Advanced Clinical Pharmacist (XR08)

Job description

Job responsibilities

Clinical

Lead the highly specialised clinical pharmacy service to patients and the multidisciplinary team within a given clinical speciality.

Supports the Trust's Prescribing Standards and challenges practice where prescribers have not adhered to the Medicines Code.

Demonstrate the ability to provide safe, clinically effective and cost-effective use of medicines in accordance with Trust policy, standard operating procedures and medicine legislation. This will include individual prescription review to optimise therapy, advising on dosage and side effects and on safe administration of medicines. The post holder is expected to determine how the outcomes are best achieve in specific circumstances.

Pharmacists who are registered as prescribers will, with the agreement of the clinical director of the speciality, prescribe within their level of competence, to support patient care.

Plan, manage, monitor and review individual patient care plans.

Participate in consultant ward rounds and multi-disciplinary team meetings.

Manage difficult and ambiguous problems, often when information is limited.

Undertake risk management, including investigating clinical incidents in the clinical area and ensuring compliance with medicine legislation.

The post holder will be expected to identify, where necessary, areas that require service changes and develop a strategy to carry out the change through consultation with senior colleagues within and outside the pharmacy.

Manage the introduction of new drugs, including unlicensed drugs, into the clinical speciality.

Manage the clinical pharmacist input into clinical trials.

Develop and update policies for the safe, effective and economic use of medicines through discussion with medical and nursing staff.

Communication with Primary Care about medicines policies or guidelines specific for their area of practice.

Management

Monitor and interpret expenditure on medicines within own clinical speciality. Provide the Directorate with regular reports to assist in the management of the drug budget

a. Attend the monthly Clinical Speciality Management meetings to advise on medicine use and financial implications

- Horizon scan for new drugs and advise the clinical speciality meetings on the financial implications

b. Co-ordinate Medicines Use Savings Projects

c. Review prescribing data from out-patient clinics

Contribution to financial initiatives

Write or respond to business cases for service development to secure additional funding.

Responsible for day to day supervision / management of specialist clinical pharmacists in clinical speciality (some staff)

Research and Education

Occasionally participates in research and development within clinical speciality

Undertakes own research/audit within clinical speciality

Supervise, teach, and assess junior pharmacy staff completing training modules within the clinical area. This input varies, mostly based on the experience of the post holder, and will typically include:

- Acting as a trainer to pre-registration and junior pharmacists in their area of specialist practice

- Being a named tutor for a pre-registration and/or diploma pharmacist

- Lecturing on clinical issues relevant to the specialty, as part of the pre-registration training program, the clinical diploma, and any other in service training.

The post holder is also expected to participate in the training of other clinical professionals within their specialist area as requested.

Develop the role of a specialist pharmacist through national links.

Other

Provide a service commitment, typically a four hour session to a specific area within the pharmacy department e.g. dispensary, aseptics or medicines information

Perform other duties as directed by manager

Participate in the weekend service and where contracted, the emergency duty service

Health and Safety/Risk Management

All staff are responsible for working with their colleagues to maintain and improve the quality of services provided to our patients and other service users. This includes complying at all times with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Policies, including Health and Safety policies, in particular by following agreed safe working procedures, and reporting incidents using the Trust Incident Reporting system.

Infection Control

The jobholder must comply at all times with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Infection Control policies, in particular by practising Universal Infection Control Precautions. Hand hygiene must be performed before and after contact with patients and their environment.

Equality and Diversity

The jobholder must comply with all policies and procedures designed to ensure equality of employment and that services are delivered in ways that meet the individual needs of patients and their families. No person whether they are staff, patient or visitor should receive less favourable treatment because of their gender, ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion etc.

Patient and Public Involvement

The Trust has a statutory duty to involve patients and public in evaluating and planning services. All staff have a responsibility to listen to the views of patients and to contribute to service improvements based on patient feedback.

Training and Personal Development Continuous Professional Development

The jobholder must take responsibility in agreement with his/her line manager for his/her own personal development by ensuring that Continuous Professional Development remains a priority. The jobholder will undertake all mandatory training required for the role.

Respect for Patient Confidentiality

The jobholder should respect patient confidentiality at all times and not divulge patient information unless sanctioned by the requirements of the role.

10. COMMUNICATION & WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

Communicate highly complex information about medicine use to pharmacy staff, consultants, junior doctors, nursing staff, patients, other members of the multi-disciplinary team and managers within clinical speciality.

All registered healthcare professionals must ensure adherence to professional codes of practice

11. SPECIAL WORKING CONDITIONS

i) PHYSICAL EFFORT:

The post requires a combination of sitting, standing, and walking with little requirement for physical effort, excepting an occasional need to move pharmacy boxes, fluids, enteral nutrition packs. These typically weigh approximately 10kg per box.

ii) MENTAL EFFORT:

Concentration required when clinically checking and reviewing prescriptions on ward or in other departments and performing complicated calculations. Concentration required for periods of time when preparing financial reports, papers reviewing medicine use. Interruptions for urgent advice occur frequently via bleep, telephone or in person at any time, including during breaks.

iii) EMOTIONAL EFFORT:

Depending on the clinical specialty the post holder may be exposed to distressing or emotional circumstances due to their work with sick or dying patients. They may occasionally be exposed to distressing or emotional circumstances when investigating drug misadventures, and explaining to relatives the consequences of a medicine related incident.

iv) WORKING CONDITIONS:

The post holder will spend a significant part of their working day in clinical areas. This means they will regularly be in the vicinity of, but not having to deal with personally, body fluids, smells, foul linen etc. Exposure to unpleasant working conditions outside of a clinical area will be rare, exception for pharmacists who undertake aseptic work where they will occasionally experience noxious fumes and could be at increased risk of exposure to cytotoxic drugs.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Understanding and appreciation of local and national pharmaceutical and clinical strategies
• Advanced clinical pharmacy knowledge in a relevant area
• Understanding of NHS/government policy and its applications

Desirable

• Leadership

Qualifications

Essential

• MPharm
• Clinical Diploma or Equivalent
• Independent Prescribing Qualification

Skills & behaviours

Essential

• Team player
• Self motivated
• Be highly adaptive to changing circumstances and situations
• Able to work under own initiative
• Exceptional communication skills written, verbal, and listening

Desirable

• Effective prioritisation skills

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

Leeds Teaching Hospitals

Address

St. James's University Hospital

Beckett Street

Leeds

LS9 7TF

Employer's website

https://www.leedsth.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)