Lead Clinical Pharmacist Acute Medicine

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key working relationships:

Specialist Clinical Services Division and Acute Medicine directorate in relation to the planning and delivery of the clinical pharmacy service.

Lead Specialist Pharmacists in the provision of an integrated, standardised and comprehensive clinical pharmacy and medicines management service to the acute medicine specialty and medical wards at Alexandra Hospital.

The Deputy Director of Pharmacy and the Chief Technician in relation to operational issues relating to the post-holder's clinical area.

Key Duties:

Provide a specialist clinical pharmacy and medicines management service for patients within Acute Medicine.

Liaise with the Emergency Department, AH regarding medicines management requirements.

Undertake pharmaceutical risk management for the Medical Division, based at AH.

Ensure compliance with medicines legislation, the Trust Medicines Policy, and medicines related national and local guidelines within the Medical Division at AH.

Contribute to producing and implementing appropriate technical and professional SOPs and associated policies to ensure that the Medical Divisions medicines management systems are safe, robust, guided by national directives, standards, guidelines, and the post-holders own specialist knowledge, and are quality assured.

Evaluate prescribing practices and amend according to evidence-based practice, national/regional directives and clinical governance targets on a daily basis, during Consultant ward-rounds, and within the multidisciplinary team.

Substantiate pharmaceutical recommendations and advice to medical and nursing staff and communicate effectively any necessary actions to medical and nursing staff.

Construct pharmaceutical care plans for patients, assess and monitor clinical progress and outcome with regard to their medication and actively intervene to ensure that patients receive optimal care with minimal side effects.

Provide specialist advice to health care professionals on all pharmaceutical issues arising within the post holder's specialist clinical area.

Be responsible for the therapeutic blood monitoring of identified drugs within the post-holders clinical area.

Following accreditation, function as an Independent Prescriber within an allocated clinical area or to a defined cohort of patients. This will be in line with GPhC registration requirements and be formally agreed with all appropriate and relevant clinicians, as well as being within the departmental scope and funding for IP practice.

General Duties:

Develop pharmacy services to the Acute Medicine directorate in response to the needs of the directorate and the Pharmacy department.

Actively participate in consultant led MDT ward rounds providing clinical pharmacy support as appropriate.

Devise management plans for patients, requesting appropriate tests and investigations in conjunction with consultant physicians. This will include a requirement for recommendation to discharge or admit for further tests, treatment and care.

Evaluate prescribing requirements, either making any necessary amendments to pre-admission medicines or in relation to the presenting complaint according to evidence-based practice, national/regional directives and clinical governance requirements.

Provide expert advice to other health care professionals on pharmaceutical issues arising within acute medicine.

Be responsible for the therapeutic blood monitoring of identified drugs within the post-holder's clinical area.

Manage and direct a ward-based medicines management pharmacy service to achieve Trust and departmental medicines management targets.

Manage, on a day to day basis, medicines management technicians, clinical pharmacists, foundation trainee pharmacists and students as allocated to achieve these outcomes.

Be responsible for ensuring that the ward-based teams work efficiently, accurately and within their own individual job remits.

Medication Reconciliation, Provision of Patient Information and Counselling.

Contribute to setting standards for, and manage the counselling of patients on their medicines within the Medical Division at AH to improve concordance and knowledge of their therapy and delivering training for allocated ward-based technicians in medication history taking.

Ensure all newly admitted patients are interviewed to construct an accurate medication history and assess compliance/concordance issues.

Review information against the admission details and prescription chart.

Pro-actively identify to medical staff any potential or actual medicines-related hospital admissions or associated issues and outline any required action to resolve identified discrepancies.

Assess patients discharge information requirements as early as possible in the admission stay to be able to prepare information on medicines for them based on individual need.

Counsel patients with complex needs.

Assist with the development and initiation of any self-administration schemes as appropriate within the post-holder's clinical area in line with ward requirements and team resources.

Managerial responsibilities

Plan own workload, contribute to the planning of the pharmacy services to the Medical Division and ensure pharmacy services are delivered according to plan.

Clinically supervise the ward-based medicines management pharmacy team of technicians, pharmacists, and students as allocated to achieve Trust and departmental medicines management targets for the Medical Division.

Line manage assigned junior pharmacist(s) within medicine.

Advise and support technical staff in the delivery of pharmaceutical care within the Medical Division.

Financial Responsibilities

Produce reports, analyse prescribing trends and provide guidance and advice on drug expenditure, prescribing patterns and high cost drug use for acute medicine.

Advise consultants on proposed new medicines for use within the post-holder's clinical area and assist with compiling new product assessments and evidence-based reviews for submission to the Area Prescribing Committee for formulary and funding approval.

Identify and implement measures to keep the Medical Divisions drug expenditure within agreed budgets. Discuss and influence drug expenditure and its management with key medical staff, and matrons within the post-holders specialist area.

Service Development and Business Planning.

Develop links with the clinical staff, matrons, ward managers, Specialty Medicine Division and senior pharmacy team.

Work with the senior clinical team to develop innovative strategies for utilising and embedding advanced clinical practice skills within acute medicine.

Contribute to the pharmacy service development plan for the Speciality Medical Division, attending review meetings with medical staff and Matrons to evaluate progress.

Lead on the creation, implementation and audit of clinical guidelines relating to all areas of medicines use within the post-holders area.

Contribute to the pharmacy modernisation initiatives within the Medical Division.

Contribute to planning and organising the delivery, standard and modernisation of clinical pharmacy services within WAHT.

Research and Clinical Audit

Ensure all pharmaceutical aspects of research in the post-holder's clinical area complies with relevant legislation.

Ensure that all clinical trials of medicines in the post holder's area comply with National Guidelines, the Trust medicines policy, and the Trial Protocols.

Help plan and conduct pharmaceutical practice-based research/audit in the Medical Division in conjunction with the Clinical Pharmacy Team Lead Pharmacists.

Create guidelines on the use of unlicensed medicines or licensed medicines used in an unlicensed way where standard information is not available, within the specialist post-holders area and to assist the pharmacy department.

Contribute to the creation, implementation and audit of clinical guidelines relating to all areas of medicines use within the post-holders area.

Education, Training and CPD

Participate in the Trust skills development review (PDR).

Agree service and personal objectives with the Clinical Pharmacy Team Lead and be responsible for self audit to demonstrate both achievement of objectives and evidence of value to the Trust.

Participate in a regular review of all duties with the Clinical Pharmacy Team Lead and make such alterations as necessary to meet the demands of a changing service.

To identify and address the training needs of junior pharmacists and other staff in relation to acute medicine.

Deliver teaching and training on the post holders specialist area to pharmacy, medical and nursing staff including pharmaceutical induction for new medical and nursing staff.

To ensure pharmacy staff are regularly updated in new developments within acute medicine.

Train, assess and provide feedback for clinical and technical pharmacy trainees as allocated.

Identify personal training and development required to ensure the quality of the service.

Agree and complete a yearly training plan (PDP) with Clinical Pharmacy Team Lead in line with objectives at PDR.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Current post diploma experience in delivering specialist clinical services to a medical speciality or directorate.
• Experience in influencing and persuading senior secondary care clinicians in relation to optimal medicine treatment for patients.
• Extensive experience of successfully supervising and contributing to the training of trainee pharmacists, pharmacists and pharmacy technical staff. Can evidence commitment to antimicrobial stewardship.
• Experience of preparing and delivering reports, audits, clinical guidelines at directorate/divisional level.
• Experience in developing and implementing quality improvement.

Desirable

• Practicing prescriber.
• Experience in providing an extended service as sole clinical practitioner e.g. residency service.
• Experience of delivering a clinical pharmacy service to acute medical patients.
• Experience of training/teaching.

Qualifications

Essential

• Professional knowledge acquired through a vocational degree in pharmacy.
• Currently Registered as a pharmacist in UK: Member of the General Pharmaceutical Council.
• Postgraduate clinical specialist knowledge acquired through diploma level training i.e. Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy or equivalent.
• Currently meeting the GPhC standard for continuing professional development.
• Accredited independent prescriber.

Desirable

• Have undertaken a Health Assessment course.
• Working towards RPS Faculty membership.
• Holds a leadership or management qualification Formal teaching/training on providing feedback.

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

Address

The Alexandra Hospital

Woodrow Drive

Redditch

Worcestershire

B98 7UB

Employer's website

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