Deputy Chief Pharmacist

Job description

Job responsibilities

Strategic Development

The post holder will:

Provide leadership for Medicines Optimisation within CDDFT and collaboratively across the region.

Develop, implement and monitor the pharmacy business plan and strategy for medicines management and associated policies and procedures that fully reflects developments within the Trust, the wider NHS and current government guidance and legislation. This will require the DCP to interpret broad professional policies and, through the business plan and strategy, to advise the Trust on how these should be interpreted.

Ensure that effective relationships are developed and maintained in relation to medicines management between Pharmacy, Patient Safety and Governance teams and all other key internal and external stakeholders.

Identify and develop opportunities that link medicines management modernisation to Trust, CCG and NHS priorities and work with clinicians and managers to deliver these.

Professional Leadership and Advice

The post holder will:

Provide professional leadership and advice to all pharmacy staff working in the Trust.

Interpret broad clinical and professional policies, NHS guidance and relevant legislation and provide strategic and professional support to the Trust Chief Pharmacist.

Ensure all departmental staff have appropriate opportunities and support for training and development.

Operational Management

The post holder will:

Provide professional leadership to the Pharmacy department to meet current statutory obligations.

Ensure delivery of effective and efficient clinical pharmacy services within available resources.

Responsible for the leadership, management and strategic development of the various departments within the Pharmacy service including the clinical service and informatics in line with regional and national strategy.

Develop, agree and monitor key performance indicators for all aspects of medicines optimisation services.

Ensure that all appropriate information is captured and recorded accurately.

Ensure the optimal deployment and use of departmental staff within budgetary constraints.

Ensure good communication between all areas of the department and with wards and the wider Care Groups to whom pharmacy services are provided.

Ensure that all risks are identified and assessed and work in collaboration with the Trust Chief Pharmacist to maintain the departmental risk register and ensure all identified risks are mitigated where possible.

Ensure there is an appropriate skill mix within the department and promote the extended roles of technicians and pharmacy assistants.

Ensure that there are current procedures governing the selection, procurement, prescription, supply, storage and administration of medicines within the Trust and that these promote the safe and effective use of medicines.

Finance and Business Management

The post holder will:

Ensure adherence to Trusts Standing Financial Instructions and Standing Orders, Financial Procedures, and standards of business conduct.

Responsible for authorising expenditure and accountable to the Trust Chief Pharmacist for expenditure within the allocated budget. Accountable for the financial position of the services that the DCP manages.

Implement and monitor a system of delegated budget management within the department and ensure that leaders within each service area are aware of their delegated financial plans and targets.

Ensure IT is used in all aspects of the pharmacy service to maximise efficient and timely service and appropriate use of staff.

Human Resources Management

The post holder will:

Ensure effective communications and staff involvement across the service area.

Establish new ways of working in conjunction with clinicians, other healthcare professionals, support and HR staff. This includes skill mix reviews and other staffing strategies.

Accountable for the direct management of the Lead Care Group Pharmacists and Informatics teams. Through Care Group Lead Pharmacists, accountable for management of all staff within the clinical services as outlined in the organisational chart.

Manage workforce planning, recruitment and staff training, and ensuring objectives, personal development plans and appraisal is conducted for all staff. Promote and encourage training, development, and educational opportunities for all staff.

Ensure that systems are in place to identify poor performance, conduct issues and that any individuals identified are appropriately supported and managed within trust policies.

Ensure appropriate processes for assessing competency of departmental staff and be responsible for professional endorsement of that competency.

Work with the Trust Chief Pharmacist to foster an environment that involves pharmacy staff in decision making within the department and supports staff in delivering key departmental objectives.

Foster an environment within CDDFT that encourages multi-professional reporting, review and analysis of medication incidents and facilitates sharing, communication and implementation of learning from local, trust wide national review of medication incidents.

Medicines Management

The post holder will:

Ensure appropriate linkage of medicines management to patient safety / governance within the Trust and care groups.

Work with key clinicians and managers to implement the trust-wide medicines management policy and work programmes to deliver the medicines management strategy.

Ensure the provision of information and advice relating to all aspects of medicines optimisation to medical, nursing and other clinical staff. This will involve the analysis of highly complex prescribing information and the interpretation of regional and national guidance to provide clear advice where there is a range of options and opinions may differ.

Implement a programme of practice research within Pharmacy with the allocated Lead Pharmacist. This will require the DCP to undertake one-off, complex audits using research methodology to ensure that the pharmacy directorate delivers a responsive service to the different patient groups.

Promote and implement modernisation of medicines optimisation practices.

Ensure compliance with local and national standards of practice and legislation through audit processes, including external audits, quality initiatives and reports to the relevant Trust personnel, committees or boards.

Quality & Safety

The post holder will:

In collaboration with the Trust Chief Pharmacist, ensure all aspects of pharmacy services meet national and trust standards including CQC, NHSI, RPS and DH standards. Where this is not the case, ensure the identified risks are added to the appropriate risk register with recommended actions to resolve the issue.

Implement and monitor national initiatives and directives, such as NICE guidance.

Working as part of the Pharmacy Leadership Team, control the risk of medication errors by ensuring that safe systems are in place for prescription, dispensing and administration of medicines and the investigation of medicine errors. Ensure that errors, complaints and incidents involving medicines are managed within the Trusts guidelines and that information concerning resultant action plans features in Trust reports as appropriate.

Ensure that all incident reviews led by Pharmacy are undertaken in a timely manner and that resultant action plans are completed on time. Lead on the most complex of medicines-related reviews where expert medicines management knowledge is required. Incident reviews involve the analysis of highly complex information from a number of sources where there maybe differing opinions.

Ensure that all clinical trials involving medicines within the trust are fully compliant with currently accepted best practice. In collaboration with the Trusts Research & Development department ensure full involvement of appropriately trained pharmacy staff in all aspects of clinical trials.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Masters Degree in Pharmacy or equivalent
• Relevant postgraduate pharmacy qualification, preferably at Masters level
• Relevant Management Qualification or equivalent experience, preferably at Masters level
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Member of, or willing to join, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society

Statutory Registration

Essential

• Registered member of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)

Desirable

• Faculty Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS)

Experience

Essential

• Extensive relevant experience as a senior pharmacy manager with proven ability to manage significant human and financial resource in a complex environment
• Significant experience of leading a team of staff to deliver improved patient outcomes
• Experience of working across boundaries within and/or external to the NHS
• Experience of service, policy and strategy development.
• Experience of providing innovative services

Desirable

• Experience of managing and successful delivery of projects using a formal project management methodology
• Operational pharmacy management experience
• Clinical pharmacy experience
• Safe medication practice experience
• Experience as a regional / national expert in a specific field

Special Requirements

Essential

• Be able to travel between and work at different locations, locally, regionally and nationally as required

Special Skills & Knowledge

Essential

• Strategic and operational leadership skills to lead change through people
• Demonstrable high level management skills (including change management)
• Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills necessary to establish and maintain effective working relationships
• Proven visionary leadership with the ability to set a clear vision for services, to persuade others of the benefits and requirements of the plan and to overcome potential obstacles
• Excellent understanding of current pharmacy/medicine management issues
• Excellent oral and written communication skills with the ability to provide information using a variety of IT solutions
• Able to make effective, prompt decisions when faced with variable, complex information and situations

Desirable

• Evidence of collaboration with primary care.
• Involvement in practice research and policy development.
• Financial management expertise

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

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Darlington Memorial Hospital NHS Trust

Hollyhurst Road

Darlington

County Durham

DL3 6HX

Employer's website

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