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East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Medicines Advice Pharmacist

The closing date is 29 June 2025

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Job summary

Are you interested in joining an established medicines advice team? Do you want a role that will challenge you and enhance your skill set?

We have an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic and supportive pharmacist to join the Medicines Advice (MA) function of the NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS). The post is based at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) in Ipswich, Suffolk.

Join our team of pharmacists to support the day-to-day operation and delivery of MA services. The SPS MA Service provides high quality clinical advice about medicines to a large number of healthcare professionals via the national clinical enquiry answering service, provision of SPS website evidence-based information, horizon scanning and other national medicines optimisation workstreams. The Trust's MA service sits alongside the SPS MA service providing medicines advice to ESNEFT healthcare professionals as well as patients via the medicines advice helpline. This is a varied role, with opportunities to work in collaboration with colleagues across the MA service.

You will have excellent communication and organisational skills and be able to work effectively within a team. Some medicines advice experience would be an advantage, but further training will be available.

Details about our pharmacy service - https://esneft.pagetiger.com/buqzfou/1

Main duties of the job

In this post you will participate in the medicine advice service for East Suffolk & North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, the Specialist Pharmacy Service and for our SLA partners.

The main duties are:

  • Provide medicines advice in line with governance arrangements for the Trust, and the SPS MA Service for England
  • Participate in the Trust medicines advice service which includes the patient medicines helpline.
  • Contribute to creation and provision of resources to support best practice and the safe use of medicines
  • Contribute to the provision of medicines advice training to relevant staff.
  • Provide a clinical ward pharmacy service to promote safe, clinically effective and cost-efficient use of medicines to patients
  • Work as part of a high performing team to deliver the agreed strategy for the NHS SPS MA Service for England.

About us

We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients' own homes.

We are the largest NHS organisation in East Anglia, employing more than 12,000 staff.

We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options.

Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients.

We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what's widely regarded as the world's best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients.

If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge, then we want to hear from you.

Find out about living and working here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkPu7HphU8A

Details

Date posted

13 June 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£46,148 to £52,809 a year pro rata per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

432-HR370-25

Job locations

Ipswich Hospital

Heath Road

Ipswich

IP4 5PD


Job description

Job responsibilities

For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.

Job description

Job responsibilities

For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • MPharm Master of Pharmacy
  • Pharmacist (Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council)
  • Post-graduate diploma in clinical pharmacy (or in progress), or equivalent clinical experience
  • Evidence of post registration commitment to continuing professional development such as postgraduate study, regular attendance at educational meetings

Desirable

  • Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) membership

Experience

Essential

  • Some understanding of project management.

Desirable

  • Experience delivering medicine advice to health care professionals, its current provision across England through SPS, and its role in supporting Medicines Optimisation
  • Managing difficult situations and motivating others for service delivery.
  • Experience of working in a complex matrix type working environment within a diffuse national organisation

Knowledge

Essential

  • Knowledge of Medicines Optimisation as it pertains to both primary and secondary care
  • A range of experience across different fields within a sector of pharmacy service delivery or across sectors.

Desirable

  • Experience of undertaking project work
  • Experience of critical appraisal
  • Existing knowledge of the Specialist Pharmacy Service and its development and role in delivery of Medicines Optimisation
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • MPharm Master of Pharmacy
  • Pharmacist (Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council)
  • Post-graduate diploma in clinical pharmacy (or in progress), or equivalent clinical experience
  • Evidence of post registration commitment to continuing professional development such as postgraduate study, regular attendance at educational meetings

Desirable

  • Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) membership

Experience

Essential

  • Some understanding of project management.

Desirable

  • Experience delivering medicine advice to health care professionals, its current provision across England through SPS, and its role in supporting Medicines Optimisation
  • Managing difficult situations and motivating others for service delivery.
  • Experience of working in a complex matrix type working environment within a diffuse national organisation

Knowledge

Essential

  • Knowledge of Medicines Optimisation as it pertains to both primary and secondary care
  • A range of experience across different fields within a sector of pharmacy service delivery or across sectors.

Desirable

  • Experience of undertaking project work
  • Experience of critical appraisal
  • Existing knowledge of the Specialist Pharmacy Service and its development and role in delivery of Medicines Optimisation

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).

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.

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

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Ipswich Hospital

Heath Road

Ipswich

IP4 5PD


Employer's website

https://www.esneft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Ipswich Hospital

Heath Road

Ipswich

IP4 5PD


Employer's website

https://www.esneft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Lead Medicines Advice Pharmacist

Sarah Fenner

sarah.fenner@esneft.nhs.uk

01473703604

Details

Date posted

13 June 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£46,148 to £52,809 a year pro rata per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

432-HR370-25

Job locations

Ipswich Hospital

Heath Road

Ipswich

IP4 5PD


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)