PCN Clinical Pharmacist

Job description

Job responsibilities

• Provide expertise in clinical medicines review and address public health and social needs of patients in the Practice.

• Reduce inappropriate polypharmacy and wasteful prescribing through clinical medication review.

• Reconcile medicines following hospital discharge and work with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge.

• Contribute to reductions in medicine related hospital admissions and readmissions by supporting patients to get the best outcomes from their medicines and identifying and addressing medicines related issues.

• Interface with community and hospital pharmacy colleagues and develop referral processes between primary care professionals including the promotion of the repeat dispensing service.

• Oversee and support the dispensary function of the Practice.

• Oversee the repeat prescribing reauthorisation process, including reviewing requests for repeat prescriptions and medicines reaching review dates.

• Manage patients and health care professionals medicine queries.

• Increase quality and safety of prescribing through mechanisms such as audit and PDSA (PLAN DO STUDY ACT) cycles.

• Manage practice formularies to improve the quality, safety, and cost effectiveness of prescribing.

• Implement drug withdrawals and alerts e.g. ,MHRA, aimed at improving medicines safety.

• Work with primary care professionals and patients to implement NICE and other evidence-based guidelines.

• Work with Commissioning organisations and Vertis Health to comply with local medicines optimisation schemes and projects.

• Support and hold clinics where medicines are the main interventions e.g., asthma clinics.

• Contribute to multi-morbidity reviews and multidisciplinary reviews.

• Provide medicines information and training to Practice healthcare professionals and admi staff.

• Review daily Pathology results for patients on known medicines.

• Act as a source of medicines information for all the practice team and patients (e.g. ,around doses, side effects, adverse events, possible alternatives e.g., around out of stocks)

• Ultimately to undertake minor ailments triage, deal with minor ailments and triaging patients appropriately.

• Working within the practice-based team to undertake medication reviews particularly in high-risk groups such as:

- Frail elderly

-Polypharmacy

- Renal impairment

- Hepatic impairment

- Asthma, diabetes, hypertension and Rheumatoid and Dmard drug monitoring

- Substance misuse

- Patients on high-risk medicines

- STOPP/START identified patients

- Revolving door Hospital admissions

• Management support for the dispensary including profit ability and stock control; negotiations with drug company representatives and wholesalers; and organisational management including review of SOPS (Standard Operating Procedures) and compliance issues.

• Ensure the Practice continues to participate in, and meet the requirements of, the local DSQS (Dispensing Services Quality Scheme)

• Improve prescribing practice through educational support for all prescribers within the practice.

• Lead on where changes in evidence require changes in prescribing across the patient population ,e.g., where a drug is withdrawn or indications change.

• Liaise with colleagues in community pharmacy to align support for medicines adherence such as MUR (Medication Use Reviews) and NMS (New Medicine Service).

• Support improvements in clinical care through practice-based audit and implementing change.

• Prescribing advice to prescribers in practice e.g., temporary non-availability of drugs.

• Ensure patient safety when they are transferred between care providers through reconciliation of prescribed medicines.

• Lead for medicines optimisation scheme compliance, including care home support; discharge reviews; medication reviews; and QIPP.

• Demonstrates general pharmaceutical skills and knowledge in core areas.

• Can plan, manage, monitor, advise and review general pharmaceutical care programmes for patients in core areas, including disease states / long term conditions identified by local Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment.

• Demonstrates accountability for delivering professional expertise and direct service provision as an individual.

• Demonstrates ability to use skills in a range of routine situations requiring analysis or comparison of a range of options.

• Recognises priorities when problem-solving and identifies deviations from the normal pattern and can refer to seniors or GPs when appropriate.

• Can 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.

Collaborative Working Relationships

• Recognises the roles of other colleagues within the organisation and their role in patient care.

• Demonstrates use of appropriate communication to gain the co-operation of relevant stakeholders (including patients, senior and peer colleagues, and other professionals, other NHS/private organisations e.g., ICBs)

• Demonstrates ability to work as a member of a team.

• Can recognise personal limitations and refer to more appropriate colleague(s) when necessary.

• Liaises with ICB colleagues including ICB pharmacists on prescribing related matters to ensure consistency of patient care and benefit.

• Liaise with ICB pharmacists and Heads of Medicines Management/Optimisation to benefit from peer support.

• Liaise with other GP Practices and staff as needed for the collective benefit of patients.

Leadership

• Demonstrates understanding of the pharmacy role in governance and can implement this appropriately within the workplace.

• Demonstrates understanding of, and contributes to, the workplace / practice vision.

• Demonstrates ability to improve quality within limitations of service.

• Reviews last years progress and develops clear plans to achieve results within set priorities.

• Demonstrates ability to motivate self to achieve goals.

Management

• Demonstrates understanding of the implications of national priorities for the team and/or service.

• Demonstrates understanding of the process for effective resource utilisation.

• Demonstrates 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.

• Demonstrates ability to extend boundaries of service delivery within the team.

Education, Training and Development

• Understands and demonstrates the characteristics of a role model to members of their team.

• Demonstrates understanding of the mentorship process.

• Demonstrates ability to conduct teaching and assessment effectively according to a learning plan with supervision from a more experienced colleague.

• Demonstrates self-development through continuous professional development activity.

• 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.

Research and Evaluation

• 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 presentation at local level.

• Demonstrates ability to apply the research evidence base into working practice.

• Demonstrates understanding of the principles of research governance.

• Demonstrates ability to work as a member of the research team.

Confidentiality:

• While seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately.

• In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder will have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source, and held in any format, is to be regarded as strictly confidential.

• Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.

Communication:

The post-holder should recognise the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:

• Communicate effectively with other team members.

• Communicate effectively with patients and carers.

• Recognise peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers, and colleagues, to include:

• Acting in a way that recognises the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current legislation.

• Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers, and colleagues.

• Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Completion of an undergraduate degree in Pharmacy, and registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council.
• Minimum of 2 years postgraduate experience in pharmacy, as demonstrated within a practice portfolio.
• Independent Prescribing qualification or working towards Independent Prescribing qualification.
• Has an awareness of the breadth of common acute and longterm conditions that are likely to be seen in general medical practice.
• Able to develop and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues.

Desirable

• Member of, or working towards (through foundation), RPS Faculty membership.
• May hold or be working towards a postgraduate pharmacy qualification.
• Primary care experience preferred.

Health & safety:

Essential

• The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others health, safety and security as defined in the practice health & safety policy, the practice health & safety manual, and the practice infection control policy and published procedures. This will include:
• Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines
• Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks.
• Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills.
• Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards
• Actively reporting of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
• Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas generally clean, assisting in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness consistent with the scope of the job holders role
• Undertaking periodic infection control training (minimum annually)
• Reporting potential risks identified

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Vertis Health

Address

Great Witley Surgery

Worcester Road

Great Witley

Worcester

WR6 6HR

Employer's website

https://www.vertishealth.org.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)