Senior Clinical Pharmacist - Virtual Wards

Job responsibilities

Role summary - please note that a full JD/PS is attached to this vacancy

The post holder will be an integral member of the C&M virtual wards pharmacy team. The main duties are to provide specialist clinical pharmacy services to patients admitted to the virtual wards across the ICB footprint and be part of the Place virtual ward clinical teams:

Lead and deliver on a specialist clinical pharmacy service to virtual ward patients.

Provide and develop a specialist clinical pharmacy service to improve the quality of patient care and to promote evidence-based, cost-effective prescribing and use of medicines. Identify risks related to medicines and manage these to ensure patient safety and improve patient experience.

Manage other members of the virtual wards pharmacy team as appropriate.

Lead on projects and audits to monitor the delivery of the pharmacy service as the virtual wards evolve.

Provide training and education to clinical and healthcare staff, including members of the virtual ward MDT.

Play a key role liaising with a range of colleagues in the virtual ward teams, notably prescribers, nurses, other clinical roles, finance, human resources, estates, facilities, transport and health and safety.

Participate in the virtual ward MDT ward rounds.

The post is allocated a base but may be expected to travel to patients homes across a defined geographical area within C&M.

The post holder will be required to work with different organisations across C&M ICS.

The post holder will be expected to work flexibly in line with hours of operation of virtual ward sites.

Qualifications

Essential

• Master's degree in pharmacy or equivalent
• Registered as a pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
• Specialist knowledge acquired through a post graduate diploma course in Clinical Pharmacy or similar or alternatively acquired through relevant and equivalent experience

Desirable

• Registered independent prescriber with the GPhC.

Physical Effort

Essential

• Able to lift / carry pharmaceutical goods.

Experience

Essential

• Extensive relevant post-registration experience
• Broad specialist clinical pharmacy knowledge.
• Developing and undertaking clinical and non-clinical audits.
• Familiarity with the concepts of evidence-based medicines.
• Involved in identifying and assessing risk to improve patient safety.
• Ability to demonstrate evidence of working in multi-disciplinary teams.
• Specialist knowledge and experience on relevant areas of community health services.
• Understanding of issues related to independent prescribing.
• Experience of providing clinical pharmacy services.
• Expertise of addressing and resolving legal issues related to medicines.
• Experience of implementing NICE, NSF recommendations related to medicines.
• Addressing, implementing and monitoring compliance with NHS Improvement Patient Safety Alerts related to medicines.
• Developing and delivering medicines management training to other healthcare professionals

Desirable

• Managing or advising on drug budgets and drugs costs and how to monitor these.
• Experience of provision of medicines information and associated systems.
• Experience of working with older people with complex health needs as a clinical pharmacist.
• Management/supervision of pharmacy staff.

Skills, Knowledge and Competencies

Essential

• Excellent organisational skills.
• Ability to develop effective working relationships at all levels.
• Effective influencing and negotiation skills and ability to persuade others.
• Ability to communicate effectively with a range of healthcare staff including prescribers, social care staff and patients.
• Ability to work independently and within a team.
• Good time management skills, with ability to prioritise and manage own workload.
• Knowledge of other professional registering bodies e.g., NMC, GMC.
• Able to apply sound professional judgement to legal and ethical issues.
• Able to work and deliver within identified timelines.
• Self-motivated and able to initiate change.
• Good written communication skills.
• Methodological approach and attention to detail in terms of medicines.

Desirable

• Ability to generate prescribing data using epact.net and to interpret data produced.

Specific role requirements

Essential

• Reliable, enthusiastic and self-motivated.
• Flexible approach.
• Able to concentrate on dispensing / checking/ clinical screening for extended periods.
• Able to cope with interruptions when busy.
• Able to work to deadlines i.e., transport, patients requiring medication.

Physical skills

Essential

• Computer literate including use of word-processing, excel spread-sheets, power-point.
• Ability to write report and other documents.

Desirable

• Knowledge of primary care clinical Systems (EMIS/SystmOne)
• Knowledge of secondary care clinical systems.

Mental Effort

Essential

• Ability to assimilate, analyse and interpret complex data.
• Critical appraisal skills.
• Ability to challenge.
• Ability to work under pressure and be able to make important decisions.
• Ability to deal with ambiguity and uncertainty.

Skills, Knowledge and Competencies

Essential

• Good presentation skills.
• Good verbal communication skills.

Specific role requirements

Essential

• Professional appearance and manner.

Emotional Effort

Essential

• Exposure to upsetting situations, high level of resilience to deal with distressing and/or challenging situations
• Distressed patients with complex diseases. May work with distressed patients, relatives due to drug regime, drug misadventures.

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).