Job summary
We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated Advanced Pharmacist - Palliative Care to join our team, working across East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) and Pilgrims Hospices in East Kent (Canterbury, Thanet, and Ashford).
This is a unique and rewarding opportunity to lead and develop a highly specialised clinical pharmacy service for patients receiving palliative and end of life care. The postholder will work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams to ensure safe, effective, and compassionate use of medicines that optimise symptom control, pain management, and quality of life for patients and their families.
You will play a key role in the ongoing development of medicines management and governance processes, contribute to policy and guideline development, and support the education and training of staff across hospice, hospital, and community settings.
We've got a really exciting opportunity for a pharmacist to join our hospice team while we cover a maternity leave. It's a great chance to build your experience as a Senior Pharmacist, while working in palliative and end-of-life care. You will have the opportunity to work closely with a supportive and caring team who respect pharmacy input as part of a wider MDT approach to patient care.
If you do not yet meet the full Band 8a requirements, a Band 7 appointment may be considered depending on your experience
Main duties of the job
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Provide a specialist clinical pharmacy service to Pilgrims Hospices, supporting safe and effective use of medicines in palliative and end of life care.
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Work closely with hospice, hospital and community teams to optimise symptom control, pain management and overall quality of care for patients.
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Offer expert pharmaceutical advice to medical, nursing and pharmacy staff, ensuring compliance with legislation and best practice.
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Lead on the development, review and implementation of palliative care-related medicines policies, guidelines and audits across Pilgrims Hospices and EKHUFT.
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Support education and training for hospice, community and hospital staff on medicines use in palliative and end of life care.
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Monitor drug expenditure and promote cost-effective prescribing in collaboration with finance and medicines management teams.
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Contribute to medicines governance, including incident reviews, quality improvement initiatives and service development.
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Represent pharmacy at relevant meetings and committees, and act as a key link between EKHUFT and Pilgrims Hospices.
About us
We are one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five hospitals and community clinics serving a local population of around 800,000 people. Our vision is 'great healthcare from great people'. Everything we do is guided by our values: 'People feel cared for, safe, respected and confident that we are making a difference'. We have a new way of working at East Kent Hospitals, called 'We care'. It's about empowering frontline staff to lead improvements day-to-day. We're looking for compassionate people to be part of our improvement journey for the patients, families and carers we care for every day.
Please note that if you require a Certificate of Sponsorship to work in the UK you must declare this on your application form, even if you currently have a certificate of sponsorship or a work permit for another role and are already working in the country. Please note we are only able to sponsor candidates on a Skilled Worker Visa applying for roles Band 5 and above.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To develop and provide a highly specialised clinical pharmacy service to the Pilgrims Hospices Sites at Canterbury, Thanet and Ashford.
- To support effective and safe use of medicines in palliative care and chronic pain at Pilgrims Hospice and EKHUFT by working closely with Pilgrims Hospice Team and the Palliative Care Team at EKHUFT.
- To provide education and training to Pilgrims Hospice, Community Services and EKHUFT staff on medicines use in End of Life Care
- To provide pharmacy support for EKHUFT with development and implementation of any initiatives, guidelines and audits that relate to End of Life Care within the Trust.
- To be a Non-Medical Prescriber in a defined scope area of practice within Palliative Care
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To develop and provide a highly specialised clinical pharmacy service to the Pilgrims Hospices Sites at Canterbury, Thanet and Ashford.
- To support effective and safe use of medicines in palliative care and chronic pain at Pilgrims Hospice and EKHUFT by working closely with Pilgrims Hospice Team and the Palliative Care Team at EKHUFT.
- To provide education and training to Pilgrims Hospice, Community Services and EKHUFT staff on medicines use in End of Life Care
- To provide pharmacy support for EKHUFT with development and implementation of any initiatives, guidelines and audits that relate to End of Life Care within the Trust.
- To be a Non-Medical Prescriber in a defined scope area of practice within Palliative Care
Person Specification
Qualifications & Education
Essential
- Masters Degree in Pharmacy or equivalent
- Registered member of the General Pharmaceutical Council
Desirable
- Non-Medical Prescribing certificate - or ability to work towards
- Post-graduate Diploma / MSc in Clinical pharmacy
Skills & Knowledge
Essential
- Tact and negotiation skills to ensure adherence to drug treatment protocols / policies
- Analytical and judgmental skills to critically appraise medical literature and patient information for application to highly complex patient care situations
Desirable
- Patient assessment and diagnostic skills within independent prescribing scope of practice.
- Advanced IT skills
- Previous experience in providing pharmaceutical care to palliative care patients
Person Specification
Qualifications & Education
Essential
- Masters Degree in Pharmacy or equivalent
- Registered member of the General Pharmaceutical Council
Desirable
- Non-Medical Prescribing certificate - or ability to work towards
- Post-graduate Diploma / MSc in Clinical pharmacy
Skills & Knowledge
Essential
- Tact and negotiation skills to ensure adherence to drug treatment protocols / policies
- Analytical and judgmental skills to critically appraise medical literature and patient information for application to highly complex patient care situations
Desirable
- Patient assessment and diagnostic skills within independent prescribing scope of practice.
- Advanced IT skills
- Previous experience in providing pharmaceutical care to palliative care patients
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.
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).
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.
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).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
