Clinical Pharmacist

Job responsibilities

Job Summary

The post holder will work as part of a friendly, motivated, multi-disciplinary team in a patient-facing role and will take responsibility for areas of chronic disease management. They will also be required to undertake structured medication reviews to proactively manage patients with complex polypharmacy and those with multiple co-morbidities.

The post holder will also provide primary support to general practice staff with regards to prescription and medication queries. They will deal with acute prescription requests, medicines reconciliation on transfer of care and systems for safer prescribing, providing expertise in clinical medicines advice while addressing both public and social care needs of the patient.

The post holder will also provide support on medicines optimisation and quality improvement programmes.

The post Holder will need to demonstrate an understanding of current educational policies relevant to working areas of practice and keep up to date with relevant clinical practice.

The post holder will maintain constructive relationships with a wide range of practice and PCN staff. The role is pivotal to improving the quality of care and operational efficiencies so requires motivation and passion to deliver excellent service within general practice.

Duties of the Role

Patient facing Clinical Medication Review

Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and work within your scope of practice as to implement any necessary changes (or produce recommendations for/refer to other prescribing pharmacists, nurses and/or GPs to implement, if outside your scope).

Medicines quality improvement

Undertake clinical audits of prescribing in areas identified internally by the Advanced Practitioner Clinical Pharmacist and practice team and externally by quality scheme contractual requirements, feedback the results and implement changes in conjunction with the relevant practice team.

Medicines safety

Implement changes to medicines that result from MHRA alerts, product withdrawal and other local and national guidance.

Management of common/minor/self-limiting ailments

Managing caseload of patients with common/minor/self-limiting ailments while working within a scope of practice and limits of competence. Signposting to community pharmacy and referrals to relevant healthcare professionals where appropriate.

Patient facing medicines support.

Provide patient facing clinics for those with questions, queries, and concerns about their medicines in the practice.

Telephone medicines support

Provide a telephone help line for patients with questions, queries, and concerns about their medicines.

Management of medicines at change of care setting

Reconcile medicines following discharge from hospital or admission to intermediate care or 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 high-risk groups of patients (e.g. those with medicine compliance aids or those in Care Homes).

Medicine information to practice staff and patients

Answer relevant medicine-related enquiries from GPs, Nurses, Paramedics and other PCN network staff, other healthcare teams (e.g. community pharmacy) and patients with queries about medicines. Suggest and recommend solutions. Providing follow up for patients to monitor the effect of any changes.

Drug monitoring

Ensure robust systems are in place for drug monitoring at each practice, streamlining these where possible.

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.

Repeat prescribing

Ensure each practice has a robust repeat prescribing policy. You may be asked to contribute to the repeat prescribing reauthorisation process by reviewing patient requests for repeat prescriptions and reviewing medicines reaching review dates. Ensure patients have appropriate monitoring in place when required.

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).

Professional development

Demonstrate self-development through continuous professional development activity e.g. participation in CPPE course or prescribing course, linking in with GP Mentor.

Work with Advanced Practitioner Clinical Pharmacist to access regular clinical supervision.

Review yearly progress and develop clear plans to achieve results within priorities set by others.

Participate in the delivery of formal education programmes.

Demonstrate an understanding of current educational policies relevant to working areas of practice and keep up to date with relevant clinical practice.

Note: This job description is not intended to form part of the contract of employment or to be a complete list of duties and responsibilities, but it is a guide, for information, to the job. It will be periodically reviewed in the light of developing work requirements in the role. The post holder will participate in the review.

Skills and Capabilities

Essential

• Demonstrates the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information in an understandable form to a variety of audiences in depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence-based healthcare.
• Understanding of the wider determinants of health, including social, economic, and environmental factors and their impact on communities
• An appreciation of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing Knowledge of IT systems, including ability to use word processing skills, emails, and the internet to create simple plans and reports Able to plan, manage, monitor, and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long term conditions.
• Able to obtain and analyse complex technical information.
• Able to identify and resolve risk management issues according to policy/protocol.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and trust and awareness of information governance and data protection.

Experience

Essential

• Qualified pharmacist demonstrated within a practice portfolio.
• Experience and an awareness of the breadth of common acute and long-terms conditions that are likely to be seen in general practice.
• Demonstrates ability to integrate general practice with community and hospital pharmacy teams and community groups.
• Experience of partnership/collaborative working and of building relationships across a variety of organisations.
• Understanding of prescribing audits

Qualifications

Essential

• Mandatory registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council
• Completion of an undergraduate degree in pharmacy.
• Commitment to continuing professional development

Desirable

• Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy
• Hold or working towards an independent prescribing qualification.

Communication Skills

Essential

• Ability to utilise a range of communication methods.
• The ability to build relationships at all levels.
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Able to handle conflict respecting other values and opinions

Bheaviours

Essential

• Inspirational, with ability to motivate a team.
• Flexible, positive, problem-solving approach.
• Ability to work autonomously and within a team.
• Professional & patient focused, with a strong commitment to providing high quality care.
• Able to work and remain calm and polite under pressure.
• Flexible and adaptable, able to work all shifts Demonstrate a personal commitment to optimising a high standard of patient care

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).