Clinical Pharmacist

Job responsibilities

Job Summary:

The post holder is a Clinical Pharmacist who acts within their professional boundaries, working alongside Wandsworth PCN's team of pharmacists in general practice within the wider PCN.

You will improve patients' health outcomes and the efficiency of the primary care team by providing direct, accessible and timely medication, advise and expertise including face to face contact with patients.

You will be an integral part of the general practice team, as well as part of a wider pharmacist network and multi-disciplinary team. This includes being a conduit of patient medicines information into and out of our local hospitals. You will work to optimise medication issues to improve patient care and safety and support clinical staff in the management of patients. You will also act as an ambassador for Wandsworth PCN's Pharmacy Service in forums within the PCN and beyond.

As part of your employment, you will be expected to achieve qualifications from an accredited training pathway, including independent prescribing, in order to be able to practice and prescribe safely and effectively in a primary care setting.

You will also receive supervision and mentorship directly from the lead clinical pharmacist and GP colleagues. You will also be expected to deputise for the lead clinical pharmacist when required.

You will be expected to identify and work within your professional boundaries seeking advice where appropriate.

Primary Key Responsibilities:

The following key responsibilities are based on those outlined in Annex B1 (pages 78-80) of the Network Contract DES Contract Specification 2025/26.

There may be, on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks, which will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels:

• Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient facing role to clinically assess and treat patients using their expert knowledge of medicines for specific disease areas;
• Be a prescriber, or complete training to become a prescriber, and work with and alongside general practice teams;
• Be responsible for the care management of patients with chronic diseases and undertake clinical medication reviews to proactively manage people with complex polypharmacy, especially the elderly, people in care homes, those with multiple co-morbidities (in particular frailty, COPD and asthma) and people with learning disabilities or autism (through STOMP);
• Provide specialist expertise in the use of medicines whilst helping to address both the public health and social care needs of patients at Wandsworth PCNs GP member practices and to help in tackling inequalities;
• Provide leadership on person-centred medicines optimisation (including ensuring prescribers in each practice conserve antibiotics in line with local antimicrobial stewardship guidance) and quality improvement, whilst contributing to the quality and outcomes framework and enhanced services;
• Through structured medication reviews, support patients to take their medications to get the best from them, reduce waste and promote self-care;
• Have a leadership role in supporting further integration of general practice with the wider healthcare team (including community and hospital pharmacy) to help improve patient outcomes, ensure better access to healthcare and help manage general practice workload;
• Develop relationships and work closely with other pharmacy professionals across the wider health and social care system;
• Take a central role in the clinical aspects of shared care protocols, clinical research with medicines, liaison with specialist pharmacists (including mental health and the reduction of inappropriate anti-psychotic use in people with learning difficulties), community pharmacists and anti-coagulation;
• Be part of a professional clinical network and have access to appropriate clinical supervision;
• Act as the point of contact for all medicine related matters, establishing positive working relationships;
• Consult patients within defined levels of competence and independently prescribe acute and repeat medication;
• Receive referrals and patients directed from triage services and other clinicians;
• Receive and resolve medicines queries from patients and other staff;
• Provide medication review services for patients in the practice and during domiciliary visits to the local nursing home;
• Manage a caseload of complex patients;
• Manage a therapeutic drug monitoring system and the recall of patients taking high risk drugs, i.e, anticoagulants, anticonvulsants and DMARDs etc;
• Deliver long-term conditions clinics and provide home visits, particularly for patients with complicated medication regimes, and prescribe accordingly;
• Provide pharmaceutical consultations to patients with long-term conditions as an integral part of the multidisciplinary team;
• Review medications for newly registered patients;
• Improve patient and carers' understanding of and confidence in medication compliance;
• Maintain accurate clinical records in conjunction with extant legislation;
• Encourage cost-effective prescribing throughout the PCN;
• Implement and embed a robust repeat prescribing system;
• Provide advice and answer medication related queries from patients and staff;
• Organise and oversee Wandsworth PCN's medicines optimisation systems including the repeat prescribing and medication review systems;
• Improve the quality and effectiveness of prescribing through clinical audit and education to improve performance against NICE standards and clinical and prescribing guidance;
• Develop yourself and the role of the clinical pharmacist through participation in clinical supervision, training and service redesign activities;
• Ensure the safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs;
• Apply infection control measures within the PCN according to local and national guidelines;
• Provide knowledge and expertise on medication monitoring, implementing and embedding safer systems;
• Support clinicians with the management of patients suffering from drug and alcohol dependencies;
• Actively signpost patients to the correct healthcare professional;
• Manage a caseload of complex patients and provide advice for PCN GPs concerning the management of more complex patients or areas such as addictive behaviours, severe mental illness or end of life care;
• Review the latest local/national guidance to ensure that Wandsworth PCN conforms to NICE, CQC etc;
• Provide targeted support and proactive reviews for vulnerable, complex patients and those at risk of admission and re-admission to secondary care;
• Handle prescription queries and requests directly;
• Provide proactive leadership on medicines and prescribing systems to the PCN, our patients and their carers;
• Support the delivery of enhanced services and other service requirements on behalf of Wandsworth PCN;
• Participate in the management of patient complaints when requested to do so and participate in the identification of any necessary learning brought about through clinical incidents and near-miss events;
• Undertake all mandatory training and induction programmes;
• Contribute to and embrace the spectrum of clinical governance;
• Attend a formal appraisal with your manager at least every 12 months. Once a performance/training objective has been set, progress will be reviewed on a regular basis so that new objectives can be agreed;
• Contribute to public health campaigns (e.g, COVID-19 or flu clinics) through advice or direct care;
• Maintain a clean, tidy and effective working area at all times.

Secondary Responsibilities:

In addition to the primary responsibilities, the Clinical Pharmacist may be requested to:

• Support the delivery of QOF, incentive schemes, QIPP and other quality or cost-effectiveness initiatives;
• Agree and review prescribing formularies and protocols and monitor compliance levels;
• Improve the data quality of medicines records and linking to conditions;
• Deliver training, mentoring and guidance to other clinicians and staff on medicine issues;
• Work in partnership with pharmacists and clinicians at St Georges and Chelsea and Westminster hospital(s), to improve the safety and quality of prescribing after discharge from hospital admissions and attendance;
• Provide leadership and support to reception/administrative staff processing repeat prescription requests;
• Produce pharmacy/prescribing newsletters or bulletins on a quarterly basis;
• Develop a specialist area of interest;
• Work with community pharmacists, hospital pharmacists and other stakeholders in the medicines supply chain to improve patient experience and manage incidents;
• Support virtual and remote models of consultation, including e-consultations, remote medication reviews, telehealth and telemedicine;
• Undertake any tasks consistent with the level of the post and the scope of the role, ensuring that work is delivered in a timely and effective manner.

Duties may vary from time to time without changing the general character of the post or the level of responsibility.

Experience

Essential

• - Minimum of two years working as a clinical pharmacist demonstrated within a practice portfolio;
• - An appreciation of the nature of GPs and general practice;
• - An appreciation of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing;
• - Experience in managing pharmacy services in primary care;
• - Experience and an awareness of common acute and chronic conditions that are likely to be seen in general practice;
• - An appreciation of the new NHS landscape including the relationships between individual practices, PCNs and the commissioners.
• - Broad knowledge of general practice.

Desirable

• -- In-depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence-based healthcare;
• - Understanding of the mentorship process;

Knowledge and skills

Essential

• -Ability to communicate complex and sensitive information effectively with people at all levels by telephone, email and face to face;
• - Excellent interpersonal, influencing, negotiation and organisational skills with the ability to constructively challenge the view and practices of managers and clinicians;
• - Knowledge of IT systems, including ability to use word processing skills, emails and the internet to create simple plans and reports;
• - Clear, polite telephone manner;
• - Ability to promote best practice regarding all pharmaceutical matters;
• - Effective time management (planning and organising);
• - Demonstrate personal accountability, emotional resilience and work well under pressure;
• - Evidence of CPD

Desirable

• - Ability to plan, manage, monitor, advise and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long term condition;
• - Good clinical system IT knowledge of EMIS.

Personal Qualities

Essential

• - Ability to follow legal, ethical, professional and organisational policies/procedures and codes of conduct;
• - Ability to use own initiative, discretion and sensitivity;
• - Able to get along with people from all backgrounds and communities, respecting lifestyles and diversity;
• - Flexible and cooperative;
• - Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when working with individuals;
• - Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations;
• - Able to provide leadership and to finish work tasks;
• - Problem solving and analytical skills;
• - Ability to maintain confidentiality;
• - Knowledge of and ability to work to policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance and health and safety.

Qualifications

Essential

• - The Clinical Pharmacist is enrolled in, or has qualified from, an approved 18-month training pathway or equivalent that equips the Clinical Pharmacist to:
• a) be able to practice and prescribe safely and effectively in a primary care setting (for example, the CPPE Clinical Pharmacist training pathways);
• b) deliver the key responsibilities outlined in section B1 (pages 78-80) of the Network Contract DES Contract Specification 2025/26.
• - GPhC registered pharmacist
• - Hold a GPhC independent prescribing qualification

Desirable

• - Minor ailments certification;
• - Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society;
• - Working towards faculty membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society;

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).