PCN Residential Care and Nursing Homes Clinical Pharmacist

Job responsibilities

As a Residential Care/Nursing Home Pharmacist for the PCN, you will be the lead specialist responsible for the medication and structured medicines review for residential and nursing home residents and other high-risk patients. This role is for 30 hours. The postholder will facilitate regular MDTs in Residential/Nursing Homes, liaising with Residential & Nursing Homes, GP Practices, Community Pharmacies, Community Service Providers, Mental Health Service Providers, Secondary Care, and other stakeholders on a regular basis. You will be responsible for contributing to high quality prescribing across the PCN. You will contribute to the review of other high risk patient groups e.g., vulnerable patients residing in their own home.

Key duties and responsibilities as a Residential Care/Nursing Home Pharmacist for the PCN

The post holder will be responsible for leading the delivery of structured medication reviews and scheduling of regular MDTs in residential/nursing homes and to other high risk patients requiring review, liaising with all relevant stakeholders to:

Ensure that residents in residential and nursing homes, and their own home (as required) have a thorough medication review to

• ensure all prescribing is evidence-based and cost effective.
• discontinue inappropriate items.
• alter doses where necessary.
• initiate medication if required using prescribing qualification where clinically appropriate.
• ensure all appropriate monitoring is carried out.
• ensure appropriate referral to other services.

Provide a highly specialised medication review which will contribute to improved management of dementia, reduced falls, prevention of acute kidney injury and support a reduction in the appropriate prescribing of antibiotics.

Work with residential/nursing home staff to ensure the safer use of medication providing education and training where necessary.

Handle, order, ensure the safe storage and monitor the cost-effectiveness of prescription medicines and minimise wastage.

Schedule residential/nursing home visits to include a review of any issues with new admissions or patients returning from hospital, follow up MDT work and undertake general housekeeping work - i.e. removing items no longer needed, ensuring directions are clear, synchronising meds, adding and ordering meds, dealing with errors, minimising waste etc.

Manage queries regarding covert administration, which may involve comprehensive medication review, best interest decisions with relatives and completion of necessary paperwork.

Lead the review within residential and nursing homes of the ordering systems for medication to ensure they are robust and minimise wastage.

Lead the implementation and development of pathways, guidelines, etc.

Undertake risk management and ensuring compliance with medicines legislation on residential/nursing homes.

Knowledge

Essential

• In depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence-based healthcare
• Understanding of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing
• Understanding of Confidentiality and Data Protection Act

Desirable

• Knowledge of prescribing information including ePACT data and the EMIS EPR system
• Experience of Primary Care settings
• Experience of Familiar with the nature of Residential and Nursing Homes care settings

Competencies

Essential

• Clear communicator with excellent writing, data entry and presentation skills, capable of constructing and delivering clear information and instructions to staff and service users, capable of communicating highly complex and sensitive information in an understandable form to a variety of audiences e.g. patients and capable of producing timely and informative reports
• Ability to work under pressure in a busy working environment and able to multi-task
• Good interpersonal, influencing and negotiation skills. Capable of gaining acceptance for recommendations and influencing/motivating/persuading the audience to comply with the recommendations/agreed course of action where there can be significant barriers
• Ability to work with/analyse and interpret highly complex data with the ability to flex and re-prioritise as required to meet deadlines
• Ability to problem solve and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands
• Standard keyboard skills with experience in using word, excel, email and power point for publications, presentations and processing documents

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council
• Master's degree in pharmacy, MPharm
• Clinical Diploma or equivalent experience

Desirable

• Independent prescriber
• Completed CPPE Primary Care Pharmacist Education Pathway

Experience

Essential

• Significant post-qualification experience

Desirable

• Experience of analysing ePACT data
• Experience of working in a residential or nursing homes and conducting SMRs

Other

Essential

• Committed to continued professional development
• Ability to work effectively independently and as a team member
• Able to work on own initiative, organising and prioritising own and other workloads with minimal supervision to changing and often tight deadlines
• Must be able to use initiative to decide relevant actions and make recommendations to multiple audiences with the aim of improving deliverables and compliance with policies
• Accountable for own professional actions

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).