Job summary
Islington GP Federation is looking to recruit clinical pharmacists to support patient care in Primary Care Networks in line with the new Network Contract Directed Enhanced Service (DES) Specification. Islington GP Federation is looking to recruit clinical pharmacists to support patient care in Primary Care Networks in line with the new Network Contract Directed Enhanced Service (DES) Specification.
We are seeking a PCN pharmacist with previous experience of working in primary care to develop and manage Medicines Optimisation services within general practice. You will be working with a very supportive large pharmacy team of 40 pharmacists and 5 Pharmacy Technicians. The post holder will work as part of a multi- disciplinary team in a patient-facing role. They will take responsibility for areas of chronic disease management within practices and undertake clinical medication reviews to proactively manage patients with complex polypharmacy.
The role is pivotal to improving the quality of care and operational efficiencies so requires motivation and passion to deliver excellent service within general practice.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will provide primary support to general practice staff with regards to prescriptions and medication queries. They will help support the repeat prescribing system, medicines reconciliation, and support systems for safer prescribing. They will be expected to provide expertise in clinical medicines advice while addressing both public and social care needs of patients.
The post holder will provide clinical leadership on Medicines Optimisation and manage some aspects of the Quality and Outcomes Framework and Enhanced Services. They will ensure that practices integrate with community and hospital pharmacy to facilitate effective communication across different healthcare settings.
The post holder will provide primary support to general practice staff with regards to prescriptions and medication queries. They will help support the repeat prescribing system, medicines reconciliation, and support systems for safer prescribing. They will be expected to provide expertise in clinical medicines advice while addressing both public and social care needs of patients.
The post holder will be supported to complete the Primary care pharmacy education pathway with CPPE and develop their role to become a non-medical prescriber.
About us
Islington GP Federation (IGPF) is a growing organisation representing 31 practices; we have established ourselves as a leader in new ways of working, including running Islingtons extended access primary care services (I: HUB) as well as supporting the Islington Primary Care Networks (PCNs). Our current range of services include the Extended Access Service, I: HUB, Community Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), Integrated Community Gynaecology, practice-based pharmacists and a range of practice support mechanisms.IGPF works very closely with a range of partners including the regional commissioning group, NHS England, Healthy London Partnership, Public Health, local hospitals such as UCLH, Whittington Health and the London Borough of Islington.
IGPF is the host organisation for the Primary Care Network (PCN) workforce and the Islington Training Hub and has been working for over three years to create training and development programmes that meet the needs of staff working in primary and community care settings.
IGPF runs four Islington GP Practices-Northern Medical Practice, Barnsbury Medical Practice, City Road Medical Centre and Hanley Primary Care Centre
Job description
Job responsibilities
Duties and Responsibilities:
Patient facing activities
- Structured Medication reviews
- Frail elderly patient with problematic Polypharmacy, renal and/ or hepatic impairment
- Patients on high risk medicines
- STOPP/START identified patients
- Revolving door Hospital admissions
- LTC: Diabetes, Hypertension, Asthma, COPD
- contraception
- Learning Disability reviews
- Rheumatoid arthritis reviews Musculoskeletal pain management, e.g. osteoarthritis
- Ongoing care of defined conditions, e.g. eczema, psoriasis, irritable bowel syndrome IBS
- Contribute to multimorbidity reviews and multidisciplinary reviews
Repeat prescribing
- Produce and implement robust systems for repeat prescribing
- Support the management of repeat prescribing reauthorization process by reviewing complex patient requests for repeat prescriptions and reviewing medicines overdue a review
- Coordinate with patients and community pharmacies as appropriate
- Management of medicines at discharge from hospital
- To reconcile medicines following discharge from hospitals, intermediate care and into care homes
- Perform a clinical medication review, produce a post discharge medicines care plan including dose titration and booking of follow up tests and working with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge
Risk Management and Patient Safety
- Responsible for high-risk drug monitoring
- Responsible for design, development, and implementation of system searches to identify cohorts of patients at high risk of harm from medicines.
- Increase quality and safety of prescribing through mechanisms such as audit and PDSA cycles
- Implement drug withdrawals and alerts e.g. MHRA aimed at improving medicines safety
Medicine information to practice staff and patients
- Deal will all medication queries from
- From patients, community pharmacy, secondary care
- From admin staff
- From clinicians
- Act as a source of medicines information for the practice team and patients e.g. around doses, side effects, adverse events, possible alternatives for out of stocks
Care Quality Commission
- Provide leadership to the general practice teams to ensure practices are compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved.
- Undertake risk assessment and management and ensure compliance with medicines legislation.
Public health
Cost saving programs
- Promote evidence based, cost effective prescribing
- Lead on compliance with medicines formulary
- Training
- Provide education and training to primary healthcare team on procedures around medicines as appropriate
- Medicines quality improvement
- Identify medicine-related areas of care including using software tools to improve patient safety and use of medicines.
- Conduct medicine-related audits, significant event audit and complaint review.
- Contribute to medicine-related complaint response letters as appropriate
- Lead on use of TARGET toolkit for antimicrobial stewardship.
- Lead on stopping over-medication of people with a learning disability, autism, or both STOMP and people with dementia.
Medicines safety
- Identify national and local policy and guidance that affects patient safety using medicines, including MHRA alerts, product withdrawals and emerging evidence form clinical trials.
- Manage the process of implementing changes to medicines and guidance for practitioners.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Duties and Responsibilities:
Patient facing activities
- Structured Medication reviews
- Frail elderly patient with problematic Polypharmacy, renal and/ or hepatic impairment
- Patients on high risk medicines
- STOPP/START identified patients
- Revolving door Hospital admissions
- LTC: Diabetes, Hypertension, Asthma, COPD
- contraception
- Learning Disability reviews
- Rheumatoid arthritis reviews Musculoskeletal pain management, e.g. osteoarthritis
- Ongoing care of defined conditions, e.g. eczema, psoriasis, irritable bowel syndrome IBS
- Contribute to multimorbidity reviews and multidisciplinary reviews
Repeat prescribing
- Produce and implement robust systems for repeat prescribing
- Support the management of repeat prescribing reauthorization process by reviewing complex patient requests for repeat prescriptions and reviewing medicines overdue a review
- Coordinate with patients and community pharmacies as appropriate
- Management of medicines at discharge from hospital
- To reconcile medicines following discharge from hospitals, intermediate care and into care homes
- Perform a clinical medication review, produce a post discharge medicines care plan including dose titration and booking of follow up tests and working with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge
Risk Management and Patient Safety
- Responsible for high-risk drug monitoring
- Responsible for design, development, and implementation of system searches to identify cohorts of patients at high risk of harm from medicines.
- Increase quality and safety of prescribing through mechanisms such as audit and PDSA cycles
- Implement drug withdrawals and alerts e.g. MHRA aimed at improving medicines safety
Medicine information to practice staff and patients
- Deal will all medication queries from
- From patients, community pharmacy, secondary care
- From admin staff
- From clinicians
- Act as a source of medicines information for the practice team and patients e.g. around doses, side effects, adverse events, possible alternatives for out of stocks
Care Quality Commission
- Provide leadership to the general practice teams to ensure practices are compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved.
- Undertake risk assessment and management and ensure compliance with medicines legislation.
Public health
Cost saving programs
- Promote evidence based, cost effective prescribing
- Lead on compliance with medicines formulary
- Training
- Provide education and training to primary healthcare team on procedures around medicines as appropriate
- Medicines quality improvement
- Identify medicine-related areas of care including using software tools to improve patient safety and use of medicines.
- Conduct medicine-related audits, significant event audit and complaint review.
- Contribute to medicine-related complaint response letters as appropriate
- Lead on use of TARGET toolkit for antimicrobial stewardship.
- Lead on stopping over-medication of people with a learning disability, autism, or both STOMP and people with dementia.
Medicines safety
- Identify national and local policy and guidance that affects patient safety using medicines, including MHRA alerts, product withdrawals and emerging evidence form clinical trials.
- Manage the process of implementing changes to medicines and guidance for practitioners.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Mandatory registration with General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
- Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
- Faculty membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
- Masters degree in pharmacy (MPharm) (or equivalent)
- Specialist knowledge acquired through post- graduate diploma level or equivalent training/experience
- Independent prescriber or working towards/intent of gaining an independent prescribing qualification
Experience
Essential
- Minimum of 2 years post-qualification experience.
- In depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence-based healthcare.
- Basic understanding of General Practice, primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing
- Excellent interpersonal, influencing and negotiating skills
- Demonstrate the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information in an understandable form to a variety of audiences (e.g. patients)
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Demonstrate ability to plan, manage, monitor, advise and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long term conditions.
- Good IT skills
- Able to obtain and analyse complex technical information
- Recognises priorities when problem solving and identifies deviations from the normal pattern and can refer to seniors or GPs when appropriate
- Able to work under pressure and to meet deadlines
- Work effectively independently and as a team member
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Mandatory registration with General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
- Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
- Faculty membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
- Masters degree in pharmacy (MPharm) (or equivalent)
- Specialist knowledge acquired through post- graduate diploma level or equivalent training/experience
- Independent prescriber or working towards/intent of gaining an independent prescribing qualification
Experience
Essential
- Minimum of 2 years post-qualification experience.
- In depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence-based healthcare.
- Basic understanding of General Practice, primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing
- Excellent interpersonal, influencing and negotiating skills
- Demonstrate the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information in an understandable form to a variety of audiences (e.g. patients)
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Demonstrate ability to plan, manage, monitor, advise and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long term conditions.
- Good IT skills
- Able to obtain and analyse complex technical information
- Recognises priorities when problem solving and identifies deviations from the normal pattern and can refer to seniors or GPs when appropriate
- Able to work under pressure and to meet deadlines
- Work effectively independently and as a team member
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.
