Job summary
As we expand our PCN team we are looking for a dynamic individual who shares a passion for the delivery of care to older people living within a care home setting.
If you are an enthusiastic and innovative pharmacist looking for an exciting challenge then this job could be for you.
You must be able to travel across the care homes in the PCN. In return we offer a friendly, supportive multi-disciplinary working environment. We have a commitment to providing supervision, learning and professional development.
We would consider part-time hours for the right candidate.
Main duties of the job
We are looking to recruit a Care Homes Pharmacist who will work within our established Care Homes that is based at Grayshott surgery. We are looking for a dynamic individual who shares a passion for the delivery of care to older people living within a care home setting. This innovative role will operate across West of Waverley to support the delivery of the National Care Home Direct Enhanced Service (DES), providing specialist medicines advice to care homes and care homes residents, supporting the delivery of Comprehensive Geriatric Assessments and Structured Medication Reviews for our care home population. We work closely with our PCN GP colleagues and the wider community MDT to support quality outcomes for our care home residents.
The post holder will work across organisational boundaries, developing new ways of working to promote relationships between providers and statutory bodies and improve care for people living in long term residential and nursing care. The post-holder will be an Independent Non-Medical Prescriber or working towards completing this. If you have not already completed the CPPE pharmacists in general practice training pathway we will support you in this during your first year of employment.
About us
West Waverley Primary Care Network comprises four like-minded practices in the beautiful countryside of South West Surrey covering a population of just under 50,000 patients including a non-affiliated single-handed practice. Our population has a higher socio-economic and age demographic than average. West of Waverley has the largest number of care home beds in Surrey Heartlands.
Our practices are innovative and well organised and perform highly for patient quality in surveys and in Quality Clinical Markers. Our Primary Care Network meetings are attended by patient representatives from each practice.
Our Primary Care Network works with three other PCNs as part of the Guilford & Waverley Health and Care Alliance, supported by the Procare GP Federation. Procare is the employer for all our additional roles who are then seconded to work directly with our practices for the duration of their contract. The successful candidate will be a part of our existing pharmacy team which includes two senior clinical pharmacists, a clinical pharmacist and two pharmacy technicians.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Job responsibilities
- To lead and support the work of the Primary Care Network to ensure that all care home residents receive an annual Structured Medication Review.
- To support patients to take their medication correctly and to ensure they get the best possible outcomes.
- Keep records of reviews and issues arising to identify trends.
- Feedback identified prescribing issues to support the care homes team in developing quality initiatives and action plans.
- Make amendments to patient records, written and/or computer, as appropriate to ensure agreed changes to therapy are actioned in a precise and systematic fashion.
- Liaise and communicate sensitively and effectively with patients and/or carers, who on occasions may be resistant to change, on subjects which are often of a very sensitive nature, on all aspects of good medicines management with the objective of optimising patient outcomes.
- Provide highly specialised medicines management support including prescribing information, advice and guidance to ensure effective, appropriate, cost-effective and safe prescribing to all prescribers, other healthcare professionals and support staff in the care homes sector including residential and nursing homes.
- Assist prescribers in managing the implementation of NICE guidance and other local or national guidance and the introduction of new therapies.
- Manage clinics for long term disease management within scope of practice in a care home setting e.g. hypertension, diabetes or asthma etc.
- Be responsible for the care management of patients with chronic diseases and undertake clinical medication reviews to proactively manage people with complex polypharmacy, those with multiple co-morbidities (in particular frailty, COPD and asthma) and people with learning disabilities or autism (through STOMP Stop Over Medication Programme).
- Communicate to a prescriber any recommendations for changes identified in the reviews to ensure patients get the best use of their medicines. Or as an independent prescriber, be responsible for adjusting medications and arranging monitoring when needed.
- Be the first point of contact for medicines related queries across the care homes.
- To support the development of quality initiatives that address identified prescribing and medicines management issues, including those that cross interfaces.
- To work with colleagues to establish and develop good medicines management systems across the care homes sector.
- Work effectively and flexibly as part of the care homes team and the PCN pharmacy team across all practices within the PCN.
- Work with the Care Home Lead and GP leads in developing the strategic and operational management of the Enhanced Health in Care Homes Service.
- Demonstrate a good understanding of clinical governance and risk management and apply to work effectively alerting any risks and benefits when developing services and practice in new areas.
Repeat prescribing
- To work with general practice, the care homes and community pharmacy to develop efficient repeat prescribing / dispensing systems to support care home prescribing across the whole sector.
Medicines Optimisation
- Provide leadership on person-centred medicines optimisation (including ensuring prescribers in the care homes conserve antibiotics in line with local antimicrobial stewardship guidance) and quality improvement, whilst contributing to the quality and outcomes framework and enhanced services.
- Supporting the implementation of national prescribing policies and guidance within care homes.
- Be a prescriber, or completing training to become a prescriber, and work with and alongside the care home team.
- Work to improve Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) either though reviewing clinical coding to improve disease registers or individual indicators, flag to prescribers (if not already one) appropriate medications to initiate or arranging appropriate monitoring.
- Work with the care home team to help with Care Quality Commission (CQC) requirements around medication related issues.
- Work with the care homes team and CCG to reduce the number of items prescribed that appear on the national list of items that should not routinely be prescribed in primary care either directly if the medication can be purchased over the counter or as an independent prescriber by initiating alternatives or to appropriately refer patients to a prescriber.
Working within a multidisciplinary team
- Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient facing role to clinically assess and treat patients using their expert knowledge of medicines for specific disease areas.
- Have a leadership role in supporting further integration of general practice with the wider healthcare teams (including community and hospital pharmacy) to help improve patient outcomes, ensure better access to healthcare and help manage general practice workload.
- Develop relationships and work closely with other pharmacy professionals across PCNs and the wider health and social care system, including those in primary care, secondary care, community pharmacy, mental and social care teams.
- Be part of a professional clinical network and have access to appropriate clinical supervision with the support of the PCN.
- The post-holder will be responsible for mentoring members of the pharmacy team working in care homes and will be supported in undertaking additional training through the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education if not already undertaking or qualified from an approved pathway like the Primary Care Pharmacy Educational Pathway.
- The post-holder will also be supported to complete a prescribing course if not already completed.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Job responsibilities
- To lead and support the work of the Primary Care Network to ensure that all care home residents receive an annual Structured Medication Review.
- To support patients to take their medication correctly and to ensure they get the best possible outcomes.
- Keep records of reviews and issues arising to identify trends.
- Feedback identified prescribing issues to support the care homes team in developing quality initiatives and action plans.
- Make amendments to patient records, written and/or computer, as appropriate to ensure agreed changes to therapy are actioned in a precise and systematic fashion.
- Liaise and communicate sensitively and effectively with patients and/or carers, who on occasions may be resistant to change, on subjects which are often of a very sensitive nature, on all aspects of good medicines management with the objective of optimising patient outcomes.
- Provide highly specialised medicines management support including prescribing information, advice and guidance to ensure effective, appropriate, cost-effective and safe prescribing to all prescribers, other healthcare professionals and support staff in the care homes sector including residential and nursing homes.
- Assist prescribers in managing the implementation of NICE guidance and other local or national guidance and the introduction of new therapies.
- Manage clinics for long term disease management within scope of practice in a care home setting e.g. hypertension, diabetes or asthma etc.
- Be responsible for the care management of patients with chronic diseases and undertake clinical medication reviews to proactively manage people with complex polypharmacy, those with multiple co-morbidities (in particular frailty, COPD and asthma) and people with learning disabilities or autism (through STOMP Stop Over Medication Programme).
- Communicate to a prescriber any recommendations for changes identified in the reviews to ensure patients get the best use of their medicines. Or as an independent prescriber, be responsible for adjusting medications and arranging monitoring when needed.
- Be the first point of contact for medicines related queries across the care homes.
- To support the development of quality initiatives that address identified prescribing and medicines management issues, including those that cross interfaces.
- To work with colleagues to establish and develop good medicines management systems across the care homes sector.
- Work effectively and flexibly as part of the care homes team and the PCN pharmacy team across all practices within the PCN.
- Work with the Care Home Lead and GP leads in developing the strategic and operational management of the Enhanced Health in Care Homes Service.
- Demonstrate a good understanding of clinical governance and risk management and apply to work effectively alerting any risks and benefits when developing services and practice in new areas.
Repeat prescribing
- To work with general practice, the care homes and community pharmacy to develop efficient repeat prescribing / dispensing systems to support care home prescribing across the whole sector.
Medicines Optimisation
- Provide leadership on person-centred medicines optimisation (including ensuring prescribers in the care homes conserve antibiotics in line with local antimicrobial stewardship guidance) and quality improvement, whilst contributing to the quality and outcomes framework and enhanced services.
- Supporting the implementation of national prescribing policies and guidance within care homes.
- Be a prescriber, or completing training to become a prescriber, and work with and alongside the care home team.
- Work to improve Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) either though reviewing clinical coding to improve disease registers or individual indicators, flag to prescribers (if not already one) appropriate medications to initiate or arranging appropriate monitoring.
- Work with the care home team to help with Care Quality Commission (CQC) requirements around medication related issues.
- Work with the care homes team and CCG to reduce the number of items prescribed that appear on the national list of items that should not routinely be prescribed in primary care either directly if the medication can be purchased over the counter or as an independent prescriber by initiating alternatives or to appropriately refer patients to a prescriber.
Working within a multidisciplinary team
- Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient facing role to clinically assess and treat patients using their expert knowledge of medicines for specific disease areas.
- Have a leadership role in supporting further integration of general practice with the wider healthcare teams (including community and hospital pharmacy) to help improve patient outcomes, ensure better access to healthcare and help manage general practice workload.
- Develop relationships and work closely with other pharmacy professionals across PCNs and the wider health and social care system, including those in primary care, secondary care, community pharmacy, mental and social care teams.
- Be part of a professional clinical network and have access to appropriate clinical supervision with the support of the PCN.
- The post-holder will be responsible for mentoring members of the pharmacy team working in care homes and will be supported in undertaking additional training through the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education if not already undertaking or qualified from an approved pathway like the Primary Care Pharmacy Educational Pathway.
- The post-holder will also be supported to complete a prescribing course if not already completed.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Completion of an undergraduate degree in pharmacy
- Professional registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council
Desirable
- Qualified from, an approved 18-month training pathway or equivalent that equips the Clinical Pharmacist to be able to practice and prescribe safely and effectively in a primary care setting (for example, the CPPE Clinical Pharmacist training pathways)
- Hold (or already working towards) a prescribing qualification
Experience
Essential
- Significant experience working as a qualified pharmacist within the UK
Skills, Knowledge and Attributes
Essential
- An appreciation of the nature of GPs, general practices and care homes.
- Awareness of primary care prescribing and the local formulary
- Awareness of GP budget management and funding systems to assist delivery PCN/NHS priorities and requirements for financial balance and quality
- Excellent interpersonal, influencing and negotiating skills, including written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to 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
- Demonstrate the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information in an understandable form to a variety of audiences (e.g. patients)
- Sound computer skills, proficient with MS Office
- Has attention to detail, able to work accurately, identifying errors quickly and easily
- Able to obtain and analyse complex technical information
- Demonstrates accountability for delivering professional expertise and direct service provision
- Is able to plan, manage, monitor, advise and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long term conditions
- Self-motivated and proactive, able to work under pressure and to meet deadlines
- Works effectively independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team
- Excellent time keeping
- Meets DBS reference standards
- Able to work across several sites and travel to meet with stakeholders
Desirable
- Familiar with GP clinical systems e.g. EMIS and Docman
- Able to analyse and interpret prescribing data
- Holds a full, current UK driving licence
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Completion of an undergraduate degree in pharmacy
- Professional registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council
Desirable
- Qualified from, an approved 18-month training pathway or equivalent that equips the Clinical Pharmacist to be able to practice and prescribe safely and effectively in a primary care setting (for example, the CPPE Clinical Pharmacist training pathways)
- Hold (or already working towards) a prescribing qualification
Experience
Essential
- Significant experience working as a qualified pharmacist within the UK
Skills, Knowledge and Attributes
Essential
- An appreciation of the nature of GPs, general practices and care homes.
- Awareness of primary care prescribing and the local formulary
- Awareness of GP budget management and funding systems to assist delivery PCN/NHS priorities and requirements for financial balance and quality
- Excellent interpersonal, influencing and negotiating skills, including written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to 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
- Demonstrate the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information in an understandable form to a variety of audiences (e.g. patients)
- Sound computer skills, proficient with MS Office
- Has attention to detail, able to work accurately, identifying errors quickly and easily
- Able to obtain and analyse complex technical information
- Demonstrates accountability for delivering professional expertise and direct service provision
- Is able to plan, manage, monitor, advise and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long term conditions
- Self-motivated and proactive, able to work under pressure and to meet deadlines
- Works effectively independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team
- Excellent time keeping
- Meets DBS reference standards
- Able to work across several sites and travel to meet with stakeholders
Desirable
- Familiar with GP clinical systems e.g. EMIS and Docman
- Able to analyse and interpret prescribing data
- Holds a full, current UK driving licence
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).
Additional information
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).
