Job responsibilities
To carry out clinical medication reviews and communicate recommendations to prescribers to ensure identified improvements in quality and value are achieved
Communicate advice to patients and staff, ensuring patients and families are able to be involved in decisions, practicing patient centred care who on occasions may be resistant to change on subjects which are often of a very sensitive nature
Assess and identify problems with patient concordance including practical issues with taking medications for specific patient groups. e.g. manual dexterity, visual impairment, cognitive impairment, swallowing difficulties.
Liaise with other healthcare professionals to find appropriate solutions where conflicting opinions may exist
Provide expert pharmaceutical input into safeguarding incidences relating to medicines in care homes where appropriate
Work on individual projects relating to prescribing as required, for example development and delivery of training packages to relevant audiences (e.g. Nonmedical prescribers, staff etc.) and development of policies, protocols and procedures
Answers relevant medicine-related enquiries from GPs, other practice staff, other healthcare teams (e.g. community pharmacy) and patients with queries about medicines.
Suggesting and recommending solutions.
Providing follow up for patients to monitor the effect of any changes
Review the use of medicines most commonly associated with unplanned hospital admissions and readmissions through audit and individual patient reviews.
Put in place changes to reduce the prescribing of these medicines to highrisk patient groups.
To 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 highrisk groups of patients (e.g. those with medicine compliance aids).
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.
Identification of cohorts of patients at high risk of harm from medicines through pre-prepared practice computer searches. This might include risks that are patient related, medicine related, or both.
Contribute pharmaceutical advice for the development and implementation of new services that have medicinal components
Develop and implement prescribing audits and protocols
Develop policies and procedures in own work function with an impact on the wider organisation, as required.
Assist prescribers in achieving evidencebased, cost effective prescribing
Assist with the implementation and monitoring of medicines management targets and initiatives, including national prescribing targets
Devise and provide improvements to current management of information; analysing, reporting and suggesting procedures to enhance decision making processes
Ensure timely and accurate information analysis and reporting to management on agreed areas of work
Utilise and support robust systems to keep electronic records of reviews and issues arising to identify trends and develop quality initiatives and action plans, including audits, where appropriate
Contribute to regular reports detailing evidence of transformation and delivery of the EHCH agenda
Analyse, interpret and present medicines data to highlight issues and risks to support decision making.
Implement changes to medicines that result from MHRA alerts, product withdrawal and other local and national guidance.
Provide education and training to the primary healthcare team on prescribing/medicines optimisation issues
Work with care homes and general practice teams to ensure is compliance with CQC standards where medicines are involved.
To support public health campaigns.
To provide specialist knowledge on all public health programmes available to the general public.
Maintain constructive relationships with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders.
Liaise with CQC, Providers, Care homes and commissioning teams in relation to care homes and other medicines management areas when required; identifying and supporting any work programmes to address relevant care home issues arising and ensure alignment
Work with general practices, community pharmacies and care homes to implement robust systems relating to repeat prescribing (including electronic repeat dispensing e-RD) services, ensuring they are optimised in relation to care homes and minimising waste
Participate in relevant internal and external working groups/projects, services and initiatives to provide, information and analytical advice and expertise.
Present information and issues, explaining highly complex issues, to a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
Recognise the roles of other colleagues and their role to patient care
Use appropriate communication to gain the co-operation of relevant stakeholders (including patients, senior and peer colleagues, and other professionals, other NHS/private organisations)
Demonstrate ability to work as a member of a team
Recognise personal limitations and refer to more appropriate colleague(s) when necessary
Foster and maintain strong links with all services
Explores the potential for collaborative working and takes opportunities to initiate and sustain such relationships
Liaises with other stakeholders as needed for the collective benefit of patients
Knowledge, Skills and Experience Required
Completion of an undergraduate degree in pharmacy and registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council
Minimum of 2 years experience as a pharmacist, demonstrated within a practice portfolio.
Have experience and an awareness of elderly medicine and the common acute and long-term conditions that are likely to be seen in care homes
May hold or be working towards an independent prescribing qualification.
Recognises priorities when problem-solving and identifies deviations from normal pattern and is able to refer to seniors or GPs when appropriate
Able to follow legal, ethical, professional and organisational policies/procedures and codes of conduct
Involves patients in decisions about prescribed medicines and supporting adherence as per NICE guidelines.
NB: it is anticipated level of qualification held may vary according to the level of position and the components of the role being carried out, see person specification for details.
Demonstrate understanding of the pharmacy role in governance and is able to implement this appropriately within the workplace.
Demonstrate understanding of, and contributes to, the workplace vision
Demonstrates ability to improve quality within limitations of service
Reviews yearly progress and develops clear plans to achieve results within priorities set by others.
Demonstrate ability to motivate self to achieve goals
Promotes diversity and equality in people management techniques and leads by example.
Demonstrate understanding of the implications of national priorities for the team and/or service
Demonstrate understanding of the process for effective resource utilisation
Demonstrate understanding of, and conforms to, relevant standards of practice
Demonstrates ability to identify and resolve risk management issues according to policy/protocol
Follows professional and organisational policies/procedures relating to performance management
Manages other pharmacy team members as appropriate
Demonstrate ability to extend boundaries of service delivery within the team
Understands and demonstrates the characteristics of a role model to members in the team and/or service
Demonstrates understanding of the mentorship process
Demonstrates ability to conduct teaching and assessment effectively according to a learning plan with supervision from more experience colleague
Demonstrates self-development through continuous professional development activity; working alongside senior clinical pharmacist to identifying areas to develop
Participates in the delivery of formal education programmes
Demonstrates an understanding of current educational policies relevant to working areas of practice and keeps up to date with relevant clinical practice
Ensures appropriate clinical supervision is in place to support development
Enrolled into review and appraisal systems within the organisation
The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the federation as part of this employment
The post holder must undertake the CPPE Primary Care training pathway program.
Demonstrates ability to critically evaluate and review literature
Demonstrates ability to identify where there is a gap in the evidence base to support practice
Demonstrates ability to generate evidence suitable for presentations at practice and local level
Demonstrates ability to apply research evidence base into working place
Demonstrates understanding of principles of research governance.
