Clinical Pharmacist

Job responsibilities

1. Patient facing Long-term condition Clinics

See (where appropriate) patients with single or multiple medical problems where medicine optimisation is required (e.g. Respiratory, Cardiovascular and Diabetes). Review the on-going need for each medicine, a review of monitoring needs and an opportunity to support patients with their medicines taking ensuring they get the best use of their medicines (i.e. medicines optimisation). Make appropriate recommendations to Pharmacists or GPs for medicine improvement.

2. Patient facing Clinical Medication Review

Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and produce recommendations for senior clinical pharmacist, nurses and/or GP on prescribing and monitoring.

3. Risk stratification

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. Manage therapeutic drug monitoring system and recall of patients taking high risk drugs i.e. anticoagulants, anticonvulsants and DMARDs etc.

4. Unplanned hospital admissions

Review the use of medicines most commonly associated with unplanned hospital admissions and readmissions through audit and individual patient reviews. Put in place changes to reduce the prescribing of these medicines to high-risk patient groups.

5. Patient facing medicines support

Provide patient facing clinics for those with questions, queries and concerns about their medicines in the practice.

6.Telephone medicines support

Provide a telephone help line for patients with questions, queries and concerns about their medicines.

7. Management of medicines at discharge from hospital

To reconcile 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. Set up and manage systems to ensure continuity of medicines supply to high-risk groups of patients (e.g. those with medicine compliance aids or those in Care Homes).

8. Medicine information to practice staff and patients

Answer relevant medicine-related enquiries from GPs, other network staff, other healthcare teams (e.g. community pharmacy) and patients with queries about medicines. Suggesting and recommending solutions. Providing follow up for patients to monitor the effect of any changes.

9. Signposting

Ensure that patients are referred to the appropriate healthcare professional for the appropriate level of care within an appropriate period of time e.g. pathology results, common/minor ailments, acute conditions, long term condition reviews etc.

10. Repeat prescribing

Produce and implement a repeat prescribing policy within each PCN practice. Manage the repeat prescribing reauthorisation process by reviewing patient requests for repeat prescriptions and reviewing medicines reaching review dates and flagging up those needing a review. Ensure patients have appropriate monitoring tests in place when required.

11. Service development

Contribute pharmaceutical advice for the development and implementation of new services that have medicinal components (e.g. advice on treatment pathways and patient information leaflets).

12. Information management

Analyse, interpret and present medicines data to highlight issues and risks to support decision making.

13. Medicines quality improvement

Undertake clinical audits of prescribing in areas directed by the GPs, feedback the results and implement changes in conjunction with the relevant practice team.

14. Medicines safety

Implement changes to medicines that result from MHRA alerts, product withdrawal and other local and national guidance.

15. Implementation of local and national guidelines and formulary recommendations

Monitor practice prescribing against the local health economy's RAG list and make recommendations to GPs for medicines that should be prescribed by hospital doctors (red drugs) or subject to shared care (amber drugs). Assist practices in seeing and maintaining a practice formulary that is hosted on each practices computer system. Auditing practices compliance against NICE technology assessment guidance. Provide newsletters or bulletins on important prescribing messages.

16. Education and Training

Provide education and training to primary healthcare team on therapeutics and medicines optimisation.

17. Care Quality Commission

Work with the general practice teams to ensure the practices are compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved.

18. Public health

To support public health campaigns. To provide specialist knowledge on all public health programmes available to the general public.

19. Collaborative working arrangements

Participates in the PCN MDT.

Liaises with ICB colleagues including ICB pharmacists on prescribing related matters to ensure consistency of patient care and benefit.

Liaises with colleagues including ICB, STP/ICS Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians on prescribing related matters to ensure consistency of patient care and benefit

Liaises with colleagues including ICB, STP/ICS Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians and Heads of Medicines Management/Optimisation to benefit from peer support.

Foster and maintain strong links with all services across the PCN and neighbouring networks.

Explores the potential for collaborative working and takes opportunities to initiate and sustain such relationships. Liaises with other stakeholders as needed for the collective benefit of patients including but not limited to:

Patients and their representatives

GP, nurses and other practice staff

Social Prescribers, First Contact Physiotherapists, Physician Associates and Paramedics.

Community pharmacists and support staff

Other members of the medicines management (MM) team including Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians and Dieticians

Locality / GP prescribing lead

Locality managers

Community nurses and other allied health professionals

Hospital staff with responsibilities for prescribing and medicines optimisation

Other Requirements

Essential

• Willingness to travel within locality and group of practices
• Use of own vehicle to travel where necessary
• Good attendance record
• Safeguarding and other mandatory training
• Immunisation status
• Meets DBS reference standards and has a clear criminal record, in line with the law on spent convictions

Qualifications

Essential

• Pharmacy degree
• Currently registered member of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
• Evidence of recent CPD and/or other professional development

Desirable

• Post-graduate clinical qualification, diploma level or higher
• Prescribing Qualification the network will support candidate to work towards an independent prescribing qualification and completion of the Clinical pharmacists in general practice education programme

Experience

Essential

• At least 3 years post registration relevant experience

Desirable

• Experience working in primary care with other healthcare professionals
• Experience in the care home sector
• Experience of working with CCGs/PCTs
• Experience of providing evaluated drug information

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• In depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence-based healthcare
• Understanding of the wider determinants of health, including social, economic and environmental factors and their impact on communities
• An appreciation of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing
• Knowledge of IT systems, including ability to use word processing skills, emails and the internet to create simple plans and reports
• Able to obtain and analyse complex technical information.
• Able to gain acceptance for recommendations and influence/motivate/persuade the audience to comply with the recommendations/agreed course of action where there may be significant barriers
• Able to identify and resolve risk management issues according to policy/protocol
• Understand the principles of research governance

Desirable

• Able to plan, manage, monitor and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long term conditions

Personal Qualities and Attributes

Essential

• Commitment to reducing health inequalities and proactively working to reach people from all communities
• Demonstrates use of appropriate communication to gain the co-operation of relevant stakeholders (including patients, senior and peer colleagues, and other professionals, other NHS/private organisations, e.g. CCGs)
• Is able to recognise personal limitations and refer to more appropriate colleague(s) when necessary
• Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when working with individuals
• Able to work under pressure and meet deadlines
• Demonstrates accountability for delivering professional expertise and direct service provision
• Able to provide leadership and to finish work tasks
• Ability to maintain effective working relationships and to promote collaborative practice with all colleagues
• Demonstrates personal accountability, emotional resilience and works well under pressure
• Ability to organise, plan and prioritise on own initiative, including when under pressure and meeting deadlines
• High level of written and oral communication skills
• Ability to work flexibly and enthusiastically within a team or on own initiative
• Knowledge of and ability to work to policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, and health and safety

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).