Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our community mental health pharmacy team and be part of transformed community services in Croydon.
We are looking for an enthusiastic candidate with mental health experience to work within new models of community care.
The broad aims of the team are to reduce hospital admissions through use of effective medication, to improve patient and carer satisfaction with prescribed medicines, to improve physical health monitoring and management, and to improve communication between secondary and primary care.
This is an exciting opportunity for pharmacists to develop a variety of skills and knowledge necessary for their own career development and to be involved in the overall transformation of community mental health services.
Career Progression pathways and development opportunities:
We are committed to get the very best out of our staff and support staff in their career aspirations. We have career pathways available, where you will be able to develop your skills and build on your experience to progress into other roles across different specialties. This role will help you in your development towards specialist clinical practice and independent prescribing. There are opportunities to become involved in research and quality improvement.
Main duties of the job
You will be working closely with senior and junior prescribers, care co-ordinators and other members of the MDT to ensure safe, effective and cost-effective use of medicines.
You will be supported by a specialist pharmacist in your borough and work within a team of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians across the CMHTs.
You will make recommendations for initiating, changing and stopping medications, including where appropriate, that clozapine and antipsychotic long acting injections are offered early in the treatment journey. You will consult with patients and their carers to ensure they receive expert advice on their medicines and are supported to manage their medicines.
We expect you to have a good knowledge of psychotropic medications and the ability to independently make appropriate decisions about treatment options. You should be able to communicate clinical information effectively and be able to influence prescribing practices in your boroughs. We expect that you would manage your own time and work schedule effectively.
Flexible working:
As one of the few Trusts in London we are proud to offer flexible working as part of our new ways of working, and we are happy to talk flexible working at the interview stage.
About us
South London and the Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust provides the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK. We are a world leading Trust in research, working closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London. We are also part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre.
We are a large pharmacy department providing mental health pharmacy services to the Maudsley, Lambeth, Lewisham, and Bethlem Royal Hospitals and to psychiatric liaison, Home Treatment and community teams in the areas we serve in South London. We are the national medicines advice centre for psychotropic medicines and have an established clinical trials unit. We provide training for undergraduate, pre-registration and post-graduate pharmacists.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To provide an expert pharmacy service to SLAM community mental health teams
- To work with the borough MDTs to ensure effective and appropriate medicines use.
- To work with borough MDTs to optimise the use of clozapine and antipsychotic long acting injections.
- To improve physical health outcomes for community mental health patients, for example by participating in vaccination programmes, and physical health monitoring
- To liaise with primary care, acute trusts, HTTs and wards, as necessary.
- To provide a clinic for patients and carers to discuss medication.
- To implement medicines optimisation programme in the teams.
- To participate in research and quality improvement projects.
- To provide medicines related training to staff in community teams, as necessary.
- To prescribe medicines to service users within competence and agreed management plans
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To provide an expert pharmacy service to SLAM community mental health teams
- To work with the borough MDTs to ensure effective and appropriate medicines use.
- To work with borough MDTs to optimise the use of clozapine and antipsychotic long acting injections.
- To improve physical health outcomes for community mental health patients, for example by participating in vaccination programmes, and physical health monitoring
- To liaise with primary care, acute trusts, HTTs and wards, as necessary.
- To provide a clinic for patients and carers to discuss medication.
- To implement medicines optimisation programme in the teams.
- To participate in research and quality improvement projects.
- To provide medicines related training to staff in community teams, as necessary.
- To prescribe medicines to service users within competence and agreed management plans
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- MPharm or equivalent
- Registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), with mandatory CPD
Desirable
- Postgraduate certificate/diploma in mental health or pharmacy practice or equivalent
- Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society or Member / associate member of the CMHP
- Independent prescriber
Experience
Essential
- Relevant experience in patient-facing pharmacist roles
- Previous experience in providing clinical mental health services
- Relevant experience in NHS hospital pharmacy
Desirable
- Previous experience in working in primary care networks or GP practices
Skills
Essential
- Good written and verbal communication
- Ability to work without close supervision, making decisions and acting upon them within the limitations and understanding of the job responsibilities, or to refer appropriately
- Good time management with ability to prioritise workload and meet deadlines
Desirable
- Good computer skills, in particular for completing spreadsheets, graphs and reports
- Ability to collect and analyse outcome data for service evaluation purposes
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- MPharm or equivalent
- Registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), with mandatory CPD
Desirable
- Postgraduate certificate/diploma in mental health or pharmacy practice or equivalent
- Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society or Member / associate member of the CMHP
- Independent prescriber
Experience
Essential
- Relevant experience in patient-facing pharmacist roles
- Previous experience in providing clinical mental health services
- Relevant experience in NHS hospital pharmacy
Desirable
- Previous experience in working in primary care networks or GP practices
Skills
Essential
- Good written and verbal communication
- Ability to work without close supervision, making decisions and acting upon them within the limitations and understanding of the job responsibilities, or to refer appropriately
- Good time management with ability to prioritise workload and meet deadlines
Desirable
- Good computer skills, in particular for completing spreadsheets, graphs and reports
- Ability to collect and analyse outcome data for service evaluation purposes
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).
