Job summary
Acton Primary Care Network (PCN) is seeking an experienced Clinical Pharmacist to join our team and work across our network practices in a dynamic and senior role. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in delivering a high-quality medicines optimisation and management service to patients with chronic diseases. Additionally, they will work towards meeting various local and national enhanced service delivery specifications, aiming to improve patient care.
As the senior Clinical Pharmacist, you will take the lead in ensuring that our network practices have robust governance systems and processes in place to manage patient care effectively. Your focus will be on safe prescribing, monitoring of higher risk drugs, management of long-term conditions, and early detection of potential missed diagnoses, aligning with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) standards.
Acton PCN comprises 14 GP practices, serving a population of 80,000 patients. We pride ourselves on our well-established and collaborative inter-practice relationships, with a shared goal of improving the health and outcomes of our patients within the local community.
We are seeking a motivated and passionate individual who is dedicated to delivering excellent service within the general practice setting. If you are enthusiastic about making a positive impact on patient care and thrive in a dynamic healthcare environment, we encourage you to apply.
Main duties of the job
The successful candidate will have responsibilities that include overseeing the repeat prescribing process and signing prescriptions within the network practices, which may complement the existing clinical pharmacists in their roles. You will have a designated cohort of patients who may have medication queries or require medication reviews, and you will take the lead in designing and delivering a service specifically tailored to their needs. Additionally, you will be responsible for conducting review clinics for patients with chronic diseases such as Asthma, COPD, Pre-Diabetes, Diabetes, Hypertension, and Heart Failure. These clinics may be conducted face-to-face, through telephone consultations, or via video calls. There may also be occasions where remote work is required.
Ensuring safe prescribing practices, monitoring higher risk drugs, managing long-term conditions, and identifying potential missed diagnoses in accordance with CQC standards. It is an ongoing process that requires continuous vigilance and management.
As the post holder, you will be expected to lead in implementing and managing MHRA and drug safety alerts and updates. Using appropriate searches, you will identify patient cohorts within the network to ensure safe practices and promptly communicate necessary updates or changes to the practice teams.
About us
Ealing GP Federation is a prominent membership organisation that represents 73 general practices within the London Borough of Ealing. Our mission is to provide comprehensive support and guidance to our member practices, enabling them to deliver high-quality care to their patients.
As an organisation, we value the well-being and work-life balance of our employees. We offer a generous annual leave entitlement of 25 days, and we provide flexibility for leave to be carried over when necessary. We understand the importance of continuous learning and personal development, which is why we also offer up to 5 days of study leave to support our staff in pursuing further education or professional qualifications.
Acton PCN, one of our well-established networks, comprises 14 general practices that work collaboratively to improve patient outcomes and deliver excellent healthcare services. The network has fostered strong relationships among its staff members, creating a supportive and collaborative working environment.
At Ealing GP Federation and Acton PCN, we are committed to nurturing the professional growth and well-being of our employees. We provide a supportive infrastructure, access to training opportunities, and a culture that promotes teamwork and mutual support.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Key Duties
and Responsibilities
1. Risk
stratification
Design, develop and implement computer searches to identify cohorts of
patients with chronic disease who need review and medicines optimisation.
2. Plan Clinics
Manage own case load. Do the necessary
checks for QOF and Ealing Standard entering the data correctly on the computer
system. Implement improvements to the patients medication and prescribing
independently where necessary.
3. Manage
patients holistically
Where patients have more than one condition; reviewing co-morbidities
in the same appointment and updating QOF and Ealing Standard as appropriate.
Referring to other members of the Primary Health Care team and Secondary Care
as necessary.
4. Medication
reviews
Undertake structured medication reviews with patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy and
implement own prescribing changes (as an independent prescriber) and order
relevant monitoring tests. Provide a telephone support for patients with
questions, queries and concerns about their medicines and deliver medicines
reconciliation from secondary care recommendations.
5. Pathology
Request and manage the results for the cohort of patients under your
care in a safe and timely way.
6. Medicines
safety and quality improvement
Identify and provide leadership on areas of prescribing requiring
improvement. Conduct own audits and improvement projects and work with
colleagues. Present results and provide leadership on suggested change.
Demonstrate continuous QI activity focused upon prescribing safety as specified
in the QOF guidance. This work for example might include deliver against the
prescribing indicators in the Impact Investment Fund (IIF). Contribute to
national and local research initiatives.
7. Service
development
Develop and manage new services that are built around new medicines or
NICE guidance, where new medicine/recommendations allow the development of a
new care pathway.
8. Care Quality Commission
Provide leadership to the practice manager and GPs to ensure the
practice is compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved as part
of the regulatory role of this position.
9. Meetings
Attend MDT, Network, Practice, ICB and Federation meetings as required.
Being prepared to contribute to Network pharmacy issues as appropriate.
10. Oversight
Network Pharmacy issues
In addition to a clinical specialism this role involves oversight of
prescribing across the two network practices and requires the ability to
prepare and present reports as required.
11. Relationships
To foster and maintain good relationships between, within and outside
the Practices involved in the network.
12. Population
and Public Health
To devise and manage population and public health campaigns to run
within the network if required.
13. Medicine
information to practice staff and patients
Answer all medicine related
enquiries from GPs, other practice staff and patients with queries about
medicines. Suggesting and recommending solutions. Providing follow up for
patients to monitor the effect of any changes.
14. Flexibility
To understand that this is a new and evolving
role which may change with the needs of the Network. To be willing to change
and the facilitate change in others and the system to promote quality care.
15. Training
Provide education and training to primary healthcare team on therapeutics
and medicines optimisation. Provide training to visiting medical, nursing and
other healthcare students where appropriate.
16. Implementation
of local and national guidelines and formulary recommendations
Monitor practice prescribing against the local health economies RAG
list for medicines that should be prescribed by hospital doctors (red drugs) or
subject to shared care (amber drugs). Liaise directly with hospital colleagues
where prescribing needs to be returned to specialists. Assist practices in
setting and maintaining a practice formulary that is hosted on the practices
computer system.
Suggest and develop computer decision support tools to help remind
prescribers about the agreed formulary choice and local recommendations.
Auditing practices compliance against NICEs technology assessment guidance.
Provide newsletters on important prescribing messages to improve prescribers
knowledge and work with the team to develop and implement other techniques
known to influence implementation of evidence such as audit and feedback.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Key Duties
and Responsibilities
1. Risk
stratification
Design, develop and implement computer searches to identify cohorts of
patients with chronic disease who need review and medicines optimisation.
2. Plan Clinics
Manage own case load. Do the necessary
checks for QOF and Ealing Standard entering the data correctly on the computer
system. Implement improvements to the patients medication and prescribing
independently where necessary.
3. Manage
patients holistically
Where patients have more than one condition; reviewing co-morbidities
in the same appointment and updating QOF and Ealing Standard as appropriate.
Referring to other members of the Primary Health Care team and Secondary Care
as necessary.
4. Medication
reviews
Undertake structured medication reviews with patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy and
implement own prescribing changes (as an independent prescriber) and order
relevant monitoring tests. Provide a telephone support for patients with
questions, queries and concerns about their medicines and deliver medicines
reconciliation from secondary care recommendations.
5. Pathology
Request and manage the results for the cohort of patients under your
care in a safe and timely way.
6. Medicines
safety and quality improvement
Identify and provide leadership on areas of prescribing requiring
improvement. Conduct own audits and improvement projects and work with
colleagues. Present results and provide leadership on suggested change.
Demonstrate continuous QI activity focused upon prescribing safety as specified
in the QOF guidance. This work for example might include deliver against the
prescribing indicators in the Impact Investment Fund (IIF). Contribute to
national and local research initiatives.
7. Service
development
Develop and manage new services that are built around new medicines or
NICE guidance, where new medicine/recommendations allow the development of a
new care pathway.
8. Care Quality Commission
Provide leadership to the practice manager and GPs to ensure the
practice is compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved as part
of the regulatory role of this position.
9. Meetings
Attend MDT, Network, Practice, ICB and Federation meetings as required.
Being prepared to contribute to Network pharmacy issues as appropriate.
10. Oversight
Network Pharmacy issues
In addition to a clinical specialism this role involves oversight of
prescribing across the two network practices and requires the ability to
prepare and present reports as required.
11. Relationships
To foster and maintain good relationships between, within and outside
the Practices involved in the network.
12. Population
and Public Health
To devise and manage population and public health campaigns to run
within the network if required.
13. Medicine
information to practice staff and patients
Answer all medicine related
enquiries from GPs, other practice staff and patients with queries about
medicines. Suggesting and recommending solutions. Providing follow up for
patients to monitor the effect of any changes.
14. Flexibility
To understand that this is a new and evolving
role which may change with the needs of the Network. To be willing to change
and the facilitate change in others and the system to promote quality care.
15. Training
Provide education and training to primary healthcare team on therapeutics
and medicines optimisation. Provide training to visiting medical, nursing and
other healthcare students where appropriate.
16. Implementation
of local and national guidelines and formulary recommendations
Monitor practice prescribing against the local health economies RAG
list for medicines that should be prescribed by hospital doctors (red drugs) or
subject to shared care (amber drugs). Liaise directly with hospital colleagues
where prescribing needs to be returned to specialists. Assist practices in
setting and maintaining a practice formulary that is hosted on the practices
computer system.
Suggest and develop computer decision support tools to help remind
prescribers about the agreed formulary choice and local recommendations.
Auditing practices compliance against NICEs technology assessment guidance.
Provide newsletters on important prescribing messages to improve prescribers
knowledge and work with the team to develop and implement other techniques
known to influence implementation of evidence such as audit and feedback.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Excellent communication and consultation skills both verbal (face to face and phone) and written
- Places patients and relatives at the centre of all decisions regarding their care
- Can deliver clinics within appropriate time frames
- Develops and uses skills to take an appropriate history uses clinical examination skills and recognises common presentations and red flags treating or referring appropriately
- Can prioritise workload
- Refers to seniors and GPs when appropriate recognises personal limitations
- Demonstrates problem solving skills
- Conveys complex and sensitive information in an appropriate way for target audience
- Expert level Understanding of therapeutics and clinical pharmacy
- Experienced in level 3 review and management of complex multimorbidity polypharmacy and medicines optimisation
- Uses rational evidence based methods in prescribing and medication review
- Demonstrates expertise in managing long term health conditions (Review, care planning motivational lifestyle advice monitoring and optimisation)
- Makes accurate contemporaneous succinct and cogent records in patient notes
- Manages risk and takes actions to minimise risk
- Ability to use local clinical IT systems, can access patient data, run searches, understands read codes pathology and other functionality
- Understands and utilises ePACT and other prescribing data for the improvement of patient care and governance of prescribing
- Use and consider local policies such as red lists scriptswitch and shared care arrangements
- Signing of prescriptions
- Promotes safe and effective use of electronic prescribing
- Engages in appropriate CPD develops and maintains critically reflective practice
- Understands implications of medicines licensing particularly in relation to specials liquids and medical devices and appliances
- Deals with incidents and complaints sensitively appropriately and assertively
- Respects equality and diversity and understands whistle blowing procedures
- Follows legal, ethical, professional policies and practices
- Has knowledge and understanding of the governance and regulatory frameworks in primary care
Desirable
- Works collaboratively with their PCN clinical director
- Recognises the roles of other colleagues within the network and their role to patient care
- Demonstrates use of appropriate communication to gain the co operation of relevant stakeholders including patients senior and peer colleagues and other professionals other NHS or private organisations e.g NHS commissioners NHS trusts local Federation Understanding of general practice and GPs role in NHS
- Is able to recognise personal limitations and refer to more appropriate colleague(s) when necessary
- Liaises with colleagues including ICB and STP ICS Pharmacists on prescribing related matters to ensure consistency of patient care and benefit
- Liaises with colleagues including ICB and STP ICS Pharmacists and Heads of Medicines Management/ Optimisation to benefit from peer support
- Liaises with network GP Practices and neighbouring networks as needed for the collective benefit of patients
- Has an experience/awareness of the breadth of common acute and long term conditions that are likely to be seen in a general medical practice
- Minimum of 3 years post graduate experience in pharmacy as demonstrated within a practice portfolio
- Able to plan manage monitor advise and review general pharmaceutical care programmes for patients across core areas including disease states long term conditions
- Accountable for delivering professional expertise and direct service provision
- Uses skills in a range of routine situations requiring analysis or comparison of a range of options
- Recognises priorities when problem solving and identifies deviations from normal pattern and is able to refer to seniors or GPs when appropriate
- Able to follow legal ethical professional and organisational policies procedures and codes of conduct
- Involves patients in decisions about prescribed medicines and supporting adherence as per NICE guidelines
- Demonstrates ability to lead a team and work within a team
- Understands provision of services clinics and specialities within local areas and within networks
- Provides medicines information and training
- Works as part of team and promotes utilisation of skill mix
- Works under pressure and can meet deadlines
- Accountable for own practice and that of team
- Liaises successfully with colleagues in community pharmacy ICB hospital secondary care and private practice
- Able to refer appropriately to other health care professionals
- Can work as part of a multi-disciplinary team
- Engages with pharmacy professional bodies
- Follows organisational policies and practices
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Excellent communication and consultation skills both verbal (face to face and phone) and written
- Places patients and relatives at the centre of all decisions regarding their care
- Can deliver clinics within appropriate time frames
- Develops and uses skills to take an appropriate history uses clinical examination skills and recognises common presentations and red flags treating or referring appropriately
- Can prioritise workload
- Refers to seniors and GPs when appropriate recognises personal limitations
- Demonstrates problem solving skills
- Conveys complex and sensitive information in an appropriate way for target audience
- Expert level Understanding of therapeutics and clinical pharmacy
- Experienced in level 3 review and management of complex multimorbidity polypharmacy and medicines optimisation
- Uses rational evidence based methods in prescribing and medication review
- Demonstrates expertise in managing long term health conditions (Review, care planning motivational lifestyle advice monitoring and optimisation)
- Makes accurate contemporaneous succinct and cogent records in patient notes
- Manages risk and takes actions to minimise risk
- Ability to use local clinical IT systems, can access patient data, run searches, understands read codes pathology and other functionality
- Understands and utilises ePACT and other prescribing data for the improvement of patient care and governance of prescribing
- Use and consider local policies such as red lists scriptswitch and shared care arrangements
- Signing of prescriptions
- Promotes safe and effective use of electronic prescribing
- Engages in appropriate CPD develops and maintains critically reflective practice
- Understands implications of medicines licensing particularly in relation to specials liquids and medical devices and appliances
- Deals with incidents and complaints sensitively appropriately and assertively
- Respects equality and diversity and understands whistle blowing procedures
- Follows legal, ethical, professional policies and practices
- Has knowledge and understanding of the governance and regulatory frameworks in primary care
Desirable
- Works collaboratively with their PCN clinical director
- Recognises the roles of other colleagues within the network and their role to patient care
- Demonstrates use of appropriate communication to gain the co operation of relevant stakeholders including patients senior and peer colleagues and other professionals other NHS or private organisations e.g NHS commissioners NHS trusts local Federation Understanding of general practice and GPs role in NHS
- Is able to recognise personal limitations and refer to more appropriate colleague(s) when necessary
- Liaises with colleagues including ICB and STP ICS Pharmacists on prescribing related matters to ensure consistency of patient care and benefit
- Liaises with colleagues including ICB and STP ICS Pharmacists and Heads of Medicines Management/ Optimisation to benefit from peer support
- Liaises with network GP Practices and neighbouring networks as needed for the collective benefit of patients
- Has an experience/awareness of the breadth of common acute and long term conditions that are likely to be seen in a general medical practice
- Minimum of 3 years post graduate experience in pharmacy as demonstrated within a practice portfolio
- Able to plan manage monitor advise and review general pharmaceutical care programmes for patients across core areas including disease states long term conditions
- Accountable for delivering professional expertise and direct service provision
- Uses skills in a range of routine situations requiring analysis or comparison of a range of options
- Recognises priorities when problem solving and identifies deviations from normal pattern and is able to refer to seniors or GPs when appropriate
- Able to follow legal ethical professional and organisational policies procedures and codes of conduct
- Involves patients in decisions about prescribed medicines and supporting adherence as per NICE guidelines
- Demonstrates ability to lead a team and work within a team
- Understands provision of services clinics and specialities within local areas and within networks
- Provides medicines information and training
- Works as part of team and promotes utilisation of skill mix
- Works under pressure and can meet deadlines
- Accountable for own practice and that of team
- Liaises successfully with colleagues in community pharmacy ICB hospital secondary care and private practice
- Able to refer appropriately to other health care professionals
- Can work as part of a multi-disciplinary team
- Engages with pharmacy professional bodies
- Follows organisational policies and practices
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.
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.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
