Clinical Pharmacist

Job responsibilities

• Working in an established PCN Clinical Pharmacy team to support workflow redesign and successfully embed clinical pharmacists into general practice.
• Based at The Dale Medical Practice, Wombourne and Claverley Surgery, Claverley. To contribute to discharge advice, patient record reconciliation, medication reviews or reauthorisations.
• To provide professional specialist medicines management advice to GPs, practice nurses, community pharmacists, community nurses and other health professionals to promote the safe, effective and high quality, cost effective use of medicines in all prescribing decisions.
• To support practices with relevant Quality Improvement Framework and PCN Direct Enhanced Service Impact and Investment Fund targets.
• To support practices with the Staffordshire medicine optimisation agreement.
• To identify, develop and promote quality improvements in medicines management across our GP practices ensuring that best practice is adopted.
• To provide support to our pharmacy technician to deliver the medicines management goals.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of the practice prescribing strategy and medicines management initiatives.
• To encourage better pharmaceutical understanding throughout the primary health care team.
• Undertake risk assessment and management and ensure compliance with medicines legislation.
• Liaise with prescribing colleagues primary and secondary care to ensure consistency with system-wide prescribing strategies

• To contribute to the development & implementation of new medicines management initiatives and services within the PCN GP practices.
• Contribute to the clinical medication review service to care homes and other work streams as required.

Key Working Relationships

GP, nurses and other practice staff

Other Clinical Pharmacists in the PCN Pharmacy Team

Members of the ICB Medicines Management team

GP prescribing lead

Locality managers

Community nurses and other allied health professionals

Community pharmacists and support staff.

Overview of Responsibilities

To provide and receive complex information relating to medicines and medicines management

o This includes clinical information regarding patient care, technical medicines management/therapeutics information and prescribing activity data derived from audit and prescribing data

o The post holder will need to receive this from and provide it to patients, carers and other health professionals. He/she may need to persuade the recipients of the validity and relevance of the information/argument, and negotiate actions in line with medicines management goals

o The post holder may have to adjust his/her communication style and content to take account of the other persons language difficulties and intellectual abilities.

To analyse, interpret and compare complex information and/or a range of options

o This will usually, but not always, relate the topics outlined above

o The post holder will apply his/her technical knowledge to complex clinical and/or medicines management situations.

To provide highly specialised advice concerning care of individual patients and groups of patients

o This includes advice on choice of drug treatment, including choice of drug(s), side effects and doses

o This advice will be in response to review and analysis of patient prescriptions and prescribing data

o This will also involve ensuring compliance with medicines legislation, National Patient Safety Agency advisory notices and other established good practice to manage and minimise risk.

To propose and implement policy or service changes that impact within and beyond the post holders own role, including work within the practices, community pharmacies and Medicine Management team. This includes the development of prescribing or medicines management guidelines and protocols.

To plan and organise the post holders own workload, including audit and project work and training sessions for members of the medicines management team, practice team, and community pharmacy team.

To work to ensure best value for money and avoidance of waste in relation to medicines and contribute to the reduction in fraud related to medicines and pharmacy consistent with the post holders position in the organisation.

To record personally generated information and maintain a database of information relating to the work done in the practice(s)

o personally generated information includes information and records relating to audit and clinical work undertaken by the post holder, reference notes relating to clinical/technical information, etc

o the data base includes maintaining up-to-date, detailed records of all work done in the practices for which the post holder is accountable.

To participate in audit as appropriate.

The post holder acts as a lead specialist within his/her area and has discretion to work within the parameters defined by the post holders line manager and more senior clinicians.

To maintain registration as a pharmacist and comply with appropriate professional codes.

To enrol and complete the CPPE pathway for PCN Clinical Pharmacists.

As appropriate to the post, to maintain and develop professional competence and expertise, keep up to date with medical or therapeutic evidence and opinion, local and national service, legislation and policy developments, agree objectives and a personal development plan and participate in the appraisal process.

To attend local, regional and national meetings of relevance.

To undertake any other duties commensurate with the post holders grade

as agreed with the post holders line manager.

Qualifications

Essential

• MPharm (4 years) or equivalent
• Membership of the General Pharmaceutical Council of GB (1 year pre-registration training)
• Maintains clinical and professional competence and CPD
• Postgraduate qualification in clinical pharmacy (1 or 2 years) or equivalent experience

Desirable

• Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Council of GB
• Independent Prescribing qualification
• Undertaking or completion of the CPPE Pathway.

Personal Skills

Essential

• Ability to apply clinical knowledge appropriately in a variety of practice settings or patient groups.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and attention to detail
• Good presentation skills
• Good organisational skills
• Effective time management and the ability to prioritise
• Ability to work on own or as part of a team and liaise with other professionals
• Good computer skills, including Microsoft Word, Excel, and Email, and ePACT
• Leadership skills
• Diplomatic
• Able to support other team members

Desirable

• Familiar with EMIS Web GP computer system
• Project management skills
• Able to interpret Prescribing data
• IT qualification e.g. ECDL
• Evidence of successful project management

Experience

Essential

• Experience in clinical pharmacy
• Experience of working with other healthcare professionals
• Experience of clinical audit
• Experience of community and hospital pharmacy

Desirable

• Minimum 5 year post-registration experience with at least 2 years in Primary Care
• Experience of teaching and training to other healthcare staff
• Awareness of financial management or budgetary reporting on medicines
• Experience of Providing evaluated drug information

Knowledge

Essential

• Advanced knowledge of the clinical use of drugs
• Good knowledge of the pathophysiology of common disease states
• Good understanding of medicine management issues
• Thorough knowledge of the Law and Ethics relevant to Medicines
• Knowledge of key drivers within the NHS

Desirable

• Understanding of biochemical and haematological data

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).