Job summary
Relocation expenses, in accordance with trust policy, are available for this position up to a maximum value of £4,000.
We are looking for enthusiastic patient-orientated clinical pharmacists to join our supportive clinical pharmacy and Medicines Information teams.
We have a progressive rotational programme, enabling pharmacists undertaking the Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy to smoothly transition from the band 6 pharmacist role and establish themselves as clinical pharmacists with initial, shorter rotations. As clinical pharmacists develop and gain more experience, advanced rotations follow with the additional responsibility of a designated speciality. All clinical pharmacists are provided the opportunity to undertake a non-medical prescribing qualification.
You will have the opportunity to further your career in one of the busiest Medicines Information Centres in the South West. The centre at Gloucestershire Royal has developed over 50 years into a well-resourced department, handling around 3000 enquiries each year. This exciting post will enable you to develop your MI and management skills. You will participate in our enquiry answering, active information, and patient helpline services, assist in training and supervising staff in MI, and contribute to the MI Quality Assurance processes. The role will be structured as three days per week based in Medicines Information with a ward commitment each day and two days per week in the Specialist Rotational Clinical Pharmacist role.
Main duties of the job
- Provision of the Medicines Information service which provides relevant medicines related information to healthcare professionals and patients.
- Provide clinical pharmacy service as part of a rotation to one or more specific clinical areas in order to promote safe, rational, effective and economic use of medicines.
- To act as deputy to the Clinical Pharmacist Leads for Medicine/Surgery
- To act as deputy to the Senior Medicines Information Pharmacist, Education & Training.
- Provide expert pharmaceutical advice to a clinical area(s) and provide clinical pharmacy cover to other areas as required
- Participation in the weekend pharmacy service rota as we move towards 7-day working.
- Undertake teaching and clinical supervision of pharmacists, foundation pharmacists, Medicines Optimisation Technicians and undergraduate pharmacy students.
- Undertake audits and service improvement projects within clinical pharmacy.
- Impact upon pay and non-pay budgets: The post-holder is expected to exert a downward influence upon drug expenditure within the trust and demonstrate actual cost savings on individual wards by improving the efficiency of the prescribing and dispensing process.
- To act as team leader for one of the clinical pharmacy teams, including some day-to-day supervision of band 6 Pharmacists covering wards (1-2 staff) and Medicines Optimisation technicians (1-2 staff)
About us
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the largest employer in the county and with over 8,000 staff, we are one of the largest NHS trusts in the UK. We offer a generous annual leave allowance, discounts for local shops, restaurants and services, access to our health and well-being hub, access to our two on-site nurseries, flexible working options, discounted public transport, reward and recognition schemes, exercise and activity classes and membership to our popular hospital choir. Both hospitals are located in the city centres with access to shops and cafes.
The pharmacy department has approximately 240 staff. The 2 sites provide dispensary services to inpatients & outpatients, medicines information, procurement services and full clinical service to wards; the onsite aseptic and manufacturing services are centralised at CGH.
Pharmacy is at the forefront of many exciting projects including an award-winning service provided by pharmacist prescribers in orthopaedic pre-admission clinic.
Within the department are specialist clinical teams; the Specialist Mental Health Pharmacy facilitates delivery of Specialist services for Mental Health & Learning Disabilities. The cancer services team provide a pharmacy service at both sites for oncology & haematology and satellite pharmacy.
We are a friendly, inclusive department who nurture and develop our staff at all grades, from a mentoring programme for band 6 pharmacists to the development of pharmacist prescribers.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Medicines Information responsibilities
- To deputise for the Senior pharmacist for Medicines Information, Education and Training, at GRH MI in their absence.
- To supervise junior staff such as rotational pharmacists, foundation pharmacists and pharmacy students and provide them with advice, guidance and training as needed.
- Responsible, in conjunction with the senior pharmacist for Medicines Information, Education and Training, for authorising enquiries completed by rotational and foundation pharmacists.
- To participate in the maintenance and development of systems for the collection, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information.
- Responsible, in conjunction with the senior pharmacist for Medicines Information, Education and Training, for writing, maintaining and ensuring adherence to standard operating procedures for Medicines Information. To review, make proposals for and participate in changes in procedures and practices.
- To carry out quality assurance work to ensure the service meets nationally agreed UKMi standards including ordering and updating new resources in agreement with the Senior pharmacist for Medicines Information, Education and Training and customer satisfaction survey.
- Provide proactive written information about medicines and their administration for other healthcare professionals within the Trust in the form of bulletins etc.
- Assist in the production and implementation of the formulary.
- To participate in the provision of the Medicines Information service in order to provide up-to-date, evaluated information on medicines, and give pharmaceutical advice to patients and healthcare professionals (nurses, pharmacists, doctors, consultants, GPs etc).
- In response to enquiries, advise health care professionals regarding the treatment of individual patients to optimise their drug therapy. Enquiries are of a diverse nature and examples include: - choice and effects of drugs in pregnancy or breastfeeding, identification and management of drug interactions and adverse drug reactions, drug choice and dosage in renal impairment and how to administer medicines.
- Answer enquiries from health care professionals on specific patient groups or disease states and make recommendations to help inform their practice for example: - the antidepressant of choice in epileptic patients.
- Answer enquiries from patients, empowering them with knowledge about their medications these will primarily originate from the Patients Medicines Helpline located in the Medicines Information department.
- Take in enquiries by telephone, use a variety of information sources and clinical knowledge to answer the enquiry and respond by agreed deadline by means of verbal or written communication.
- Work in accordance with departmental policies and Standard Operating Procedures.
- Develop communication skills in order to properly ascertain the nature of the enquiry and to provide the answer.
- Develop the ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines in order to evaluate information for the provision of urgently required clinical advice.
- Provide detailed evaluated information on drugs and therapeutics to support evidence-based practice. On occasions there will be little evidence-based medicine and an opinion will need to be given using personal knowledge and clinical judgement.
Provision of Clinical Pharmacy Service to clinical area of responsibility.
- Collecting, interpreting and documenting details of medication taken at home (the medication history).
- Confirming details of the medication history with the patient, carer(s), GP Receptionist, the GP (occasionally), and by reviewing the patients own drugs from home if available, working alongside the Medicines Management Pharmacy Technicians.
- Confirming and documenting important factors affecting the patients ability to manage their medicines at home (e.g. sight, hearing, manual dexterity, and use of a compliance aid).
- Resolving any discrepancies and problems identified as a prescriber, to complete medicines reconciliation.
- Review prescriptions to ensure they are legal, safe, cost-effective, clinically necessary and appropriate, accurate, and complete.
- Undertake Medicines Optimisation
- Arrange for drugs to be supplied to patients, ward(s) or department(s).
- Provide information and advice to nursing staff on a daily basis, about drugs, doses, administration and potential side-effects.
- Provide information and advice to junior medical staff on a daily basis, and to Consultants as and when needed, including suggestions for initiating and modifying treatment.
- Educate patients as appropriate about changes to their medication, and how to take specific medicines (e.g. warfarin, inhaler devices).
- Access and interpret clinical information for specific patients (e.g. e-PMA system (Sunrise Clinical Manager), Patient Administration system (TrakCare), Pharmacy computer system (EMIS) as well as case notes and Summary Care Record (SCR)), and use it to individualise and monitor treatment.
- Document relevant clinical and pharmaceutical information during in-patient stay which may be used to prepare discharge prescription and/or communicated to patient, carer(s) or GP.
- Review discharge prescriptions written by medical staff, using professional judgement to make a final decision about content and appropriateness of discharge prescriptions when a suitable prescriber cannot be contacted.
- Participate in Consultant ward rounds as appropriate, providing pharmaceutical advice and information to medical staff, nursing staff, and patients as part of a multi-professional team.
- Undertake risk management and ensure compliance with legislation and relevant national policies and guidelines, along with local policies and procedures including the Trust Formulary.
- Work in an effective team with technicians involved in Trust Medicines Management scheme on designated wards.
- Usually work unsupervised, although the post-holder can seek advice from a range of colleagues as and when required.
Education and training
Participate in the departmental clinical pharmacy induction and development programme through;
- Involvement in the devising of training and development programmes.
- Teaching sessions and tutorials to Foundation pharmacy graduates and band 6 pharmacists within the department.
- Clinical supervisor for junior pharmacists rotating through area of clinical responsibility, including carrying out monthly assessed accompanied ward visits.
- Act as a clinical diploma tutor for junior pharmacists
Participate in the departments development programme for pharmacy staff through the provision of teaching sessions.
Prescribing
If post holder holds a Certificate in Professional Studies/Postgraduate Certificate in Non-Medical Prescribing they must practise within the boundaries of local strategy, professional guidance and the law.
- Prescribe medicines for agreed patients within their competency as a dependent (e.g. supplementary) prescriber in line with current legislation, local policies and within their own level of experience and competence
- Prescribe medicines in their competency as an independent prescriber in line with current legislation, local policies and within their own level of experience and competence
Participation in the Emergency Duty Service and 7-day working
The post-holder will provide emergency out of hours cover for the pharmacy department (On Call). The provision of on call could be on either the Gloucestershire Royal or Cheltenham General site based on the needs of the service and as decided by the Associate Pharmacy Directors. The on-call service entails:
- Being the first point of contact for the pharmacy department out of hours in the event of a major incident, and for information, advice and supply of any items required.
- Being able to evaluate the appropriateness of requests made to the post holder and to be able to prioritise the response to that request.
- Opening up the pharmacy department at unsociable hours to provide medication or advice that is needed urgently.
- Being able to clearly elicit information and communicate responses to all grades of staff including consultants and senior managers.
- Being able to refer to other specialist pharmacy colleagues if the post-holder requires assistance.
General Duties
- Maintain safe systems of work at all times, being responsible for the quality and accuracy of all work undertaken
- Be one of the escalation points for Medicine queries
- Promote positive and effective communication within the Pharmacy Department
- Maintain sensitivity to the needs of patients, staff and other users of the service.
- Contribute to the ongoing operational provision of the pharmacy service, as per department Rotas, to meet the needs of the service
- Maintain sensitivity to the various problems and needs of patients, staff and other users of the service ensuring that services are safe and meet their needs.
- Carry out any other reasonable duty at the request of the Associate Pharmacy Director(s) as part of service provision and ensuring a safe and efficient Pharmacy and medicines optimisation service.
- Work in the dispensary, including acting as the sole Pharmacist occasionally. Duties include:
- Checking in-patient prescription charts, out-patient and discharge prescriptions for legality, safety and suitability of medication, resolving issues with the prescriber as needed.
- Maintaining the workflow of the department and problem solving when required.
- Checking the dispensing performed by other pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and assistants.
- Contribute to the provision of 7 day working
- Based on the needs of the service and at the discretion of the Associate Pharmacy Director(s), the post-holder may be required to work at either the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital or Cheltenham General Hospital sites.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Medicines Information responsibilities
- To deputise for the Senior pharmacist for Medicines Information, Education and Training, at GRH MI in their absence.
- To supervise junior staff such as rotational pharmacists, foundation pharmacists and pharmacy students and provide them with advice, guidance and training as needed.
- Responsible, in conjunction with the senior pharmacist for Medicines Information, Education and Training, for authorising enquiries completed by rotational and foundation pharmacists.
- To participate in the maintenance and development of systems for the collection, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information.
- Responsible, in conjunction with the senior pharmacist for Medicines Information, Education and Training, for writing, maintaining and ensuring adherence to standard operating procedures for Medicines Information. To review, make proposals for and participate in changes in procedures and practices.
- To carry out quality assurance work to ensure the service meets nationally agreed UKMi standards including ordering and updating new resources in agreement with the Senior pharmacist for Medicines Information, Education and Training and customer satisfaction survey.
- Provide proactive written information about medicines and their administration for other healthcare professionals within the Trust in the form of bulletins etc.
- Assist in the production and implementation of the formulary.
- To participate in the provision of the Medicines Information service in order to provide up-to-date, evaluated information on medicines, and give pharmaceutical advice to patients and healthcare professionals (nurses, pharmacists, doctors, consultants, GPs etc).
- In response to enquiries, advise health care professionals regarding the treatment of individual patients to optimise their drug therapy. Enquiries are of a diverse nature and examples include: - choice and effects of drugs in pregnancy or breastfeeding, identification and management of drug interactions and adverse drug reactions, drug choice and dosage in renal impairment and how to administer medicines.
- Answer enquiries from health care professionals on specific patient groups or disease states and make recommendations to help inform their practice for example: - the antidepressant of choice in epileptic patients.
- Answer enquiries from patients, empowering them with knowledge about their medications these will primarily originate from the Patients Medicines Helpline located in the Medicines Information department.
- Take in enquiries by telephone, use a variety of information sources and clinical knowledge to answer the enquiry and respond by agreed deadline by means of verbal or written communication.
- Work in accordance with departmental policies and Standard Operating Procedures.
- Develop communication skills in order to properly ascertain the nature of the enquiry and to provide the answer.
- Develop the ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines in order to evaluate information for the provision of urgently required clinical advice.
- Provide detailed evaluated information on drugs and therapeutics to support evidence-based practice. On occasions there will be little evidence-based medicine and an opinion will need to be given using personal knowledge and clinical judgement.
Provision of Clinical Pharmacy Service to clinical area of responsibility.
- Collecting, interpreting and documenting details of medication taken at home (the medication history).
- Confirming details of the medication history with the patient, carer(s), GP Receptionist, the GP (occasionally), and by reviewing the patients own drugs from home if available, working alongside the Medicines Management Pharmacy Technicians.
- Confirming and documenting important factors affecting the patients ability to manage their medicines at home (e.g. sight, hearing, manual dexterity, and use of a compliance aid).
- Resolving any discrepancies and problems identified as a prescriber, to complete medicines reconciliation.
- Review prescriptions to ensure they are legal, safe, cost-effective, clinically necessary and appropriate, accurate, and complete.
- Undertake Medicines Optimisation
- Arrange for drugs to be supplied to patients, ward(s) or department(s).
- Provide information and advice to nursing staff on a daily basis, about drugs, doses, administration and potential side-effects.
- Provide information and advice to junior medical staff on a daily basis, and to Consultants as and when needed, including suggestions for initiating and modifying treatment.
- Educate patients as appropriate about changes to their medication, and how to take specific medicines (e.g. warfarin, inhaler devices).
- Access and interpret clinical information for specific patients (e.g. e-PMA system (Sunrise Clinical Manager), Patient Administration system (TrakCare), Pharmacy computer system (EMIS) as well as case notes and Summary Care Record (SCR)), and use it to individualise and monitor treatment.
- Document relevant clinical and pharmaceutical information during in-patient stay which may be used to prepare discharge prescription and/or communicated to patient, carer(s) or GP.
- Review discharge prescriptions written by medical staff, using professional judgement to make a final decision about content and appropriateness of discharge prescriptions when a suitable prescriber cannot be contacted.
- Participate in Consultant ward rounds as appropriate, providing pharmaceutical advice and information to medical staff, nursing staff, and patients as part of a multi-professional team.
- Undertake risk management and ensure compliance with legislation and relevant national policies and guidelines, along with local policies and procedures including the Trust Formulary.
- Work in an effective team with technicians involved in Trust Medicines Management scheme on designated wards.
- Usually work unsupervised, although the post-holder can seek advice from a range of colleagues as and when required.
Education and training
Participate in the departmental clinical pharmacy induction and development programme through;
- Involvement in the devising of training and development programmes.
- Teaching sessions and tutorials to Foundation pharmacy graduates and band 6 pharmacists within the department.
- Clinical supervisor for junior pharmacists rotating through area of clinical responsibility, including carrying out monthly assessed accompanied ward visits.
- Act as a clinical diploma tutor for junior pharmacists
Participate in the departments development programme for pharmacy staff through the provision of teaching sessions.
Prescribing
If post holder holds a Certificate in Professional Studies/Postgraduate Certificate in Non-Medical Prescribing they must practise within the boundaries of local strategy, professional guidance and the law.
- Prescribe medicines for agreed patients within their competency as a dependent (e.g. supplementary) prescriber in line with current legislation, local policies and within their own level of experience and competence
- Prescribe medicines in their competency as an independent prescriber in line with current legislation, local policies and within their own level of experience and competence
Participation in the Emergency Duty Service and 7-day working
The post-holder will provide emergency out of hours cover for the pharmacy department (On Call). The provision of on call could be on either the Gloucestershire Royal or Cheltenham General site based on the needs of the service and as decided by the Associate Pharmacy Directors. The on-call service entails:
- Being the first point of contact for the pharmacy department out of hours in the event of a major incident, and for information, advice and supply of any items required.
- Being able to evaluate the appropriateness of requests made to the post holder and to be able to prioritise the response to that request.
- Opening up the pharmacy department at unsociable hours to provide medication or advice that is needed urgently.
- Being able to clearly elicit information and communicate responses to all grades of staff including consultants and senior managers.
- Being able to refer to other specialist pharmacy colleagues if the post-holder requires assistance.
General Duties
- Maintain safe systems of work at all times, being responsible for the quality and accuracy of all work undertaken
- Be one of the escalation points for Medicine queries
- Promote positive and effective communication within the Pharmacy Department
- Maintain sensitivity to the needs of patients, staff and other users of the service.
- Contribute to the ongoing operational provision of the pharmacy service, as per department Rotas, to meet the needs of the service
- Maintain sensitivity to the various problems and needs of patients, staff and other users of the service ensuring that services are safe and meet their needs.
- Carry out any other reasonable duty at the request of the Associate Pharmacy Director(s) as part of service provision and ensuring a safe and efficient Pharmacy and medicines optimisation service.
- Work in the dispensary, including acting as the sole Pharmacist occasionally. Duties include:
- Checking in-patient prescription charts, out-patient and discharge prescriptions for legality, safety and suitability of medication, resolving issues with the prescriber as needed.
- Maintaining the workflow of the department and problem solving when required.
- Checking the dispensing performed by other pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and assistants.
- Contribute to the provision of 7 day working
- Based on the needs of the service and at the discretion of the Associate Pharmacy Director(s), the post-holder may be required to work at either the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital or Cheltenham General Hospital sites.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Active registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council GPhC
Desirable
- Completed Post Graduate Clinical Pharmacy Diploma
- Completed Post Graduate certificate in Non-Medical Prescribing
Experience
Desirable
- Previous experience providing a clinical pharmacy service in a hospital setting
- Previous experience of working in Medicines Information
- Work within a multi-disciplinary team and participate in Consultant Ward Rounds
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Self-motivated, able to use initiative & prioritise workload as well as work as part of a multi-disciplinary team
- Excellent communication skills, both oral and written. Able to communicate effectively with a wide range of other healthcare professionals and with patients
- Excellent interpersonal skills. Able to challenge inappropriate prescribing and influence prescribing decisions of all healthcare professionals including senior medical colleagues.
- Able to effectively and appropriately escalate concerns to reduce risk & promote safety
- Be proficient in IT and applications including Word, Excel, Outlook, Sunrise EPR and EMIS
- Supervise, educate, mentor, support and assess others (MOTs, junior pharmacists, foundation pharmacists, medical students)
Desirable
- Undertake audit of drug use and expenditure and/or clinical pharmacy practice
Qualities
Essential
- Adaptable to the changing needs of the service including flexible working patterns (e.g. weekend working and working at both sites)
- Awareness of professional and personal limitations, and willing to seek advice and support where necessary
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Active registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council GPhC
Desirable
- Completed Post Graduate Clinical Pharmacy Diploma
- Completed Post Graduate certificate in Non-Medical Prescribing
Experience
Desirable
- Previous experience providing a clinical pharmacy service in a hospital setting
- Previous experience of working in Medicines Information
- Work within a multi-disciplinary team and participate in Consultant Ward Rounds
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Self-motivated, able to use initiative & prioritise workload as well as work as part of a multi-disciplinary team
- Excellent communication skills, both oral and written. Able to communicate effectively with a wide range of other healthcare professionals and with patients
- Excellent interpersonal skills. Able to challenge inappropriate prescribing and influence prescribing decisions of all healthcare professionals including senior medical colleagues.
- Able to effectively and appropriately escalate concerns to reduce risk & promote safety
- Be proficient in IT and applications including Word, Excel, Outlook, Sunrise EPR and EMIS
- Supervise, educate, mentor, support and assess others (MOTs, junior pharmacists, foundation pharmacists, medical students)
Desirable
- Undertake audit of drug use and expenditure and/or clinical pharmacy practice
Qualities
Essential
- Adaptable to the changing needs of the service including flexible working patterns (e.g. weekend working and working at both sites)
- Awareness of professional and personal limitations, and willing to seek advice and support where necessary
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).
