PCN Clinical Pharmacist

Job description

Job responsibilities

Primary Duties and Areas of Responsibility

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 GPs for medicines optimisation or actions as appropriate and commensurate with individual level of skill and competence.

Patient facing Clinical Medication Review

Undertake structured clinical medication reviews with patients and make appropriate recommendations to GPs for medicines optimisation or actions as appropriate and commensurate with individual level of skill and competence.

Patient facing care home medication reviews

Undertake structured clinical medication reviews with patients and make appropriate recommendations to GPs for medicines optimisation or actions as appropriate and commensurate with individual level of skill and competence. Work with care home staff to improve the safety of medicines ordering and administration.

Patient facing domiciliary clinical medication review

Undertake structured clinical medication reviews with patients and make appropriate recommendations to GPs for medicines optimisation or actions as appropriate and commensurate with individual level of skill and competence. Attend and refer patients to multidisciplinary case conferences.

Patient facing medicines support

Provide patient facing clinics for those with questions, queries and concerns about their medicines as appropriate and commensurate with individual level of skill and competence.

Telephone medicines support

Provide a telephone help line for patients with questions, queries and concerns about their medicines, as appropriate and commensurate with individual level of skill and competence.

Medicine information to practice staff and patients

Answer relevant 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. Provide 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 highrisk patient groups.

Management of medicines at discharge from hospital

Reconcile medicines following transfer of care including: 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 highrisk 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.

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 at PCN and GP Practice Population level.

Medicines quality improvement

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

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 Network 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 practice and PCN level information to contribute to the safe and efficient use of medicines.

Education and Training

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

Care Quality Commission

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

Public health

Support public health campaigns. Provide specialist knowledge on all public health programmes available to the general public. Support the PCN to improve and manage population health, focusing on reducing health inequalities and increasing healthy life expectancy.

Collaborative Working Relationships

Recognise the roles of other colleagues within the organisation and their role in patient care.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Good IT skills and literacy
• Experience of partnership/collaborative working and of building relationships across a variety of organisations

Desirable

• Previous experience of working in primary care, within a GP practice
• Experience of working with GP prescribing systems, other clinical systems, and Microsoft Office
• Evidence of conducting medication reviews

Qualifications

Essential

• Professional registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council
• CPPE completed
• Be a prescriber, or working towards or intending to become one within
• 2 years of start date

Desirable

• Post-graduate Clinical Diploma

Skills & Competencies

Essential

• Able to manage allocated resources (time, equipment, base location)
• Able to obtain and analyse complex technical information and data
• Demonstrate excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to recognise personal limitations and work with professional competencies
• Knowledge and understanding of pharmacy law and ethics, and current legislation surrounding medication-use

Desirable

• Understanding of the wider determinants of health, including social, economic and environmental factors and their impact on communities
• An appreciation of concepts associated with primary care prescribing including rational, cost-effective and quality improvement
• Able to plan, manage, monitor and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas
• Able to obtain and analyse complex technical information and 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).

Employer details

Employer name

Newbury Group Practice

Address

Fullwell Cross Health Centre

1 Tomswood Hill

Ilford

Essex

IG6 2HG

Employer's website

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