Deputy Chief Pharmacist Medicines Governance & Access

Job responsibilities

The post holder will work across the NW London ICS to support the ICS Chief Pharmacist manage the effective working of medicines governance & access and delivery objectives of the NW London-wide Medicines Optimisation Team. The post holder will have responsibility for the operational management of the Medicines Governance & Access specialism. The job description and person specification are an outline of the tasks, responsibilities and outcomes required of the role. The job holder will carry out any other duties as may reasonably be required by their line manager. The job description and person specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the Department and the Organisation.

To provide the management and strategic support to the NW London IMOC and its subcommittee/groups around medicines in NW London as determined by the Chief Pharmacist.

Ensure that NW London operates an effective and efficient committee structure with appropriate governance to facilitate medicines optimisation for the system, and ensure the team provides high quality secretarial support to medicines-related committees/groups.

To drive implementation and ensure alignment of the activities and decisions made by the IMOC across the local health economy.

Establish effective working relationships with colleagues in NW London IMOC partner organisations to ensure maximal engagement and delivery of the NW London IMOCs objectives.

Ensure expert support and input to the medicines processes of Individual Funding Requests for high cost drugs.

To support the ICS Chief Pharmacist with the work of national work programs as appropriate, such as high cost drugs and the use of digital enablers to improve outcomes from medicines.

Operational management of the Medicines Governance and Access specialism to deliver the strategic aims of the four ICB objectives and as required by the ICS Chief Pharmacist.

Working within the overall strategic objectives, devise and lead the implementation and delivery of medicines optimisation work. This will require using own highly specialist knowledge and experience to appraise options, influence others and create evidence where it is lacking.

Responsibility for the integration of medicines optimisation across NW London interface to deliver measurable improvements in medicines optimisation and health outcomes.

Support the ICS Chief Pharmacist in building and maintaining effective relationships with system leaders and other stakeholders and leading evolution of the system wide Medicines Optimisation strategy.

Accountable for working collaboratively in the development and implementation of qualitative and quantitative measures to determine performance against medicines optimisation programs. Report progress against the program through personal representation and by written reports at relevant meetings and groups.

Develop and implement schemes and frameworks to ensure legal, safe, cost effective and best value use of medicines in NHS services, driving change for national and locally agreed targets relating to medicines management.

Ensure coherent system and financial management for drugs across the local healthcare system, including through deep collaboration with Trusts, relevant IMOC and delegated subgroups.

Ensure that any medicines optimisation work that can be done once for NW London is done only once.

Engage with key pharmacy leads to inform development of strategy and policies and identify examples of national and international best practice.

To drive collaborative working across the local health economy through engagement and building relationships with the Committees internal and external stakeholders.

To be a champion for the NW London IMOC and the programme of Pharmacy work across the system.

The role will take guidance from corporate or national policies and guidelines and have overall corporate accountability for own specialism.

To provide highly specialist pharmaceutical advice and make recommendations for effective strategies, providing expertise and clear leadership to stakeholders and partners to deliver safe, effective and evidence-based medicine.

To lead and contribute to the review of medicines patient pathways as appropriate, in conjunction with clinical leads across North West London

To work closely with clinical leads and system stakeholders and partners to develop innovative approaches to service redesign to address health inequalities, reduce unwarranted variation and improve outcomes for long term conditions covering prevention, diagnostics, treatment, optimisation and complex needs.

To manage the horizon scanning process with relevant system partners and assessing the impact of any changes in prescribing practice on the wider health economy.

This is not an exhaustive list of duties; staff are therefore required to undertake any other duties commensurate with the grade and in line with the requirement of this post

Planning and Organisation & Governance

To use clinical and change management skills to undertake and implement care pathway redesign, including provision of an overview of medicines usage and transfer of care issues across multiple patient pathways (and multiple providers and commissioners).

To be able to work alone to tight deadlines and concentrate for long periods of time on complex work.

To oversee preparation and presentation of the monthly NICE updates for Committee meetings, which plans for NICE technology appraisal guidance and supports the overall system-wide horizon scanning process.

Contribute a professional perspective to the discussions of the committee.

Policy and Service Development

To ensure IMOC response to national proposals relating to the use of medicines, as needed.

To support systems that ensure appropriate governance is in place for Shared Care Guidelines across the local health economy.

To oversee development of Shared Care across the local heath economy and work with NW London IMOC member organisations to ensure appropriate consultation.

To provide expertise on medicines optimisation leadership and advice on high cost, hospital and specialist medicines.

To support and facilitate the review of clinical patient treatment pathways as appropriate, in conjunction with clinical leads across North West London.

Promote implementation and support delivery of NICE guidance and other relevant national policies relating to prescribing, pharmaceutical services and medicines use and support establishment of systems for monitoring and reporting on uptake.

To engage with local stakeholders to further develop the approach in NW London in the use of outcomes monitoring frameworks, which assess the value and impact from specialist treatment pathways.

To provide leadership on delivery of the NHS Long Term Plan with a specific focus on medicines optimisation and long-term conditions.

Support the NW London ICB in taking appropriate action to prevent fraud and liaise with the relevant Local Counter Fraud Specialists.

Financial and Physical Resources

To support improvement in approaches for reporting on the use of specialist high cost medicines and the outcomes delivered within local pathways.

To lead coordination of the horizon scanning processes across NW London stakeholders for new and repurposed medicines/indications, which includes financial planning for NICE guidance.

To work with the Business Intelligence Team and contracting team to further develop approaches for reporting on the use of specialist high cost medicines used within local pathways.

To be numerate and be able to understand complex financial issues combined with deep analytical skills.

Constantly strive for value for money and greater efficiency in the use of the system wide medicines budgets. This will include advising on innovative opportunities in relation to medicines optimisation that supports strategies and programmes to maximise service benefits.

Lead, support and contribute to formal negotiations with senior level staff from external stakeholders, providing a high level of negotiating expertise and highly specialist clinical knowledge to secure the most advantageous arrangements around medications to ensure the most cost-effective, high quality and safe services.

Ensure the securing of value for money and cost-effective use of medicines, giving due consideration to all relevant factors including risk, quality, sustainability, and other factors.

Staff Management and Leadership

The post holder will require highly developed leadership skills to work within a distributed model of ICS pharmacy leadership across NW London.

The post holder will hold responsibility for staff management and leadership including recruitment, career development, performance, work evaluation, and to provide clinical leadership to the Team.

Postholder will work with other line managers to help matrix manage the work of other non-direct line managed staff.

To recruit and line manage roles in line with organisational structures.

Professional leadership of the team, including responsibility for developing a work plan, appraising, setting objectives, risk assessments and performance management (including appraisal, recruitment, disciplinary and grievance)

To work as part of the NW London Medicines Optimisation team and provide leadership and support for all levels of staff working within it.

Supporting and developing clinical and professional leadership.

Contributing to future workforce planning and development and succession planning.

The post holder will be committed to the development of themselves and others and have ability to influence and motivate others.

Participate in the staff appraisal scheme as an appraiser and be responsible for complying with personal development programmes to meet set knowledge and competency requirements.

Experience

Essential

• Formulary, policy and guidelines development and implementation
• Critical appraisal skills and knowledge to analyse, interpret and evaluate clinical papers, clinical evidence, data and information from various sources to make judgements, decisions and provide recommendations
• Hospital and Commissioning - working in a large organisation in a multidisciplinary setting
• Proven and demonstrable experience of working in primary and secondary care
• Experience of budget management and detailed knowledge of NHS medicines funding and reimbursement models.
• Proven track record of consensus building
• Demonstrating achievement of personal and departmental objectives
• Negotiating and implementing change in practice
• Effective multi-disciplinary working
• Of audit and project management
• Of drafting Board reports
• Working with and analysing complex data
• Providing advice and support with tact and sensitivity
• Engaging and interacting effectively with colleagues at all levels.
• Building professional and personal credibility to win support
• Implementing change effectively within own service and facilitates change within the organisation.
• Providing leadership and advice to a changing group of pharmacy colleagues

Skills

Essential

• Ability to assess the financial impact of decisions made by decision making forums
• Ability to develop, maintain and monitor information systems relating to medicines to support innovation initiatives
• Able to demonstrate excellent organisational skills and an ability to plan, prioritise, organise own workload of complex activities and work to deadlines
• Good managerial skills
• Willingness to tackle difficult issues
• Able to use informed persuasion to influence, constructively challenge and negotiate with other healthcare professionals across the health economy
• Utilisation of the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills as in some cases there may be significant barriers from clinicians or organisations which need to be overcome
• Strong numerical and analytical skills to accurately analyse and manage complex data (e.g. prescribing data)
• Ability to work independently and use own initiative and also as an effective, committed team player
• Able to develop a wide range of contacts both inside and outside the organisation to gain support for and thus achieve goals
• Ability to communicate effectively and influence primary/ acute care clinicians to implement change
• Ability to contribute constructively to group discussions and deliberations
• Developed communication skills for effectively delivering key messages and highly complex, contentious & highly sensitive information to a range of stakeholders across multiple organisations, both internal and external (including outside the NHS), some at very senior level
• Good written skills, with the ability to produce letters, recommendations, reports, presentations and proposals
• Applies sound professional judgement to legal and ethical issues
• Ability to make important decisions in pressured situations
• Proven time management skills
• Able to provide leadership in complex organisational circumstances and gain support for professional pharmaceutical issues with stakeholders

Qualifications

Essential

• Vocational Masters Degree in Pharmacy or other degree enabling registration as a pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council
• Registered pharmacist (General Pharmaceutical Council)
• Mandatory continuing professional development to maintain fitness to practice
• Postgraduate management qualification or relevant short courses and experience providing equivalent knowledge
• Enthusiasm for the post

Knowledge

Essential

• Understanding of NHS structures and key clinical drivers e.g. NICE, 5 Year Forward View
• Primary and secondary care working and organisational structures.
• In depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence based healthcare
• Understanding of pharmacy issues in primary, secondary and community care
• Understanding of funding issues for medicines in primary and secondary care
• Of risk management strategies, including assessment and prioritisation
• Of optimisation of clinical care by care pathway redesign, especially relating to medicines use
• Understanding of the commissioning agenda (including the NHS Payment Scheme and high cost drugs, formerly the national tariff and tariff excluded drugs)
• Broad understanding of the current funding arrangements for different sectors of the NHS

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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).