Clinical PharmacistNHS

Job summary

We are looking for an enthusiastic and patient-focused Clinical Pharmacist to join Mansfield North Primary Care Network, supporting approximately 60,000 patients across five GP practices. This is an exciting opportunity to work as part of a multidisciplinary team delivering high-quality medicines optimisation, long-term condition management and clinical medication reviews across a variety of primary care settings, including GP practices, care homes and patients' homes. You will work closely with GPs, Pharmacy Technicians, Nurses and other health and social care professionals, while receiving support and mentorship from experienced Senior Clinical Pharmacists and Neighbourhood Lead Pharmacists. The role also offers the opportunity to further develop your clinical expertise and progress towards becoming an Independent Prescriber if not already qualified.

Main duties of the job

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Deliver patient-facing clinical medication reviews and long-term condition clinics, supporting patients with complex polypharmacy, improving medicines optimisation and helping to achieve better health outcomes.
• Provide expert medicines advice to patients and healthcare professionals, supporting prescribing processes, medicines reconciliation, repeat prescribing, discharge management and safer prescribing initiatives.
• Lead and contribute to quality improvement projects, audits and PCN workstreams while supporting Pharmacy Technicians, driving service development and promoting best practice across the Primary Care Network.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

• Master's Degree in Pharmacy (MPharm) and current registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
• Minimum of 2 years experience as a pharmacist, demonstrated within a practice portfolio
• Strong knowledge of medicines optimisation, prescribing principles and long-term condition management, with the ability to make evidence-based clinical recommendations.

Job description

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Neighbourhood team working and Management of neighbourhood technicians

To manage and support the neighbourhood PCN technicians in their development and completion of the CPPE primary care education pathway and delivery of key PCN workstreams, including IIF targets.

Face to face support for the technician within the neighbourhood and close working with other PCN pharmacists within the neighbourhood and wider PCN.

Patient facing long-term condition clinics

See (where appropriate) patients with single or multiple medical problems where medicine optimisation is required (e.g., COPD, asthma). 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 Senior Pharmacists or GPs for medicine improvement.

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.

Patient facing care home medication review

Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and produce recommendations for the Senior Clinical Pharmacist, nurses or GPs on prescribing and monitoring. Work with care home staff to improve safety of medicines ordering and administration.

Patient facing domiciliary clinical medication review

Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and produce recommendations for the Senior Clinical Pharmacists, Nurses and GPs on prescribing and monitoring. Attend and refer patients to multidisciplinary case conferences.

Management of common/minor/self-limiting aliments

Managing caseload for patients with common/minor/self-limiting ailments while working within a scope of practice and limits of competence. Signposting to community pharmacy and referring to GPs or other healthcare professionals where appropriate.

Patient facing medicines support

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

Telephone medicines support

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

Medicine information to practice staff and patients

Answers all medicine-related enquiries from GPs, other practice 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.

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.

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).

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.

Repeat prescribing

Produce and implement a practice repeat prescribing policy. 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.

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.

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).

Information management

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

Medicines quality improvement

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

Medicines safety

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

Implementation of local and national guidelines and formulary recommendations

Monitor practice prescribing against the local health economys 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 the practices computer system. Auditing practices compliance against NICE technology assessment guidance. Provide newsletters or bulletins on important prescribing messages.

Education and training

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

Care Quality Commission

Work with the general practice team to ensure the practice is compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved.

Public health

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

Collaborative working relationships

The post holder will:

• Recognise the roles of other colleagues within the organisation and their role to patient care
• Demonstrate 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)
• Demonstrate ability to work as a member of a team
• Recognise personal limitations and refer to more appropriate colleague(s) when necessary
• Actively work toward developing and maintaining effective working relationships both within and outside the practice and locality
• Foster and maintain strong links with all services across locality
• Explore the potential for collaborative working and takes opportunities to initiate and sustain such relationships
• Demonstrate ability to integrate general practice with community and hospital pharmacy teams
• Liaise with CCG colleagues including CCG Pharmacists on prescribing related matters to ensure consistency of patient care and benefit
• Liaise with CCG pharmacists and Heads of Medicines Management/ Optimisation to benefit from peer support
• Liaise with other GP Practices and staff as needed for the collective benefit of patients including but not limited to:
• Patients
• GP, Nurses, and other practice staff
• Other healthcare professionals including CCG pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, optometrists, dentists, health and social care teams and dieticians etc
• Locality / GP prescribing lead
• Locality managers
• Community nurses and other allied health professionals
• Community and hospital pharmacy teams
• Hospital staff with responsibilities for prescribing and medicines optimisation

Knowledge, skills, and experience

• Completion of an undergraduate degree in pharmacy and registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council
• Minimum of 2 years experience as a pharmacist, demonstrated within a practice portfolio
• Has experience and an awareness of common acute and long-term conditions that are likely to be seen in general practice
• May hold or be working towards an independent prescribing qualification.
• 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.

NB: it is anticipated of qualification held may vary according to the level of position and the components of the role being carried out, see person specification that the level.

Leadership

• Demonstrate understanding of the pharmacy role in governance and is able to implement this appropriately within the workplace.
• Demonstrate understanding of, and contributes to, the workplace vision
• Engage with Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) and involves PPGs in development of the role and practices
• Demonstrate ability to improve quality within limitations of service
• Review yearly progress and develops clear plans to achieve results within priorities set by others.
• Demonstrate ability to motivate self to achieve goals
• Promote diversity and equality in people management techniques and leads by example.

Management

• Demonstrate understanding of the implications of national priorities for the team and/or service
• Demonstrate understanding of the process for effective resource utilisation
• Demonstrate understanding of, and conforms to, relevant standards of practice
• Demonstrate ability to identify and resolve risk management issues according to policy/protocol
• Follow professional and organisational policies/procedures relating to performance management
• Demonstrate ability to extend boundaries of service delivery within the team

For more information, please see supporting information.

About us

PICS is the employer for this role. We collaborate with patients and partners to design and deliver clinically robust health and social care solution through Community Services, Out of Hospital Services, GP Practices, and Primary Care Networks. Find out more about us: http://picsnhs.org.uk/.

Benefits of working for PICS

We offer a comprehensive package which includes:

• NHS Pension 2015 Scheme (subject to eligibility)
• Alternative government-based scheme (subject to eligibility)
• Competitive leave entitlement that includes maternity, paternity and adoption leave, study leave allowance, and sickness provisions
• Access to education and training opportunities, depending on your role (CPPE Pharmacy, NHS England Roadmap for First Contact Practitioners, apprenticeship schemes, support professional development)
• Working in a multi-disciplinary team with support from a wide variety of professionals
• A flexible approach to a work-life balance
• Cycle to work scheme (subject to eligibility)
• Access to Blue Light Card scheme
• All staff events and conferences
• Staff engagement (Wellbeing Group, EDI Network, Staff Focus group)
• Free parking across many sites
• Personalised induction into the company and job role