Specialist Pharmacist

Job description

Job responsibilities

Provision of Clinical Pharmacy Services:

The post holder will:

Provide clinical pharmacy services on rotation to the acute medical, surgical, critical care units, paediatrics and frailty medicine under the clinical supervision of Lead Specialist Pharmacists.

Provide specialised pharmaceutical advice concerning the care of patients and undertake pharmaceutical risk management for the areas where duties are being carried out.

Ensure compliance with medicines legislation, the Trust Medicines Policy, and medicines related national and local guidelines within the areas where duties are being carried out.

Be accountable for own professional actions guided by appropriate technical and professional SOPs and associated policies, national directives, standards, guidelines, senior pharmacist colleagues, and the post-holders own specialised knowledge.

Plan duties and prioritise workload according to the needs of patients, medical and nursing staff in order to complete the following within the time available:

Analysing patients individual pharmaceutical care needs.

Identifying and correcting prescribing errors/unclear prescriptions with medical staff.

Advising prescribers on doses, side effects, alternative treatments.

Communicate complex pharmaceutical recommendations and advice concerning patients treatment effectively to medical and nursing staff and other health care professionals.

Interview newly admitted patients to construct an accurate medication history, assess compliance/concordance issues, and:

Review information against the admission details and prescription chart.

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

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.

Monitor TPN on a daily basis against individual patients need and clinical condition.

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.

Assist with the therapeutic blood monitoring of identified drugs within the post-holders clinical area including:

Initial patient assessment and initiation of appropriate loading or starting doses.

Interpretation of blood level results and subsequent adjustment of the patients dose of medicine and amendment of the patients prescription in order to optimise the beneficial results of therapy whilst minimising any potential toxicity.

Provision of Information and Counselling:

The post holder will:

Advise medical, nursing and technical pharmacy staff on the safe and appropriate management of medicines together with the safe handling and disposal of medicines including those which are noxious or harmful.

Advise all health care professionals on storage, stability, compatibility and expiry issues regarding medicines.

On rotation, provide information to consultants, General Practitioners, medical, nursing and pharmacy staff on all aspects of medicines and therapy with medicines for individual patients and patient groups.

Counsel and provide information about their medicines to patients with complex needs such as a physical disability which may affect information requirements (sight or hearing) or language difficulties.

Provision of Professional Dispensary Services:

The post holder will be responsible for:

Providing on a rotational basis the clinical pharmacist check on all prescriptions dispensed by the Worcester/Alexandra Dispensaries. This will require the scrutiny of prescriptions from medical and other practitioners to ensure they are accurate, appropriate for the patients needs, legal and cost-effective with respect to:

Appropriate therapeutic selection of medicines.

Appropriate dose, frequency and quantity.

Avoidance of potentially harmful drug-drug interactions or side effects.

Adherence to the Trust Formulary, unlicensed medicines policy and high cost drug procedures.

Questioning and challenging the prescriptions of prescribers whenever the post holder perceives it to be professionally appropriate and in the best interests of the patient.

Ensuring the accurate dispensing and documentation of clinical trial material as requested.

Use the Pharmacy dispensing and stock management system to query the availability, location and cost of medicines, and to dispense and supply medicines when necessary.

Use the Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (ePMA) system for clinically checking and processing of in-patient and discharge prescriptions.

Managerial responsibilities:

The post holder will:

Provide day to day clinical supervision for pharmacy Foundation Trainee graduates, band 6 pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, assistant pharmacy technicians, and students.

Financial Responsibilities:

The post-holder will:

Help to maintain the security of medicines and supplies within the Pharmacy Departments.

Undertake regular statutory checks of Controlled Drugs on hospital wards.

Provide advice and support to their allocated wards in relation to the Safe and Secure Handling of medicines.

Provision of Education, Training and CPD:

The post holder will be responsible for:

Participating in the Trust personal development review (PDR), agreeing service and personal objectives with the Clinical Pharmacy Team Leader and being responsible for self audit to demonstrate both achievement of objectives and evidence of value to the Directorate/Trust.

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

Agreeing and completing a yearly training plan (PDP) with the Clinical Pharmacy Team Lead in line with PDR objectives

Other Operational Responsibilities:

The post holder will:

Assist in the delivery of the pharmacy departments dispensing and other operational, and clinical, services as required to meet the needs of the service:

Accurately, with no margin for error, dispense/prepare medicines ensuring doses are correct and accurately weighed, measured and or counted.

Check medicines that other pharmacy staff have dispensed/prepared to ensure they have been dispensed correctly.

Participate in the Weekend service and Bank Holiday rotas.

Undertake emergency duties of a pharmaceutical nature integral to fulfilling an Emergency Duty Commitment, on a rota with other pharmacists at WRH/AH.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Current experience of successfully delivering NHS pharmacy services as a qualified pharmacist registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council.
• Attained or working towards post-graduate level training. E.g. Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy with at least 1 year completed, RPS Newly Qualified Pharmacist Pathway (linked with RPS Post Registration Foundation Curriculum), able to provide evidence across 4 of the domains.
• Holds, currently undertaking or eligible to undertake Independent Prescribing qualification.
• Currently meeting the GPhC standards for continuing professional development.

Desirable

• Current experience of successfully delivering hospital pharmacy services as a pharmacist to a range of general and specialist areas under the direction of experienced registered pharmacists.
• Accredited Independent Prescriber.
• Health Assessments qualification.
• Working towards RPS Faculty membership.
• Attained or working towards a leadership and management qualification. E.g. The Edward Jenner Programme or equivalent.

Experience

Essential

• Current post graduate relevant experience in delivering clinical services.
• Experience in influencing and persuading senior clinicians in relation to optimal medicine treatment for patients.
• Experience of successfully supervising and contributing to the training of pharmacists and pharmacy technical staff.
• Experience of contributing to the preparation and delivery of reports, audits, clinical guidelines for 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/on-call.
• Experience of training nurses and doctors.
• Experience of leading a team.

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

Charles Hastings Way

Worcester

Worcestershire

WR5 1DD

Employer's website

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