Job summary
Job title - Senior Pharmacist -Medicine 8a Fixed-term post - 6 months
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic and self-motivated clinical pharmacist to join the Acute Medicine team and develop the role of clinical pharmacy. The successful candidate will join a friendly pharmacy team to assist with delivery of services to medicine including the acute medicine service. This includes AMU (Acute medical unit) and AAU (Acute assessment unit), Thoracic Medicine and TREAT (triage readmissions elderly admissions team) service and support to Accident and Emergency unit. The team also provides pharmacy cover to the medical specialities including Rheumatology, Dermatology, and Immunology services. drugs across the medicine pharmacy team and will be a key member of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT).
The role includes overseeing the day-to-day management of the service provided to the medical wards, including providing input in post-take ward rounds. The post holder will support the MDT in delivering and promoting high quality, cost-effective pharmaceutical care with the key emphasis of delivering a patient focused service.
Potential candidates will have experience working as a band 7 pharmacist, with some experience of working in medicine. They will be comfortable working with consultant level staff and have some knowledge of managing drug budgets, developing and implementing guidelines and supervision and training of staff.
Main duties of the job
Act as a deputy for Principal Pharmacist when necessary
- Regular active participation in speciality ward rounds to support safe and effective use of medicines with these areas
- Ensuring seamless pharmaceutical care from admission to discharge, including liaising with other pharmacists and healthcare professionals (primary and secondary) who may be taking over care of the patient
- To act as a clinical role model, and support training and supervision of junior members of the pharmacy team
- Development and implementation of clinical guidelines
- Effective control of drug expenditure and management of processes regarding high-cost drugs
- Developing the role of independent prescribing within medicine
- To participate in audits and practice research
- To work with the clinical risk team to minimise the risk of medicines
About us
The Royal Free London NHS Trust is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the UK with many specialties including kidney and liver transplantation, haemophilia, amyloidosis and scleroderma with the newly opened Pears Building being at the forefront of medical research.
The trust has around 10,000 staff serving 1.6 million patients. It comprises Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital, the Royal Free Hospital and more than 30 services in the community. This large-scale organisation provides an unprecedented opportunity for us to continue our pioneering work, particularly in finding ways to deliver even better care to our patients.
The Pharmacy department is a friendly, progressive and expanding unit dedicated to providing the highest standards of pharmaceutical care and service. Providing a variety of pharmacy services across all three sites, the pharmacy department have recently played a pivotal role in the implementation of electronic prescribing system and have strategic plans for the development of more consultant and independent prescribing pharmacists. The pharmacy medicine team consists of a team of pharmacists and technicians working across all the medical wards and medical specialities to provide a safe, cost-effective, and timely service to patients. The team are well-respected at ward level, providing advice to both nursing and medical staff on the use of medicines.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES
- To provide a high-quality clinical pharmacy service as part of the multidisciplinary team to medical patients, to ensure maximum efficacy, safety and economic drug use and to demonstrate professional accountability to enhance patient care. The responsibilities will include:
- Regular attendance of consultant ward rounds and multidisciplinary team meetings.
- Demonstration of expert clinical knowledge
- Delivery of a high quality, specialist ward-based pharmacy service. This involves taking medication histories from patients admitted to the medical wards, clarifying inconsistencies with the patients GP or Community Pharmacist, ensuring appropriate use of patients own drugs brought from home, drug supply, review of highly complex medication regimens, clarification of medication changes made during inpatient stay by liaising with the medical team, drug interaction and adverse drug reaction monitoring, discharge planning and rapid turnaround of TTAs, full medication counselling to patients, and assessment for appropriateness of compliance aids to assist patients medication needs.
- To make clinical decisions where limited/conflicting information is available.
- Promotion of high quality and cost-effective prescribing.
- Making evidence-based decisions, in partnership with patients and other professionals within the specialist area.
- Liaising with other ward pharmacists to ensure continuity of medicines management, and to implement systems for the effective transfer of medicines between wards.
- Development and review of Patient Group Directions
- Development and review of Shared Care guidelines
- Implementation of relevant local and national guidelines within the specialist area
- Assist in the implementation and evaluation of Drug Usage Reviews and clinical audits and implement changes in prescribing practice accordingly.
- To liaise and work with other specialist pharmacists to share the best practice, to strengthen patient focused pharmaceutical care
- To ensure compliance with local policies including medicines policy, formulary and microbiology guidelines. To challenge prescribing practices where necessary
- RESPONSIBILITY FOR PATIENTS
- To assist in the planning and organising of a clinical pharmacy service to medical patients in both the inpatient and outpatient settings.
- To qualify and practice as a supplementary/independent prescriber within a defined scope of practice within the specialist area to enhance patient care
- To provide clinical screening and dispensing support to the Medicine pharmacy team and medical satellite to ensure the accurate and timely dispensing of prescriptions
- To deal effectively with situations where medication errors have occurred, including liaising directly with patients and staff concerned.
- Assist in responding to complaints from patients and the public in relation to medicines management issues as required.
- To deliver a high quality and comprehensive medicines counselling service to patients and/or their relatives on all aspects of their pharmaceutical care including specialist and unlicensed drugs. To overcome communication barriers using interpreters or other forms of communication.
- RESPONSIBILITY FOR POLICY AND SERVICE DEVELOPMENT
- To assist in the production and implementation of business plans for the development of the pharmacy service provided to medicine
- To assist in the formulation, prioritisation and implementation of long-term strategic plans for clinical pharmacy services in line with local, network and national objectives.
- Contribute to the development of and ensuring adherence to evidence based prescribing guidelines.
- Ensuring compliance with CQC medicine related outcomes, NICE appraisals and other government related initiatives
- To provide the Principal Pharmacist with details of output, performance and activity data for medicine
- To ensure that all pharmacy activities, procedures and documentation within the speciality are carried out in accordance with standard operating procedures and relevant medicines legislation
- To assist in the implementation of the Trusts Clinical Governance agenda within Medicine
- To identify the risks of medicines used in the directorate and implement strategies to minimise them, working closely with the specialities Clinical Risk Management Committees. Assist in the implementation of government led strategies to improve medication safety.
- To assist in the management of changes in order to maximise patient care and to consider and act upon the implications of the change to other areas/personnel.
- To identify aspects of the service which would benefit from change, and apply QI methodology where appropriate in order to implement change
- RESPONSIBILITY FOR FINANCIAL AND PHYSICAL RESOURCES
To contribute to the management of the drug budget within acute medicine and medicine specialities cover by the medicine pharmacy team. The responsibilities will include:
- Provision of detailed evaluated reports on drug expenditure to the Divisional Finance Manager, General Manager, and Clinical Head of Service
- Identify options for reducing drug expenditure in line with savings programmes
- Forecasting new drug developments and identify changes in prescribing practice that may impact on the speciality drugs budget.
- To ensure accurate input of data on PhRED of all patients receiving high-cost drugs to monitor usage and ensure funding is in place to reduce financial risk
- Interpreting published data on new drugs for use within medicine / medical specialities and to prepare evaluations and present applications to the Drug and Therapeutics Committee. To communicate relevant decisions back to the specialty care group.
- To provide advice on high-cost drugs to facilitate the seamless transition of patient care between primary and secondary sectors, by liaising with consultants, Service Performance and Primary Healthcare Professionals.
- To act as key liaison for homecare medicines within the specialist area
- RESPONSIBILITY FOR LEADING AND MANAGING
- To assist with the day-to-day management of the pharmacy service provided to the medical wards including allocation of workload, dealing with sickness, prioritising discharges
- To share expertise with healthcare professionals on a nationwide level through professional conferences, forum and bodies.
- To manage and support the development of Band 7 Senior Pharmacists, band 6 rotational pharmacists and pre-registration pharmacists rotating through medicine.
- To support and facilitate the development of junior pharmacists and pharmacy technicians
- To deputise for the Principal Pharmacist Medicine in his/her absence.
- To assist in the management of changes in order to maximise patient care and to consider and act upon the implications of the change to other areas/personnel.
- To manage difficult and ambiguous situations and be aware of ethical dilemmas that may present in patient care and provide support and guidance to colleagues in any decision-making process.
- To participate in recruitment and selection
- To contribute to the implementation of the risk management and Trust Clinical Governance agenda within the directorate.
- To identify the risks of medicines, use in the directorate and implement strategies to minimise them, working closely with the specialities clinical risk management committee.
- To attend and be active participant in relevant clinical and managerial groups divisionally, corporately and externally, in order to ensure the delivery of best care to patients. This may include presenting data / guidelines that may be controversial / likely to be challenged
- To represent pharmacy and act as link person at relevant meetings and conferences and disseminate knowledge of developments to other staff.
- To share expertise with healthcare professionals on a nationwide level through professional conferences, forum and bodies.
- RESPONSIBILITY FOR INFORMATION RESOURCES
- To prepare reports in response to freedom of information act enquiries.
- To prepare drug expenditure reports
- To be competent in the use of JAC pharmacy system, Cerner and other relevant hospital IT systems
- To be compliant with Trust data protection and patient confidentiality policies
- To ensure all relevant databases (e.g. high cost drugs / IVIg) are kept up to date.
- To contribute to the ongoing implementation and development of EPR
- RESPONSIBILITY FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
- To support relevant medical, nursing and pharmacy staff to ensure that trials are run efficiently and effectively.
- To support clinical research and to monitor the relevant clinical trials protocols submitted to the ethical committee within the specialist area and identify and resolve pharmaceutical issues.
- To provide expert specialist information to research nurses and consultants regarding new drugs and therapies to be used within clinical trials
- To undertake and co-ordinate clinical research and audit projects and publish or present these findings. To supervise and advise other members of the pharmacy team research projects.
- To implement findings of research into clinical practice.
- EDUCATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
- To act as a resource for medicine issues across the trust and community where appropriate.
- To provide clinical supervision and support junior members of the pharmacy team
- To participate in the development of clinical based pharmacy training programmes
- To contribute to the departmental appraisal and development programme for junior pharmacists and technicians. This includes:
- Provision and evaluation of the induction and competency-based training of junior pharmacy staff and pharmacy technicians
- Participating in the departmental teaching commitments
- Acting as a tutor for diploma students
- Acting as a tutor for pre-registration trainee pharmacists
- To facilitate pre-registration trainee pharmacist projects
Job description
Job responsibilities
- CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES
- To provide a high-quality clinical pharmacy service as part of the multidisciplinary team to medical patients, to ensure maximum efficacy, safety and economic drug use and to demonstrate professional accountability to enhance patient care. The responsibilities will include:
- Regular attendance of consultant ward rounds and multidisciplinary team meetings.
- Demonstration of expert clinical knowledge
- Delivery of a high quality, specialist ward-based pharmacy service. This involves taking medication histories from patients admitted to the medical wards, clarifying inconsistencies with the patients GP or Community Pharmacist, ensuring appropriate use of patients own drugs brought from home, drug supply, review of highly complex medication regimens, clarification of medication changes made during inpatient stay by liaising with the medical team, drug interaction and adverse drug reaction monitoring, discharge planning and rapid turnaround of TTAs, full medication counselling to patients, and assessment for appropriateness of compliance aids to assist patients medication needs.
- To make clinical decisions where limited/conflicting information is available.
- Promotion of high quality and cost-effective prescribing.
- Making evidence-based decisions, in partnership with patients and other professionals within the specialist area.
- Liaising with other ward pharmacists to ensure continuity of medicines management, and to implement systems for the effective transfer of medicines between wards.
- Development and review of Patient Group Directions
- Development and review of Shared Care guidelines
- Implementation of relevant local and national guidelines within the specialist area
- Assist in the implementation and evaluation of Drug Usage Reviews and clinical audits and implement changes in prescribing practice accordingly.
- To liaise and work with other specialist pharmacists to share the best practice, to strengthen patient focused pharmaceutical care
- To ensure compliance with local policies including medicines policy, formulary and microbiology guidelines. To challenge prescribing practices where necessary
- RESPONSIBILITY FOR PATIENTS
- To assist in the planning and organising of a clinical pharmacy service to medical patients in both the inpatient and outpatient settings.
- To qualify and practice as a supplementary/independent prescriber within a defined scope of practice within the specialist area to enhance patient care
- To provide clinical screening and dispensing support to the Medicine pharmacy team and medical satellite to ensure the accurate and timely dispensing of prescriptions
- To deal effectively with situations where medication errors have occurred, including liaising directly with patients and staff concerned.
- Assist in responding to complaints from patients and the public in relation to medicines management issues as required.
- To deliver a high quality and comprehensive medicines counselling service to patients and/or their relatives on all aspects of their pharmaceutical care including specialist and unlicensed drugs. To overcome communication barriers using interpreters or other forms of communication.
- RESPONSIBILITY FOR POLICY AND SERVICE DEVELOPMENT
- To assist in the production and implementation of business plans for the development of the pharmacy service provided to medicine
- To assist in the formulation, prioritisation and implementation of long-term strategic plans for clinical pharmacy services in line with local, network and national objectives.
- Contribute to the development of and ensuring adherence to evidence based prescribing guidelines.
- Ensuring compliance with CQC medicine related outcomes, NICE appraisals and other government related initiatives
- To provide the Principal Pharmacist with details of output, performance and activity data for medicine
- To ensure that all pharmacy activities, procedures and documentation within the speciality are carried out in accordance with standard operating procedures and relevant medicines legislation
- To assist in the implementation of the Trusts Clinical Governance agenda within Medicine
- To identify the risks of medicines used in the directorate and implement strategies to minimise them, working closely with the specialities Clinical Risk Management Committees. Assist in the implementation of government led strategies to improve medication safety.
- To assist in the management of changes in order to maximise patient care and to consider and act upon the implications of the change to other areas/personnel.
- To identify aspects of the service which would benefit from change, and apply QI methodology where appropriate in order to implement change
- RESPONSIBILITY FOR FINANCIAL AND PHYSICAL RESOURCES
To contribute to the management of the drug budget within acute medicine and medicine specialities cover by the medicine pharmacy team. The responsibilities will include:
- Provision of detailed evaluated reports on drug expenditure to the Divisional Finance Manager, General Manager, and Clinical Head of Service
- Identify options for reducing drug expenditure in line with savings programmes
- Forecasting new drug developments and identify changes in prescribing practice that may impact on the speciality drugs budget.
- To ensure accurate input of data on PhRED of all patients receiving high-cost drugs to monitor usage and ensure funding is in place to reduce financial risk
- Interpreting published data on new drugs for use within medicine / medical specialities and to prepare evaluations and present applications to the Drug and Therapeutics Committee. To communicate relevant decisions back to the specialty care group.
- To provide advice on high-cost drugs to facilitate the seamless transition of patient care between primary and secondary sectors, by liaising with consultants, Service Performance and Primary Healthcare Professionals.
- To act as key liaison for homecare medicines within the specialist area
- RESPONSIBILITY FOR LEADING AND MANAGING
- To assist with the day-to-day management of the pharmacy service provided to the medical wards including allocation of workload, dealing with sickness, prioritising discharges
- To share expertise with healthcare professionals on a nationwide level through professional conferences, forum and bodies.
- To manage and support the development of Band 7 Senior Pharmacists, band 6 rotational pharmacists and pre-registration pharmacists rotating through medicine.
- To support and facilitate the development of junior pharmacists and pharmacy technicians
- To deputise for the Principal Pharmacist Medicine in his/her absence.
- To assist in the management of changes in order to maximise patient care and to consider and act upon the implications of the change to other areas/personnel.
- To manage difficult and ambiguous situations and be aware of ethical dilemmas that may present in patient care and provide support and guidance to colleagues in any decision-making process.
- To participate in recruitment and selection
- To contribute to the implementation of the risk management and Trust Clinical Governance agenda within the directorate.
- To identify the risks of medicines, use in the directorate and implement strategies to minimise them, working closely with the specialities clinical risk management committee.
- To attend and be active participant in relevant clinical and managerial groups divisionally, corporately and externally, in order to ensure the delivery of best care to patients. This may include presenting data / guidelines that may be controversial / likely to be challenged
- To represent pharmacy and act as link person at relevant meetings and conferences and disseminate knowledge of developments to other staff.
- To share expertise with healthcare professionals on a nationwide level through professional conferences, forum and bodies.
- RESPONSIBILITY FOR INFORMATION RESOURCES
- To prepare reports in response to freedom of information act enquiries.
- To prepare drug expenditure reports
- To be competent in the use of JAC pharmacy system, Cerner and other relevant hospital IT systems
- To be compliant with Trust data protection and patient confidentiality policies
- To ensure all relevant databases (e.g. high cost drugs / IVIg) are kept up to date.
- To contribute to the ongoing implementation and development of EPR
- RESPONSIBILITY FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
- To support relevant medical, nursing and pharmacy staff to ensure that trials are run efficiently and effectively.
- To support clinical research and to monitor the relevant clinical trials protocols submitted to the ethical committee within the specialist area and identify and resolve pharmaceutical issues.
- To provide expert specialist information to research nurses and consultants regarding new drugs and therapies to be used within clinical trials
- To undertake and co-ordinate clinical research and audit projects and publish or present these findings. To supervise and advise other members of the pharmacy team research projects.
- To implement findings of research into clinical practice.
- EDUCATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
- To act as a resource for medicine issues across the trust and community where appropriate.
- To provide clinical supervision and support junior members of the pharmacy team
- To participate in the development of clinical based pharmacy training programmes
- To contribute to the departmental appraisal and development programme for junior pharmacists and technicians. This includes:
- Provision and evaluation of the induction and competency-based training of junior pharmacy staff and pharmacy technicians
- Participating in the departmental teaching commitments
- Acting as a tutor for diploma students
- Acting as a tutor for pre-registration trainee pharmacists
- To facilitate pre-registration trainee pharmacist projects
Person Specification
Education & professional Qualifications
Essential
- MPharm or equivalent
- Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
- Post graduate diploma in pharmacy practice or equivalent
Desirable
- RPS Faculty Membership
- Registered supplementary or independent prescriber.
Royal Free World Class Values
Essential
- Demonstrable ability to meet the Trust Values
Experience
Essential
- Significant demonstrable experience of working in hospital-based pharmacy, some experience as a specialist clinical pharmacist and experience working within medicine and /or medical specialities.
- Experience of working with high-cost drugs and commissioning processes including individual funding requests (IFRs)
- Experience of managing change and leading service developments
- Experience of managing and analysing drug expenditure.
- Experience of writing / implementing clinical guidelines and government directives
- Experience of multidisciplinary working
- Evidence of clinical audit/drug evaluation/practice research and the promotion of evidence - based practice.
- Experience of appraising staff and giving feedback
- Experience in delivering education and training.
- Experience as a clinical pharmacy tutor
Person Specification
Education & professional Qualifications
Essential
- MPharm or equivalent
- Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
- Post graduate diploma in pharmacy practice or equivalent
Desirable
- RPS Faculty Membership
- Registered supplementary or independent prescriber.
Royal Free World Class Values
Essential
- Demonstrable ability to meet the Trust Values
Experience
Essential
- Significant demonstrable experience of working in hospital-based pharmacy, some experience as a specialist clinical pharmacist and experience working within medicine and /or medical specialities.
- Experience of working with high-cost drugs and commissioning processes including individual funding requests (IFRs)
- Experience of managing change and leading service developments
- Experience of managing and analysing drug expenditure.
- Experience of writing / implementing clinical guidelines and government directives
- Experience of multidisciplinary working
- Evidence of clinical audit/drug evaluation/practice research and the promotion of evidence - based practice.
- Experience of appraising staff and giving feedback
- Experience in delivering education and training.
- Experience as a clinical pharmacy tutor
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).
