Clinical Pharmacist - PCN

Job description

Job responsibilities

Portsmouth South Coast PCN is made up of 2 member practices (Trafalgar Medical Group Practice and Craneswater Group Practice) and works closely with the wider locality to improve and enhance patient care.

The purpose of this role is:

The post holder will be responsible for encouraging the development of better understanding of the principals of medicines optimisation throughout the practice teams and promoting good practice in line with therapeutic developments. This will involve assisting the PCN in achieving national requirements, NICE implementation, and utilisation of medicine optimisation initiatives.

The post holder will need to liaise with hospital pharmacy teams, GP practices, local community pharmacists, social services, care homes and care agencies to ensure any continuing medicine management issues are addressed and managed throughout the patients care pathway e.g., from hospital stay through to discharge home.

The post holder will provide relevant information to patients/carers and staff on matters relating to medication.

The post holder will counsel patients on how to take their medicines and identify any barriers to them taking their medication.

The post holder will undertake face to face and person-centred consultations with the emphasis on shared decision making. This is a full time post working 37 hours per week, although part time will be considered.

The post holder will be required to work flexibly to meet the needs of the service and this role will include supporting patients in care homes and also home visits for housebound patients.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES

To be part of a multi-skilled primary care team in a patient facing role providing patient centred medical services based on patient needs with a focus on continuity of care.

Including:

Patient facing / telephone Clinical Structured Medication Reviews

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 and people with learning disabilities or autism Review the on-going need for each medication, ensuring monitoring needs are performed and use the opportunity to support patients achieve better health outcomes through shared decision-making conversations

Support patients to take their medications to get the best from them, reduce waste and promote selfcare

Make appropriate recommendations to prescribers

Promote safe disposal of medicines and recycling of inhaler Patient facing / video consultation Long-term Condition clinics

Help to set up pharmacist-run long term condition clinics particularly for patients with complicated medication regimes. This could include, but is not limited to:

Optimisation of blood pressure control utilising BP@Home where clinically appropriate.

Optimisation of lipids using nationally recognised pathways

Optimisation of diabetic control

Optimisation of medicines for Chronic Kidney disease

Undertake clinical medication reviews, formulate a medicines optimisation plan jointly with the patient/ carer and facilitate its implementation by working with other professionals, services and agencies as necessary

Support patients to wean from medications including opioids, gabapentinoids and antidepressants in line with national guidance.

Work with care home staff to improve safety of medicines ordering and administration. Medicines information

Take part in the Duty Pharmacist rota to answers relevant medicine-related enquiries from GPs, other practice staff, other healthcare teams (e.g. community pharmacy) and patients. Known as tasks and letters

Suggest and recommend solutions using clinical knowledge and trusted pharmaceutical sources

Medicine Reconciliation

Carry out medication reviews and reconciliation for all new patients and for patients whose care is transferred back into primary care. Medicines Management

Support initiatives for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing locally.

Support the Pharmacy team in to manage blood monitoring of High-Risk Drugs and DOACs across the PCN.

Provide specialist expertise in the use of medicines whilst helping to address both the public health and social care needs of patients at the PCNs practices and to help in tackling inequalities

Undertake and lead on any specific medicines optimisation-based projects/portfolio areas of work as may be required by the Pharmacy Team, e.g., diabetes medication, blood pressure optimisation, lipid lowering therapy Collaborating Working Relationships

Having a leadership role in supporting further integration of general practice with the wider healthcare teams (including community and hospital pharmacy) to help improve patient outcomes, ensure better access to healthcare and help manage general practice workload

Work collaboratively with ICB medicines management teams

Develop relationships and work closely with other pharmacy professionals within and across the PCN and 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, liaison with community pharmacists and anticoagulation

Explores the potential for collaborative working and takes opportunities to initiate and sustain such relationships Education and Training

Enrol in the NHS England CPPE Primary care pharmacy education program (if not already undertaken) and complete the 18-month course. This will be fully supported by the PCN, and time allocated for study days.

Complete the Independent Prescribing course (if not already undertaken)

Medicines optimisation Demonstrate self-development through continuous professional development

Develop a good working knowledge of the clinical systems used by the practices

Attend internal and external meetings and training courses, and supervision sessions with designated GP supervisor on a regular basis

Complete regular mandatory training

Provide clinical supervision for c pharmacy technicians in the PCN pharmacy team

Support the implementation of national prescribing policies and guidance within GP practices, care homes and other primary care settings. This will be achieved through undertaking clinical audits, supporting quality improvement measures and contributing to the Quality and Outcomes Framework and enhanced services.

Support the delivery of the pharmacy and medicines optimisation elements of the network service specifications within the Network Contract DES (Pharmacy Quality Scheme)

Help the GPs with reauthorising medication and repeat prescribing process and medication reviews. On the day medication queries from patients

Understand the role of CQC in General practice and adhere to practice policies.

Take part in significant event meetings and practice protected learning meetings. Service development

Work with GPs and Pharmacy Technicians to create processes and Standard Operating Procedures for use within the practice and pharmacy teams, which offer improvement in consistency and delivery of our services to patients.

Contribute pharmaceutical advice for the development and implementation of new services

Identify areas of good practice and help to disseminate across the PCN

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Pharmacy Degree.
• Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) registration.
• Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education primary care Pharmacy Education Pathway (PCPEP) qualification or working towards/willing to enrol.
• Can plan, manage, monitor, advise and review medication for patients in core areas, including long term conditions.
• An appreciation of NHS Agenda, national policies and government targets.

Desirable

• Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
• Postgraduate diploma in Clinical Pharmacy or equivalent experience.
• Relevant theoretical and practical knowledge of Primary Care Networks and General Practice.
• An understanding of the current PCN DES specifications.
• Registered non-medical prescriber.
• Awareness of GP budget management and funding systems to enable GP clinical pharmacist services to assist delivery of PCN and NHS priorities and requirements for financial balance and quality.
• Awareness of systems to support management of patients in a primary care setting, delivering pharmaceutical input and support in the context of pathways of care and the business of the organisations.

Experience

Essential

• Basic IT skills, normally obtained through practice or practical training.

Desirable

• Primary care experience.
• Recent experience of developing and implementing pharmaceutical care initiatives.
• Evidence of involvement in education and training of other professionals.
• A wide range of IT skills especially Microsoft 365 software and specifically Excel.
• Experience of working with clinical management systems, especially SystmOne.

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

Trafalgar Medical Group Practice

Address

25 Osborne Road

Southsea

Portsmouth

Hampshire

PO5 3ND

Employer's website

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