drugs.
- To reconcile information related to medicines received in the general practice setting, liaising with community and hospital colleagues to support the safe transfer of care for vulnerable patients with complex medicines management needs.
- To work as an independent prescriber in line with competency and agreed area of practice as approved by the relevant Trust governance process through the non-medical prescribing committee with ratification by the MMC.
- Provide patient facing or telephone support to patients those with questions, queries and concerns about their medicines in the practice.
Information & Data Management
- To accurately record clinical activity within patient notes and the relevant electronic clinical systems such as EMIS and iCARE.
- To undertake clinical audit in areas in collaboration with GPs, feedback results, implement changes and ensure learning is shared to ensure quality improvement is achieved.
- To collate any quantitative and qualitative performance measures for the service as required.
- To collect and support the review of audit data associated with monitoring outcomes of relevant work streams of medicines optimisation services in the general practice setting
Education and Training
- To provide education and training on medicines issues to GPs and members of the general practice team and local community pharmacists. .
- To commit to undertake relevant training to qualify as a pharmacist independent prescriber.
- To ensure continuous development of professional knowledge competencies by attendance at in house/external training programmes and appropriate self-education.
- To act as a tutor and educational supervisor for the pre-registration pharmacist and pharmacy diploma practitioners.
- To provide support when required for junior and pre-registration pharmacists including provision of information, informal teaching and assessment of pre-registration and diploma practitioners.
- To provide teaching and training sessions on pharmacy related issues to pharmacy, ward and clinical staff.
Financial
- To support the delivery of targets in the general practice setting in relation to medicines optimisation and service delivery within quality and outcomes framework areas and enhanced services as required.
- To provide pharmaceutical advice on the use of more cost effective drugs across the primary and secondary care interface and within the general practice setting, including the provision of advice and implementation of formulary recommendations and shared care guidance.
Research & Development
- To participate in clinical audit in medicines optimisation initiatives to influence quality improvement around use of medicines within general practice and across local healthcare settings.
- To support the development and evaluation of local initiatives in the delivery of medicines optimisation
Person Specification
Qualifications & Training
Essential
- B. Pharm / M. Pharm / BSc (Pharmacy)
- Registered with the GPhC
- Postgraduate Certificate in General Pharmacy Practice (or equivalent)
Desirable
- Postgraduate Diploma in General Pharmacy Practice (or equivalent)
- Member of the RPS Faculty
- Pharmacist Independent Prescriber or working towards qualification
Experience
Essential
- A minimum of 2 years post-registration experience in hospital pharmacy in an acute NHS setting or equivalent clinical experience.
- Demonstrable experience in clinical pharmacy practice covering a broad range of specialities.
- Demonstrable experience of multidisciplinary working
- Demonstrable experience in supervising others.
- Demonstrable experience of co-ordinating and leading on clinical audit.
Desirable
- Previous experience of delivering formal education and training sessions.
- Experience of working within GP practices &/or a community or primary care pharmacy setting.
- Development of evidence based guidelines
Knowledge & Skills
Essential
- Ability to work on own initiative and effectively as part of a team both within pharmacy and a multidisciplinary environment
- Appreciation of the nature of GPs, general practice and primary care prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing
- Recognise priorities when problem solving and appropriately refer to colleagues or seniors
- Ability to prioritise and plan work effectively.
- Ability to contribute to the planning of service developments
- Demonstrated ability to communicate complex information effectively using clear written and spoken English and overcome barriers to understanding
- Self motivation and the ability to motivate others
- Ability to establish and maintain rapport with medical, nursing and other colleagues
- Ability to work positively and calmly under pressure
- Demonstrate sound clinical knowledge and the ability to apply it in practice
- Demonstrate ability to ensure safe and effective use of medicines for patients
- Proven computer literacy and IT skills
Desirable
- Experience working with medical and nursing teams.
- Knowledge of NHS policy and current issues
- Experience working with clinical systems such as EMIS
Person Specification
Qualifications & Training
Essential
- B. Pharm / M. Pharm / BSc (Pharmacy)
- Registered with the GPhC
- Postgraduate Certificate in General Pharmacy Practice (or equivalent)
Desirable
- Postgraduate Diploma in General Pharmacy Practice (or equivalent)
- Member of the RPS Faculty
- Pharmacist Independent Prescriber or working towards qualification
Experience
Essential
- A minimum of 2 years post-registration experience in hospital pharmacy in an acute NHS setting or equivalent clinical experience.
- Demonstrable experience in clinical pharmacy practice covering a broad range of specialities.
- Demonstrable experience of multidisciplinary working
- Demonstrable experience in supervising others.
- Demonstrable experience of co-ordinating and leading on clinical audit.
Desirable
- Previous experience of delivering formal education and training sessions.
- Experience of working within GP practices &/or a community or primary care pharmacy setting.
- Development of evidence based guidelines
Knowledge & Skills
Essential
- Ability to work on own initiative and effectively as part of a team both within pharmacy and a multidisciplinary environment
- Appreciation of the nature of GPs, general practice and primary care prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing
- Recognise priorities when problem solving and appropriately refer to colleagues or seniors
- Ability to prioritise and plan work effectively.
- Ability to contribute to the planning of service developments
- Demonstrated ability to communicate complex information effectively using clear written and spoken English and overcome barriers to understanding
- Self motivation and the ability to motivate others
- Ability to establish and maintain rapport with medical, nursing and other colleagues
- Ability to work positively and calmly under pressure
- Demonstrate sound clinical knowledge and the ability to apply it in practice
- Demonstrate ability to ensure safe and effective use of medicines for patients
- Proven computer literacy and IT skills
Desirable
- Experience working with medical and nursing teams.
- Knowledge of NHS policy and current issues
- Experience working with clinical systems such as EMIS
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).
