Advanced Specialist Pharmacist - Acute & Emergency Medicine

Job description

Job responsibilities

To read more information about this role and the main job duties and responsibilities, please open the "Job Description" and "Person Specification" documents located under the "Documents to download" heading.

Pharmacy Leadership and management

To lead, coach, provide high quality clinical supervision and mentorship and manage the performance of the junior staff in line with good people management practices, ensuring excellence is recognised and underperformance is addressed

To develop, implement and monitor pharmacy services to ensure they are consistent with Trust priorities and requirements and are aligned to the over-arching patient focussed ethos of the pharmacy service whilst ensuring compliance with medicines legislation.

To provide the Clinical Service Line and Principal Pharmacist Acute and Complex care with regular assurance that the pharmacy service is meeting agreed Key Performance Indicators.

To manage line reports absences including sickness, in line with Trust policy, ensuring the appropriate return to work meetings occur, ward rota is updated and productivity is at keep to the highest possible level.

To actively manage, train and asses the day to day activities of Rotational Pharmacists, Medicines Management Pharmacy Technicians, Medicines Management Assistants and Pre-Registration Pharmacists to deliver a safe and responsive clinical and operationally effective service

To participate in regular performance appraisal meetings with direct reports and ensure they have a clear set of objectives and development plans.

To ensure overall wellbeing of the team is maintained. Continuously support in improving the morale of the team and implementing a culture of zero-tolerance for bullying and harassment.

To provide specialist pharmaceutical advice to the multidisciplinary team on the legal, ethical, safe, clinical and cost-effective use of medicines, ensuring compliance with medicine legislation and national clinical guidelines.

To use specialist clinical knowledge to contribute to the development and implementation of policies and guidelines which ensure the safe and cost-effective use of medicines.

To identify potential new treatments in liaison with Medicines Information and use specialist clinical knowledge to advise Consultants and Drugs and Therapeutics Committee (DTC) of the financial, safety, clinical and cost-effective use and impact of these treatments within the specified patient population

To identify developments to improve the management of medicines and medicine optimisation requirements of patients and support the Principal Pharmacist Acute and Complex care in the development of appropriate business cases

To review adverse clinical incidents relating to medicines use across Acute wards and ED, and support the Principal Pharmacist Acute and Complex care and Medication Safety Pharmacist in developing strategies to minimise risks during the use of medicines

To provide Medicines Governance and leadership within the multidisciplinary team responsible for the care of the patient group, linking closely with the Patient Safety / Patient Experience Clinical Lead.

To line manage and appraise clinical pharmacists as requested by the Clinical Pharmacy Services Manager.

Prescribing Practice

To provide expert pharmacy advice to Acute medical patients, including participation in MDT rounds, consultant-led ward rounds and board rounds

Responsible for the appropriate management of patients referred for medicines optimisation/medicines reconciliation input or who otherwise fall within the agreed scope of practice

Towork with consultants and the pharmacy team to promote best practice in the pharmaceutical care of patients in line with national and local guidance. These policies will require co-ordination with a wide range of other professionals and will impact on prescribing practice across the speciality

To provide appropriate training and education to medical, nursing and pharmacy staff

To provide educational sessions to patient groups through participation in and advice to other staff involved in rehabilitation sessions

To produce and update clinical guidelines, policies and SOPs relating to medicines use and optimisation for use by medical, nursing, pharmacy and other healthcare staff

To audit and monitor adherence to use of medicine guidelines, providing feedback to the Clinical Service Line and individual prescribers, using expert knowledge of medicines use to make recommendations to changes in practice

To plan and undertake audit and research projects to improve pharmaceutical care

To use expert knowledge of medicines use to answer enquiries from pharmacy, medical and nursing staff relating to individual patient care and treatment policies and protocols

To review reports of medicines use produced by Define and other reporting software, using expert knowledge to provide interpretation and to include suggestions for modifying prescribing behaviour in outlying areas and to improve clinical and cost-effective prescribing

To establish links with other medical and non-medical prescribers and specialists to share good practice and develop the role of the prescribing pharmacist

Clinical

To assist the multi-disciplinary team in the pharmaceutical care of each patient by:

Promoting medicines optimisation and patient centred care. Actively contribute to clinically optimising patients complex medication regimes in order to aid adherence to medication

Participating in consultant ward rounds, MDT meetings and board rounds, providing clinical and financial advice if appropriate

Providing the Clinical Service Line and Principal Pharmacist Acute/Complex care with regular assurance that the pharmacy service is meeting agreed Key Performance Indicators

Promoting rational, safe and economic use of medicines

Research and provision of answers to queries raised on any aspect of patients medicines

Providing information and negotiating with clinical staff to ensure compliance with formulary, guidelines, DTC decisions, and other pharmacy related strategies

Providing advice to other specialist and clinical pharmacists within the defined clinical speciality

Contributing to the delivery of pharmaceutical care to patients participating in clinical trials, including reviewing trial protocols and liaising with the pharmacy clinical trials team

To support specialist teams and consultants through designated pharmacy input and attendance at MDTs, ward rounds, and support with protocols & guidance

To apply specialist clinical knowledge and judgment to analyse information, at times where evidence may be lacking, in order to negotiate the optimal clinical outcome

To apply specialist clinical knowledge to analyse complex patient information to ensure the optimal clinical outcome

To act as a role model for pharmacy staff.

Education and Training

To participate in the regular clinical training and supervision of Foundation and other grade pharmacists and pharmacy technicians

To participate in regular specialist training in-house and in local and national specialist training events

To provide education and training for patients and their carers on the safe and effective use of their medicines

To plan, deliver and evaluate education and training to pharmacy and other staff, including medical and nursing staff, in relation to safe, clinical and cost-effective use of medicines

To participate in the provision and evaluation of training in pharmaceutical care for undergraduates, pre-registration and all grades of pharmacists including those studying for a Diploma/MSc in Clinical Pharmacy. This may include being a pre-registration pharmacist tutor and/or a Diploma Educational Supervisor

To participate in the provision and evaluation of training in prescribing for junior medical staff

To contribute to the development of strategies to meet the training needs of staff providing patient care within the specified patient population or speciality

To develop recognition as a national expert within the speciality, using the RPS Faculty or equivalent processes where appropriate and to demonstrate excellence level expert professional practice.

To personally fulfil the General Pharmaceutical Council CPD requirements and support managed staff to do the same

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Bachelor/Master of Pharmacy degree
• GphC registration
• Postgraduate Diploma in Pharmacy Practice

Desirable

• Independent prescriber
• Clinical Diploma tutor/Educational Supervisor
• Management/Leadership courses

Experience

Essential

• Substantial experience in secondary care, including experience in Acute/Admissions wards
• Experience in training and supervising staff
• Policy, audit and service development experience

Desirable

• Staff line management experience
• Experience of Education & Training to pharmacist and other MDT members
• Demonstrable evidence of undertaking research and audit and using the results to improve patient care.

Skills

Essential

• Good written and verbal skills
• Ability to influence other professionals & communicate at consultant level
• Ability to prioritise work and meet deadlines

Desirable

• Ability to lead & implement directorate level strategies
• Team player
• Enthusiastic about development of pharmacy services

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Luton & Dunstable Hospital

Lewsey Road

Luton

LU4 0DZ

Employer's website

https://www.bedfordshirehospitals.nhs.uk/working-here/ (Opens in a new tab)