PCN Clinical Pharmacist

Job responsibilities

• Long term condition clinics-Review patients with single or multiple medical problems where medicine optimisation is required, based on clinical competence (e.g. COPD, asthma, depression and frailty). Review the ongoing need for each medicine, a review of monitoring needs and an opportunity to support patients with their medicines taking ensuring they get the best use of their medicines (i.e. medicines optimisation). Instigate changes and liaise with GP.
• Clinical medication review -Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients, instigate changes and liaise with GP. This would include reviews of those patients on the Serious Mental Health Register.

• Care home medication reviews - Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and instigate changes and liaise with GP. Work with care home staff to improve safety of medicines ordering and administration to comply with the Enhanced Health in Care Homes (EHCH) specification in the DES.

• Domiciliary clinical medication review - Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients, instigate changes and liaise with GP. Attend and refer patients to multidisciplinary team (MDT) case conferences.

• Management of common/minor/self-limiting ailments-Management of common/minor/self-limiting ailments presenting to general practice. Managing a 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 referring to other healthcare professionals where appropriate.

• Telephone medicines support -Provide a telephone helpline for patients with questions or queries.

• Medicine information to practice staff and patients - Answer relevant medicine-related enquiries from GPs, other practice staff, other healthcare teams (e.g. community pharmacy) and patients with queries about medicines via triage and eConsult. Suggesting and recommending solutions. Providing follow up for patients to monitor the effect of any changes.

• Management of medicines at discharge from hospital -Reconcile medicines following discharge from hospitals, intermediate care and into 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).

• Repeat prescribing-Manage the repeat prescribing reauthorisation process by reviewing patient requests for repeat prescriptions and reviewing medicines reaching review dates and flagging up those needing a review. Ensure patients have appropriate monitoring tests in place when required.

• Prescribing and quality improvement schemes - Support delivery of QOF, IIF, incentive schemes, QIPP and other quality or cost effectiveness initiatives. Work collaboratively with the ICB medicines optimisation team, to promote local best practice guidelines. Record and report any activity undertaken to demonstrate the cost and/or clinical benefit. Support the implementation of local and national prescribing policies and guidance within GP practices, care homes and other primary care settings.

• 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).

• Shared care agreements -Maintain a central role in the clinical aspects of shared care protocols and liaise with specialists for more complex patients.

• Information Management -Analyse, interpret and present medicines data to highlight issues and risks to support decision-making. Build and run EMIS reports to identify/stratify patients for review (e.g. for medication review/SMR, or in response to a medication shortage or recall).

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

• Care Quality Commission (CQC) -Work with both the general practice team and PCN team to ensure compliance with CQC standards, where medicines are involved.

• Public health -To support public health campaigns. 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 practice(s) and to help in tackling inequalities.

• General -Clinical pharmacists may be required to 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.

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

Leadership & Professional Responsibilities-

The Clinical Pharmacist must:

• Work independently within the objectives and organisational priorities that have been agreed with the PCN and GP practice(s).
• Attend and participate at GP practice meetings, ICB medicines optimisation meetings, pharmacy monthly and quarterly meetings. Deputising for the Lead Clinical Pharmacist(s) or the Clinical Pharmacy Service Manager as required.
• Provide education and training to primary healthcare team on therapeutics and medicines optimisation.
• Assist the Clinical Pharmacy Service Manager in ensuring medicines-related policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs) are up-to-date and appropriately implemented.
• Plan and organise own workload, including audit and project work, and any training sessions to be delivered.
• Maintain own GPhC registration as a Pharmacist, ensuring the required continuing professional development (CPD) and revalidation and renewal is completed annually.
• Act as a professional in their own right, accountable for their own professional actions, and in line with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) standards for pharmacy professionals.

Experience

Desirable

• Experience working in a primary care setting.
• Understanding and knowledge of healthcare provision in GP practices, QOF and enhanced services.
• An appreciation of the new NHS landscape including the relationships between individual practices, PCNs and the commissioners.
• Good knowledge of clinical system IT (EMIS).
• Experience of multidisciplinary team (MDT) working.

Qualifications

Essential

• Masters degree in pharmacy (MPharm) (or equivalent)
• Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
• Extensive knowledge of specialist areas, acquired through post graduate diploma or equivalent experience or training, plus further specialist knowledge or experience to Masters level equivalent.
• Enrolled in, undertaking or qualified from, an approved training pathway. For example, the CPPE Primary Care Pharmacy Educational Pathway (PCPEP), or, the CPPE Medicines Optimisation in Care Homes (MOCH), or, willingness to complete the CPPE Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway (PCPEP).
• Be an Independent Prescriber or be working towards/intent of gaining an Independent Prescriber qualification.
• Evidence of post qualification and continuing professional development (CPD).
• Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check.

Skills, personal qualities, and other

Essential

• Excellent interpersonal, influencing and negotiating skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to communicate complex and sensitive information effectively. with people at all levels by telephone, email and face to face.
• Good personal organisational skills.
• Demonstrate personal accountability, emotional resilience and work well under pressure.
• 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.
• Reliable, self- motivated, hardworking, honest, pleasant and approachable.
• Able 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.
• Able to obtain and analyse complex technical information
• Ability to understand a broad range of complex information quickly and make decisions referring to a GP when necessary.
• Able to work under pressure and to meet deadlines.
• Produce timely and informative reports.
• Gain acceptance for recommendations and influence/motivate/ persuade the audience to comply with the recommendations/agreed course of action where there may be significant barriers.
• Work effectively independently and as a team member.
• Demonstrates accountability for delivering professional expertise and service provision.

Desirable

• Access to own transport and ability to travel across the locality, including to visit people in their own home.

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).