Senior Clinical Pharmacist

Job description

Job responsibilities

JOB SUMMARY:

Supporting the overarching Lakeside Healthcare strategy and service delivery, the Senior PCN Clinical

Pharmacist will have previous experience of working in primary care to develop and implementmedicines management services in primary care.

The role is pivotal to improving the quality of care and operational efficiencies so requires motivationand passion to deliver excellent service within general practice. The post holder will workcollaboratively with a range of multidisciplinary teams to meet the needs of patients, support thedelivery of policies and procedures, and provide pharmacy leadership across our Primary CareNetworks (PCN).

The Senior PCN Clinical Pharmacist will perform structured medication reviews, oversee the repeatprescription authorisation process, manage acute prescription requests, conduct medicinesreconciliation at transfer of care, and lead on the implementation of systems for safer prescribing within the PCN. The Senior PCN Clinical Pharmacist will also be expected to manage one or more areasof chronic disease.

In addition to the clinical responsibilities outlined above, the Senior PCN Clinical Pharmacist will berequired to mentor and develop a pharmacy team of differing abilities to meet the strategic objectivesfor medicines management within Lakeside Healthcare.

To work at this level, the post holder will be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council(GPhC), be an independent prescriber, and ideally hold a postgraduate diploma in clinical pharmacy.

The post holder will also have a minimum of 2 years of leadership and management experience withinprimary care and understand the challenges and opportunities of working in a super-practice and itsassociated Primary Care Networks.

In summary, the post holder is an experienced Clinical Pharmacist who understands the expectationsof a medicines management team within general practice, is able to manage, mentor and developpharmacists and technicians, acts within their professional boundaries, ensures that the PCNintegrates with community and hospital pharmacy to help utilise skill mix, is keen on implementingmedicines safety initiatives, strives to improve patient access to healthcare, and is passionate about reducing the medicines related GP workload.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Chronic Disease Management

Independently manage or signpost patients with single or multiple medical problems wheremedicine optimisation is required (e.g. COPD, asthma).

Medication Safety Reviews

Undertake medication safety reviews of medical notes to ensure repeat prescribing is safe, and arrange relevant monitoring where required.

Structured Medication Reviews

Undertake Structured Medication Reviews in-line with the PCN DES and implement ownprescribing changes as an independent prescriber.

Partake in MDTs to develop and implement pharmaceutical care plans.

Management of common/minor/self-limiting ailments

Manage a caseload of patients with common/minor/self-limiting ailments while workingwithin a scope of practice and limits of competence.

Signposting to community pharmacy and referring to GPs or other healthcare professionalswhere appropriate.

Medication Queries

Provide face to face/virtual clinics for patients with medication queries.

Acute Prescription Requests

Manage acute prescription requests from patients and sign prescriptions for a broad range ofdrugs as an independent prescriber.

Medicine Information to practice staff and patients

Answers relevant medicine related enquiries from GPs, other practice staff, other healthcareteams (e.g. community pharmacy) and patients with queries about medicines.

Unplanned hospital admissions

Review the use of medicines most commonly associated with unplanned hospital admissionsand re-admissions through audit and individual patient reviews.

Put in place changes to reduce the prescribing of these medicines to high-risk patient groups

Medicines Reconciliation

Reconcile medicines following discharge from hospitals, intermediate care and into carehomes, including identifying and rectifying unexplained changes and working with patientsand community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need.

Set up and/or manage systems to ensure continuity of medicines supply to high-risk groupsof patients (e.g. those with medicine compliance aids or those in care homes).

Service development

Provide pharmaceutical advice for the development and implementation of new servicesthat have medicinal components (e.g. advice on treatment pathways and patient informationleaflets)

Medicines Safety/Quality

Identify national and local policy and guidance related to medicines that affects patientsafety. Implement changes to medicines that result from MHRA alerts, product withdrawaland other local and national guidance.

Undertake clinical audits of prescribing in areas directed by the CCG and the LHG audit

programme, and implement changes in conjunction with the practice team.

To ensure the processes for monitoring high-risk drugs is effective within the PCN.

Implementation of local and national guidelines and formulary recommendations

Monitor practice prescribing against the local health economys formulary and guidelines andmake recommendations to GPs for medicines that should be prescribed by hospital doctors(red drugs) or subject to shared care (amber drugs).

Audit practices compliance against NICE technology assessment guidance.

Leadership and Management

Line-manage a team of Pharmacist and Pharmacy Technicians

Provide clinical mentoring and supervision for PCN Pharmacists and Technicians

Support the development of new pharmacists and technicians to ensure they integrate intothe clinical teams and work within their competence whilst also developing their scope ofpractice.

Operating arrangements:

Responsibility for one or more sites dependent upon patient list size.

Based across one or more sites with the opportunity to work remotely from other sites

This is an evolving role and the responsibilities may augment over time in consultation withthe post-holder

From time to time the post-holder may be required to work from other sites

Other Tasks

Duties may be varied from time to time under the direction of the line manager dependenton current and evolving practice workload and staffing levels.

Other administration and professional responsibilities:

Participate in the administrative and professional responsibilities of the practice team

Ensure appropriate items of service claims are made accurately, reporting any problems to thepractice administrator.

Ensure collection and maintenance of any required statistical information.

Attend and participate in practice meetings as required.

Training and personal development:

Maintain professional registration with the GPhC.

If it is necessary to expand the role to include additional responsibilities, full training will begiven.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Registration with the GPhC
• Independent Prescribing

Desirable

• Membership with the Primary Care Pharmacy Association
• Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
• Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy
• MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice (or working towards)

Experience

Essential

• Minimum of 2 years of leadership and management experience in primary care
• Minimum of 5 years of post-registration experience
• Experience of working as a pharmacist in General Practice
• Understands the importance of working efficiently to ensure equitable access for patients
• A thorough understanding of the nature of primary care
• prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing
• Excellent interpersonal, influencing and negotiating skills

Desirable

• Experience of working as a pharmacist across Secondary Care
• An understanding of the nature of a super-practice in relation to Primary Care Networks.

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

Lakeside Healthcare Group

Address

Lakeside Healthcare

Ryhall Road

Stamford

Lincolnshire

PE9 1YA

Employer's website

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