Harbour Unit PharmacistNHS

Job summary

You will be a clinical pharmacist working within the Harbour Service which provides integrated acute assessment and treatments to older people living with frailty, as a safe and effective alternative to acute hospital admission. The service brings together specialist multidisciplinary healthcare professionals in one team to provide joined-up care for older people living with frailty. Patients are referred from the ambulance service, primary care and community teams, and assessments occur in the community, either in the patient's current place of residence under the Harbour at Home team (frailty virtual ward) or in our dedicated assessment unit (Harbour Same Day Emergency Care - SDEC) at Newton Abbot Hospital. Patients can access acute treatments, diagnostic tests, and a holistic review of their health and care using a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA)

Main duties of the job

You will be able to drive the development and delivery of a high-quality clinical pharmacy service related to older adults within this exciting new integrated frailty service. The role will include visiting patients in the community, reviewing patients attending the same day emergency care unit at The Harbour, and inpatient patients located within the Newton abbot community hospital. You will be a key partner in a holistic multidisciplinary team approach, with direct access to senior clinicians for decision making support and actioning medication decisions. Existing Non-medical prescribing qualifications would be welcomed and you would be supported to develop these within your scope of practice.

The post holder will provide expert information about medicines and medicines management to a range of audiences including service users, carers and wider trust staff. Ensuring services in their locality are patient centred and are delivered in a manner which meets the needs of patients and other stakeholders. Develop and support development of services in order to meet changing operational or clinical needs. This role is a key link between primary and secondary care, and acute and community care.

Job description

To be the medicines optimisation pharmacist for the harbour unit.

To provide a clinical pharmacy service to the harbour unit. Provide medicines reconciliation within patients own homes and also on the SDEC unit. Working to help improve compliance with medication and improve patient safety

Lead the development and delivery of a specialist pharmacy service by providing in-depth, patient-focused clinical medication reviews to patients to ensure safe and effective care.

Provide highly specialised pharmaceutical advice in highly complex situations (where advice may be challenged) to health care professionals, care home staff, patients and carers. This will involve visiting patients in a range of settings including care-homes and patients own homes.

Promote the safe, effective and high quality, cost-effective use of medicines

To provide a clinical pharmacy service to newton abbot community hospital beds when needed. Working closely with the local General Practitioners providing the medical cover for these inpatient beds and the other pharmacists covering both Teign and Templar ward.

To promote joined up medicines optimisation across South Devon through the establishment of close working relationships with pharmacists working in general Practice, those based in community pharmacies, intermediate care and those based in secondary care.

To particularly focus upon supporting those patients being prescribed polypharmacy and those patients who are being frequently admitted to secondary care. This may be achieved on an individual patient basis or by working with pharmacists based in General Practice.

To guide on deprescribing in frailty and inappropriate or risky polypharmacy, including familiarity with STOPP/START and other deprescribing approaches.

Recognise high risk medications in frailty and utilise appropriate tools to asses these eg ACB scoring, opioid burden. Be familiar with frailty-attuned chronic disease targets and use these to support prescribing decisions.

Please see the attached Job Description for further details of main responsibilities and person specification

About us

The Harbour Unit brings together specialist healthcare professionals in one team to provide joined-up care for older people living with frailty. This includes an assessment which considers all their needs, access to urgent tests and treatment and support from the Harbour at Home team (also known as a virtual ward) to support people in the comfort of their own home or care home.

The service, which is based at Newton Abbot Hospital, has received more than 850 referrals since it opened last November, with more than half of these patients (54%) supported to stay at home as a safe and effective alternative to admission to the acute hospital or Emergency Department.

The pharmacist will also be part of a community pharmacy team comprised of intermediate care pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and care home pharmacists. The team also provide a clinical pharmacy service to all five of the Trusts community hospital wards.