Job summary
This is a part time post of 22.5 hours per week. The post holder will be the lead clinical pharmacist within one of the Health and Well Being teams for one of the five localities in South Devon. The role will include supporting intermediate care, long term condition clinics, care homes and inpatient beds located within the community hospitals.
The post holder is an experienced Pharmacist, who acts within their professional boundaries, to work within a community multi-disciplinary team supporting patients in their own homes. The post holder will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient-facing role.
The post holder will support, medicines reconciliation on transfer of care and systems for safer prescribing, providing expertise in clinical medicines advice while addressing both public and social care needs of patient. The post holder will provide clinical leadership on medicines optimisation and quality improvement.The post holder will contribute to the aim of reducing hospital admissions and ensure integration with community and hospital pharmacy to help improve patient outcomes, ensure better access to healthcare and help manage workload. The role is pivotal to improving the quality of care and operational efficiencies so requires motivation and passion to deliver excellent service.
Main duties of the job
- Consult with patients in partnership with primary healthcare colleagues and implement improvements to patient's medicines, including deprescribing.
- Assess factors which affect patient concordance e.g. manual dexterity, visual impairment, cognitive impairment, swallowing difficulties and liaise with other healthcare professionals to find appropriate solutions.
- Involve patients in decisions about prescribed medicines.
- Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients with multi-morbidity and polypharmacy.
- Manage own caseload of vulnerable housebound patients at risk of hospital admission and harm from poor use of medicines
- Provide telephone consultations for patients with questions, queries and concerns about their medicines.
- Work with colleagues in Integrated Primary Care, Care Homes, GPs, other practice staff, other Healthcare teams (e.g. Community Pharmacy) and patients with queries about medicines. Suggesting and recommending solutions. Providing follow up for patients to monitor the effect of any changes.
- Reconcile medicines following discharge from hospitals, intermediate care and into Care Homes.
- Provide a clinical pharmacy service for hospital wards including community hospitals
About us
Why Work With Us
The population of Torbay and South Devon is 285,000. There are five localities: -
- Torquay
- Brixham and Paignton
- Newton Abbot
- Coastal (Teignmouth and Dawlish)
- Moor to Sea (Dartmouth, Totnes, Ashburton)
Each locality has at least one Health and Well Being Hub, a Community Hospital (with the exception of Torquay) and a dedicated Intermediate Care Team.
Drug expenditure across primary and secondary care is circa £70m per annum.
Job description
Job responsibilities
PRIMARY DUTIES AND AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY
- To be the medicines optimisation lead within one of the five localities.
- To provide a clinical pharmacy service to the locality Intermediate Care Team.
- To provide a clinical pharmacy service to any community hospital beds within the locality, working closely with the local General Practitioners providing the medical cover for these inpatient beds.
- To promote joined up medicines optimisation across the locality through the establishment of close working relationships with pharmacists working in General Practice, those based in Community Pharmacies and those based in Secondary Care.
- To particularly focus upon supporting those patients being prescribed polypharmacy and those patients who are being frequently admitted to secondary care. This may be achieved on an individual patient basis or by working with pharmacists based in General Practice.
- To ensure that Care Homes within the locality are provided with a Medicines Optimisation service in line with the latest guidance
- Ensure provision of timely, accurate information and advice to clinicians, nurses, health professionals and members of the public in order to influence prescribing and to ensure effective use of medicines.
- Enable clinicians and managers to access sound research evidence and information to support evidence-based practice throughout the organisation.
- Provide pharmaceutical advice to enable staff to make decisions based upon sound evidence, professional knowledge and experience. Participate in multi-disciplinary groups to ensure that the pharmacy service contributes to the safe selection, control and administration of medicines
- Ensure effective implementation of all recommendations relating to medicine safety e.g. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, NHS England.
- Co-ordinate and implement appropriate action following recommendations made through the Safety Alert Broadcast System (SABS) across the Community Unit.
- Participate in training and development.
- To encourage an environment where all staff are valued; that is open and participative; that looks critically at existing practices and processes and improves them; and that ensures all teams work effectively.
- Provide plans for the continuous development of pharmacy services that are in line with the objectives of the organisation, preparing and presenting business cases where appropriate.
- Maintain and further develop systems for quality improvement to eliminate inappropriate variation and continuously improve processes and outcomes in all aspects of the pharmacy service.
- Work proactively with all key stakeholders to continuously improve pharmacy services. Ensure that users views are taken account in the planning and delivery of pharmacy services.
- Effectively and efficiently manage all internal and external complaints or incident reports relating to any aspect of pharmacy services. Undertake investigations and identify the root causes of sub optimal performance, providing written reports and other information as necessary e.g. to Nursing & Quality Directorate.
- Achieve objectives agreed at Personal Management and Development Review in order to contribute effectively to the provision of pharmacy services that are continuously improved, and to ensure continuous personal and professional development. Effectively, efficiently and actively liaise with all relevant staff to ensure objectives in all key result areas are achieved.
- Be aware of, and operate within, current health and safety legislation and comply with the department's safety policies and procedures.
- Strictly observe confidentiality of all information concerning patients, and comply with procedures relating to the Data Protection Act.
- Represent the service to a high professional standard in conduct, manner and appearance.
COMMUNICATION AND WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
- Clinical Director for Pharmacy
- Lead Locality Pharmacist
- Service Managers within the Health and Wellbeing Hub
- GPs
- Pharmacists based in General Practice, Community Pharmacies and Secondary Care
- Trust Lead for Medicines Governance
- Clinical Governance Leads
- Pharmacists in other Trusts
- SW Regional Medicines Information & Training
Job description
Job responsibilities
PRIMARY DUTIES AND AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY
- To be the medicines optimisation lead within one of the five localities.
- To provide a clinical pharmacy service to the locality Intermediate Care Team.
- To provide a clinical pharmacy service to any community hospital beds within the locality, working closely with the local General Practitioners providing the medical cover for these inpatient beds.
- To promote joined up medicines optimisation across the locality through the establishment of close working relationships with pharmacists working in General Practice, those based in Community Pharmacies and those based in Secondary Care.
- To particularly focus upon supporting those patients being prescribed polypharmacy and those patients who are being frequently admitted to secondary care. This may be achieved on an individual patient basis or by working with pharmacists based in General Practice.
- To ensure that Care Homes within the locality are provided with a Medicines Optimisation service in line with the latest guidance
- Ensure provision of timely, accurate information and advice to clinicians, nurses, health professionals and members of the public in order to influence prescribing and to ensure effective use of medicines.
- Enable clinicians and managers to access sound research evidence and information to support evidence-based practice throughout the organisation.
- Provide pharmaceutical advice to enable staff to make decisions based upon sound evidence, professional knowledge and experience. Participate in multi-disciplinary groups to ensure that the pharmacy service contributes to the safe selection, control and administration of medicines
- Ensure effective implementation of all recommendations relating to medicine safety e.g. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, NHS England.
- Co-ordinate and implement appropriate action following recommendations made through the Safety Alert Broadcast System (SABS) across the Community Unit.
- Participate in training and development.
- To encourage an environment where all staff are valued; that is open and participative; that looks critically at existing practices and processes and improves them; and that ensures all teams work effectively.
- Provide plans for the continuous development of pharmacy services that are in line with the objectives of the organisation, preparing and presenting business cases where appropriate.
- Maintain and further develop systems for quality improvement to eliminate inappropriate variation and continuously improve processes and outcomes in all aspects of the pharmacy service.
- Work proactively with all key stakeholders to continuously improve pharmacy services. Ensure that users views are taken account in the planning and delivery of pharmacy services.
- Effectively and efficiently manage all internal and external complaints or incident reports relating to any aspect of pharmacy services. Undertake investigations and identify the root causes of sub optimal performance, providing written reports and other information as necessary e.g. to Nursing & Quality Directorate.
- Achieve objectives agreed at Personal Management and Development Review in order to contribute effectively to the provision of pharmacy services that are continuously improved, and to ensure continuous personal and professional development. Effectively, efficiently and actively liaise with all relevant staff to ensure objectives in all key result areas are achieved.
- Be aware of, and operate within, current health and safety legislation and comply with the department's safety policies and procedures.
- Strictly observe confidentiality of all information concerning patients, and comply with procedures relating to the Data Protection Act.
- Represent the service to a high professional standard in conduct, manner and appearance.
COMMUNICATION AND WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
- Clinical Director for Pharmacy
- Lead Locality Pharmacist
- Service Managers within the Health and Wellbeing Hub
- GPs
- Pharmacists based in General Practice, Community Pharmacies and Secondary Care
- Trust Lead for Medicines Governance
- Clinical Governance Leads
- Pharmacists in other Trusts
- SW Regional Medicines Information & Training
Person Specification
short listing criteia
Essential
- Registered with GPHC as a pharmacist
- Postgraduate Clinical Pharmacy Diploma or equivalent clinical pharmacy experience
- Non-medical prescriber or willingness to complete NMP qualification
- Patient counselling skills
- Excellent communication skills both verbal and written
Desirable
- Specialist clinical knowledge or experience in medicines optimisation relating to older patients and polypharmacy.
- Experience in quality improvement Production of treatment guidelines and protocols
Person Specification
short listing criteia
Essential
- Registered with GPHC as a pharmacist
- Postgraduate Clinical Pharmacy Diploma or equivalent clinical pharmacy experience
- Non-medical prescriber or willingness to complete NMP qualification
- Patient counselling skills
- Excellent communication skills both verbal and written
Desirable
- Specialist clinical knowledge or experience in medicines optimisation relating to older patients and polypharmacy.
- Experience in quality improvement Production of treatment guidelines and protocols
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).
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).
