Clinical Pharmacist - GP Practice

Job description

Job responsibilities

Clinical Pharmacist (Independent Prescriber) Full Time

Location: Alrewas Surgery (single-site GP practice) Contract: Full time (37.5 hours per week) Responsible to: GP Partners and Practice Manager Line management: Supervises a Pharmacy Technician

Purpose of the role

Alrewas Surgery is seeking a full-time Clinical Pharmacist who is a qualified Independent Prescriber (IP) to join our practice team. The post holder will work within their clinical competencies as part of a multidisciplinary team to provide expert clinical medicines management, structured medication reviews, management of long-term conditions, safer prescribing systems, and lead on repeat prescribing processes.

A key element of the role is providing clinical pharmacy support to our patients in residential care, with a view to completing a weekly ward round at a designated care home (including medication optimisation and associated actions). A minor ailments clinic is desirable, aligned to scope of practice and competence, to support timely access for patients and reduce GP workload appropriately.

This role is pivotal to improving the quality of prescribing, patient safety, and operational efficiencies within our practice and requires motivation and passion to deliver an excellent service in general practice.

Key duties and responsibilities

1) Patient-facing long-term condition clinics

Run clinics for patients with single or multiple conditions where medicines optimisation is required (e.g., respiratory, cardiovascular, diabetes). Review the ongoing need for medicines, monitoring requirements, adherence, and side effects. Make appropriate prescribing decisions within competence and as an Independent Prescriber, and liaise with GPs and the wider team when needed.

2) Structured clinical medication reviews (SMRs)

Undertake structured medication reviews, prioritising patients with polypharmacy, frailty, multiple comorbidities, and high-risk medicines. Produce clear plans and actions for patients and the practice team, including monitoring and follow-up.

3) Care home weekly ward round and medication reviews (desirable)

Complete a weekly ward round at a care home, including medication review, optimisation, deprescribing where appropriate, and medicines safety actions. Work with care home staff to improve safe ordering, administration, and reduction of medicines-related risk.

4) Domiciliary medication reviews (as required)

Undertake domiciliary medication reviews where clinically indicated, contributing to multidisciplinary discussions and case conferences where relevant.

5) Repeat prescribing and medicines workflow leadership

Lead and manage the repeat prescribing authorisation and reauthorisation process, including:

• Reviewing repeat prescription requests and medicines reaching review dates
• Ensuring appropriate monitoring is in place for high-risk medicines
• Supporting/maintaining a robust repeat prescribing policy and systems within the practice
• Working closely with (and supervising) the Pharmacy Technician to ensure safe, efficient processing and appropriate escalation

6) Acute prescription requests and medicines queries

Support timely processing of acute medication requests where appropriate, ensuring safe prescribing and effective signposting/escalation to clinicians when needed.

7) Medicines reconciliation and transfer of care

Reconcile medicines following hospital discharge and other transfer-of-care points (including care homes), identifying and rectifying unexplained changes. Work with community pharmacy and patients to ensure continuity of supply, including for high-risk cohorts.

8) Minor ailments clinic (desirable)

Provide a minor ailments clinic (where service need supports and within agreed scope of practice), managing common/self-limiting conditions, with appropriate escalation or referral to GPs/other services when required.

9) Risk stratification and high-risk medicines

Identify cohorts at risk of medicines-related harm using clinical system searches (patient-related, medicine-related, or both). Implement interventions to reduce risk and improve outcomes.

10) Medicines safety and quality improvement

• Implement changes from MHRA alerts, product withdrawals, and local/national guidance
• Undertake prescribing audits agreed with the GP Partners and implement improvements
• Support QOF medicines-related elements where relevant

11) Local guidelines, formulary and prescribing optimisation

Monitor prescribing against local formulary guidance and RAG lists, supporting adherence and recommending appropriate changes (including shared care and hospital-only medicines processes). Support practice learning via short briefings/bulletins where helpful.

12) Advice, education and team support

Respond to medicines-related queries from clinicians, staff, and patients. Provide education/training to the primary care team on therapeutics, medicines optimisation, and safer prescribing.

13) Governance, CQC and policy compliance

Work with the practice team to ensure compliance with CQC standards and internal policies where medicines are involved, including confidentiality, safeguarding, information governance, and health & safety.

Supervisory responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day supervision and task oversight of the Pharmacy Technician, including safe working processes, escalation pathways, and quality checking as appropriate.
• Support development, training, and standardisation of medicines workflow within the practice.

Professional development

• Maintain CPD and revalidation requirements in line with GPhC standards
• Participate in clinical supervision and practice meetings as required
• Contribute to service development and continuous improvement across the practice

Health and safety / risk management

• Comply with all health & safety, incident reporting, and information governance requirements
• Travel to off-site locations as required for the role (including the care home ward round)
• Be aware of exposure risks in clinical environments and follow appropriate procedures
• Involvement with shared care prescribing

Special working conditions

• Independent travel required between sites (practice and care home)
• Occasional attendance at meetings/training hosted externally

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Experience working as a Clinical Pharmacist in General Practice / Primary Care (or demonstrably equivalent setting with relevant transferable skills)
• Demonstrable experience completing Structured Medication Reviews (SMRs) including polypharmacy, frailty, multimorbidity and high-risk medicines
• Experience delivering medicines optimisation and deprescribing where clinically appropriate
• Experience supporting repeat prescribing processes (authorisations, reauthorisations, reviews, monitoring and safe systems)
• Experience working within a multidisciplinary team and communicating recommendations clearly to clinicians and non-clinical colleagues
• Experience using clinical judgement to manage risk, escalate appropriately, and maintain patient safety

Clinical systems & digital skills

Essential

• Confident and competent using EMIS Web including:
• oReviewing full clinical records, medication history, allergies, and acute/repeat templates
• oAdding clear, coded clinical notes and actions from SMRs and reviews
• oRunning and interpreting searches/audits relevant to medicines optimisation (or willingness to learn practice-specific reporting)
• oManaging tasks, workflows and repeat prescribing processes within EMIS
• Strong IT skills including MS Office (Outlook/Word/Excel) and ability to adapt to practice systems quickly

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
• Qualified Independent Prescriber (IP) with annotation on the GPhC register
• Evidence of ongoing CPD, revalidation, and professional development
• Right to work in the UK

Desirable

• Experience running minor ailments clinics in general practice (within agreed scope of practice)
• Experience undertaking care home ward rounds and supporting medicines systems (ordering, administration, MAR charts, waste reduction, etc.)
• Experience contributing to QOF medicines-related areas and prescribing quality improvement work
• Experience producing prescribing audits, implementing change, and evidencing outcomes
• Knowledge of local ICB prescribing processes, referral pathways, and medicines optimisation initiatives
• Additional relevant qualifications (e.g., CPPE primary care pathway elements, clinical examination/assessment skills, long-term condition diplomas)
• Experience of care home pharmacy support, including medication reviews and working collaboratively with care home staff (or clear evidence of relevant transferable experience)

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Alrewas Surgery

Address

Exchange Road

Alrewas

Burton-on-trent

Staffordshire

DE13 7AS

Employer's website

https://www.alrewassurgery.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)