PCN Clinical Pharmacist

Job responsibilities

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Clinical

2. Technical and Administrative

3. Care Home

4. Professional Development

5. Code of Conduct

6. Confidentiality

7. Health Safety and Welfare

8. Information Quality Assurance

9. Person specification

10. General Duties and Responsibilities

1. Clinical

1.1. Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient facing role to clinically assess and treat patients using their expert knowledge of medicines for specific disease areas

1.2. Be a prescriber, or completing training to become prescribers, and work with and alongside the general practice team

1.3. Providing pharmaceutical medication review & health education advice to patients, face-to-face, via telephone or notes-based review, as agreed with the practice, providing specialist expertise in the use of medicines & medicine information. Including carrying out structured medication reviews in care homes.

1.4. Responsible for the care management of patients with chronic diseases and undertake clinical medication reviews to proactively manage people with complex polypharmacy, especially older people, people in care homes, those with multiple co-morbidities (in particular frailty, COPD and asthma) and people with learning disabilities or autism (through STOMP Stop Over Medication Programme)

1.5. Take a central role in the clinical aspects of shared care protocols, clinical research with medicines, liaise with specialist pharmacists (including mental health and reduction of inappropriate antipsychotic use in people

1.6. Carry out medicines optimisation tasks including effective medicine administration (e.g. checking inhaler technique), actioning, clinical letters and discharge summaries, and drug monitoring.

1.7. Support initiatives for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing locally.

1.8. Reviewing daily pathology results.

1.9. Support the PCN to deliver on QIPP agenda, QOF and locally commissioned enhanced services

2. TECHNICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE

2.1. Provide leadership on person-centred medicines optimisation (including ensuring prescribers in the practice conserve antibiotics in line with local antimicrobial stewardship guidance) and quality improvement, whilst contributing to the quality and outcomes framework and enhanced services

2.2. Provide leadership role in supporting further integration of general practice with the wider healthcare teams (including community and hospital pharmacy) to help improve patient outcomes, ensure better access to healthcare and help manage general practice workload

2.3. Provide expertise to address both the public health and social care needs of patients, including lifestyle advice, service information, and help in tackling local health inequalities

2.4. Work with the pharmacy technicians and support the PCN multi-disciplinary team to ensure efficient medicines optimisation processes are being followed.

2.5. Support the actioning clinical letter and discharge summaries, within a timely manner

2.6. Develop relationships with other pharmacy professionals and members of the multi-disciplinary team to support integration across health and social care including primary care, community pharmacy, secondary care and mental health

2.7. Support practice prescriptions teams in streaming general prescription requests, so as to allow GPs and clinical pharmacists to review the more clinically complex requests

2.8. Support the development, implementation and reviewing of PCN and national prescribing policies and guidance within GP practices, care homes and other primary care settings to comply with PCN, Practice and CQC requirements

2.9. Identification of cohorts of patients at high risk of harm from medicines through pre-prepared practice computer searches. This might include risks that are patient related, medicine related, or both. Implementing changes to medicines that result from MHRA alerts, product withdrawal and other local and national guidance.

3. CARE HOME

Work with PCN registered Care Homes and Residential Care Homes (CQC registered) looking at:

3.1. specific medication issue(s)

3.2. How they order and store medication, helping to reduce waste,

3.3. Answer queries regarding local policies and procedures, training & vaccinations

3.4. Work as part of a Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) providing on going care to patients.

3.5. Undertake regular video consultation with the Care home Coordinator, and home leader at each PCN care home or residential home.

3.6. Reconciling medicines following discharge from hospitals, intermediate care and into care homes, including identifying and rectifying unexplained changes and working with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge.

3.7. Reviewing the use of medicines most associated with unplanned hospital admissions and re-admissions through audit and individual patient reviews.

4. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

4.1. Pursue self-directed learning: identifying areas of weakness and taking steps to improve.

4.2. Complete significant event forms when these occur

4.3. Maintain continued education by attendance at appropriate courses and study days as agreed with the Practice Management team and GPs.

4.4. Educational meetings as arranged within the practice.

4.5. Assist in training of medical and nursing students as well other learners that may periodically be attached to the practices

5. CODE OF CONDUCT

All staff are required to work in accordance with the code of conduct for their professional group (e.g. General Pharmaceutical Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council, Health Professions Council, General Medical Council, NHS Code of Conduct for Senior Managers)

All Pharmacy Technicians must work within their competencies, and have professional indemnity

6. CONFIDENTIALITY

Any matters of a confidential nature in particular any information relating to patients must under no circumstances be divulged or passed onto any unauthorised person or persons.

6.1. The data must be held under the terms of the Data Protection Act and binding its principals.

6.2. Any matters of a confidential nature in particular any information relating to patients must under no circumstances be divulged or passed onto any unauthorised person or persons.

6.3. In the performance of the duties outlined in the Job Description, the post-holder will have access to information relating to the business. All such information from any source is to be regarded at strictly confidential. All information relating to the business of the Two Rivers Medical Centre is strictly confidential and must not be divulged to any unauthorised person.

7. HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE

In accordance with the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 you have a duty to take reasonable care to avoid injury to yourself and to others by your work activities.

The post holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others Health, Safety, Welfare and security as defined in the Practices Health & Safety Policy and in accordance with The Health and Safety at Work Act to include:

7.1. Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines.

7.2. Identifying the risk involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks.

7.3. Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills.

7.4. Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards.

7.5. Managing risks and reporting.

7.6. You will be issued with an identity badge which you must wear at all time on site.

7.7. You are responsible for the security of any keys, smartcards, passwords, etc., issued to you.

8. INFORMATION QUALITY ASSURANCE

As an employee of the Practice it is expected that you will take due diligence and care in regard to any information collected, recorded, processed or handled by you during the course of your work and that such information is collected, recorded, processed and handled in compliance with Practice requirements and instructions

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered with General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
• GPhC Accredited Master Degree of pharmacy (MPharm) (or equivalent)
• Independent prescriber or working towards/intent of gaining an independent prescribing qualification

Desirable

• Completed, or working towards, a Primary Care Pharmacy Education pathway qualification (CPPE)

Experience

Essential

• An appreciation of the nature of GPs and general practices
• In depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence based healthcare.
• An appreciation of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing
• Able to obtain and analyse complex technical information
• An appreciation of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for the improvement of prescribing
• Demonstrate the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information in an understandable form to a variety of audiences (e.g. patients)
• Can work independently on a day-to-day basis and able to plan, manage, monitor, advise and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long-term conditions
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills (Email, telephone & online meetings)
• Evidence of consistent pattern of learning from education, training and experience
• Able to work under pressure and to meet deadlines
• Recognises priorities when problem solving and identifies deviations from the normal pattern and is able to refer to seniors or GPs when appropriate
• Good IT skills

Desirable

• Experience of using SystmOne
• Able to analyse and interpret prescribing data

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Self-motivated and able to work independently, resourcefully and under pressure, without direct supervision and determine own workload priorities.
• An understanding and acceptance of ones capabilities and awareness of own limitations
• Must be reliable and accurate in all aspects of work.
• Able to work under pressure
• Flexible and Adaptable.
• Flexibility of working hours to cover changes in service demand as required by business needs
• Must be adaptable and comfortable dealing with changing priorities
• Able to work in a challenging and changing environment, responding quickly and flexibly to new developments
• Highly organised, able to plan and prioritise and monitor progress
• Communication.
• Confident in communication methods and able communicate effectively with a wide variety of people with different skill sets, verbally and in writing
• Needs to be able to remain calm in fraught circumstances.
• Diplomatic when dealing with sensitive information or managing potential conflict
• Understanding of the need to maintain confidentiality and data security
• Teamwork.
• The ability to work as part of an integrated multi-skilled team.
• Ability to lead, support and motivate a team successfully
• An understanding, acceptance and adherence for the need to work to set guidelines and procedures with having work checked directly and indirectly by other members of the practice health care team
• Show professional attitude and demeanour including courteous interaction with team members and managers.
• Ability to work effectively and build relationships with a wide variety of people with different skill sets
• Able to use initiative and develop new ideas to improve services
• Customer Focus
• Ability to use own judgement, resourcefulness, common sense and local knowledge, to respond to enquiries and requests while adhering to practice limitations.
• Must be non-prejudicial
• Sensitive & empathetic in distressing situations
• Problem Solving
• Ability to make decisions appropriate to the situation while adhering to practice policies.
• Ability to investigate and resolve discrepancies while adhering to practice policies.
• Ability to apply common sense when dealing with situations which do not fit the norm.
• Able to demonstrate innovation and resourcefulness
• Full driving license

Desirable

• Experience of using SystmOne
• Able to analyse and interpret prescribing data

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).