Advanced Clinical Pharmacist for Mental Health

Integrated Care System; Plymouth; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare provider in Plymouth is seeking an Advanced Clinical Pharmacist specializing in mental health. In this role, you will lead a dedicated pharmacy service, ensuring the safe use of medications while mentoring junior staff. Attractive benefits include a flexible working environment and professional development opportunities. Ideal candidates will hold a Master's in Pharmacy and possess strong leadership skills. This dynamic role contributes to improving mental health services in the community.

Benefits

Flexible working hours

Professional development opportunities

Attractive relocation package

Free parking on site

Qualifications

• Experience as a pharmacist, working in mental health and as part of a team.
• Ability to mentor junior staff and lead pharmacy initiatives.
• Strong knowledge in clinical pharmacy relevant to mental health.

Responsibilities

• Lead provision of a specialised clinical pharmacy service.
• Monitor and promote effective use of medicines in mental health.
• Develop and deliver training to healthcare staff.

Skills

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

Leadership and team working skills

Excellent critical appraisal and analytical skills

Education

Masters Degree in Pharmacy

Registered member of the General Pharmaceutical Council

Postgraduate qualification in psychiatric pharmacy

Tools

Microsoft Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Advanced Clinical Pharmacist for Mental Health

We are seeking an exceptional pharmacist with a passion for mental health to join our pharmacyteam. You will be a confident,motivated individual who will work closely with other health careprofessionals within the organisation to deliver a responsive and pro-activepeople focused service to continuously improve clinical pharmacy delivery within mental health.

As part of a team of advanced clinical pharmacists in mental health you will have theunique opportunity to rotate and work across different areas within mental health and specialise in a chosen area. You will be able to further develop your knowledge and careeraspirations. You will also be involved in developing junior members of the team in mental health sharing your passion and inspiring them to continue in this fascinating, and increasingly important area.

In this post your personal and professional development willbe key to achieving job satisfaction and success. You will be supported in yourclinical and leadership development by the pharmacy senior leadership team and other members of the health care team, including Psychiatrists and specialist nurses.

At LSW we support flexible working and value work lifebalance. We currently provide pharmacy services Monday to Friday, withno on-call, late nights, weekend or bank holiday working, with free parking availableon site. LSW is also able to offer an attractive relocation package

Main duties of the job

This is a key role within LSW, providingclinical and managerial support to the Mental Health Pharmacy Team. You will be leading and delivering a high quality, specialised clinicalpharmacy service to mental health areas in the Organisation and linking withour System partners.

You will be jointly responsible for the coordination of clinical pharmacy services towards, units, and service areas, including responding to and further developinga medicines information service whilst setting standards for the juniorpharmacists to emulate. You will lead on and develop clinical auditswithin mental health and have the opportunity be involved in research andfurther develop your career.

You will have input into the strategic development of Medicines Optimisation inMental Health Services and hold a highly visible role within the organisation.You will be a pharmacist with a passion and commitment in this area who wantsto help develop the service whilst ensuring medicine related governance is inplace, bringing the additional skills of an experienced pharmacist to the team.

Please note that LWSW may close the job advertisement earlier than the specified deadline.

This role may not be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route.

All Livewell staff are expected to be able and willing to work across a 7 day service.

About us

Livewell Southwest is an independent, award-winning socialenterprise delivering integrated health and social care services acrossPlymouth, South Hams, and West Devon, with specialist services in parts ofDevon and Cornwall. Our teams work in community hospitals, GP practices, sportscentres, and health hubs.

As an organisation with a strong social conscience we are guided by our values,kindness, respect, inclusivity, ambition, responsibility, andcollaboration. We focus on transforming services to ensure sustainability, whileempowering staff and those we serve.

We involve the people we care for, along with their families and carers, inshaping the care they receive, striving to deliver the right care at the righttime and place. Centering our work on individual needs helps people leadhealthy, independent lives.

We prioritise employees' development, offering protected CPD time, trainingpathways, leadership programs, and funding for qualifications like the CareCertificate and Nurse Training Scholarships. Our induction and preceptorshipprograms ensure a smooth transition into our organisation.

Livewell Southwest values diversity and encourages applications from allsections of the community, including those with armed forces experience, lived experience of mentalhealth, neuro-diverse conditions and learning disabilities. If you need assistance or reasonable adjustments during theapplication process, contact the Recruiting Manager listed in the job advert.

Job responsibilities

Clinical / Professional

Tobe responsible for and lead the provision of a high quality, specialisedclinical pharmacy service to ensure the safe, clinically effective and cost-efficientuse of drugs in mental health.

Tobe responsible for the delivery of the clinical pharmacy services to nominatedareas, including attendance at consultant ward rounds, providing expertpharmaceutical advice and setting standards for junior pharmacists to emulate.

Tobe responsible for the provision of professional pharmaceutical advice tohealthcare colleagues, patients, and carers asnecessary.

To develop and monitor pharmacy initiatives such asmedicines reconciliation on admission and provision of discharge summaries toGPs, which promote seamless transfer of patients from secondary care to primarycare and vice versa.

To beresponsible for the development of ward/unit based pharmaceutical careinitiatives e.g. self-medication schemes, use of patients own drugs inhospital, one-stop dispensing, patient and carer counselling, dischargeplanning, assessing patient concordance and improved communication with primarycare healthcare professionals withinmental health.

Tolead on and develop policy or service changes within Mental Health whichimprove ward or community services and be responsible for their implementation.

Topromote and monitor compliance with the South and West Devon Joint Formularyand to assist in formulary applications and review for medicines to be used inMental Health.

To be responsible for monitoring prescribing practice topromote cost-effective and economic use of resources and contribute to theestablishment and implementation of prescribing guidelines within mental health.

Tobe lead on and be responsible for reporting and review of clinical and otherpharmacy related audits within mental health.

Tobe responsible for the development of junior pharmacy staff within mentalhealth including rotational pharmacists and trainee pharmacists

To provideevidence of Continuing Professional Development on an annual basis atappraisal, in accordance with guidance issued by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

Tocover for ward pharmacists as required, during periods of absence

Occasionaldispensary cover including dispensing and checking of medication followinglocal SOPs.

Analytical and Judgemental Skills

Have highly developed skiIls foranalysing drug, patient intimation in mental health in order to provide adviceon medicines, dosages, production issues/ in areas where information is lackingand medical or other opinion differs

Clinical screening of prescriptioncharts and discharge prescriptions, to ensure prescriptions are safe and appropriate.

Responding to and recording medicinesinformation requests from prescribers and other healthcare professionalsrelating to mental health and providing advice on medicines proactively. Inmany cases this is a complex task involving highly specialist up to dateknowledge, effective search strategies, evaluation of the evidence base andformulation of an appropriate response.

To be responsible for the investigationand monitoring of medicines related incidents relating to mental health,recommending and implementing change as required to improve patient safety,collating these for discussion at pharmacy team meetings and at the Medicines Governance Group (MGG).

Clinical Governance

To be responsible for and lead onclinical governance and risk management through interventions which optimisethe management of medicines in mental health, supporting best practicethroughout all areas of responsibility

To participate in and leadmultidisciplinary groups in the review and development of selected medicinesrelated policies and procedures relating to mental health and present to theMGG.

To lead on the development and review ofdocuments e.g. Patient Group Directions, Policies, Guidelines and Protocolsrelating to mental health and presenting reviewed documents to the MGG

To support professional leads inidentifying and addressing evidence-based medicine practice consistent with therequirements of clinical governance and of national directives

To work with the Pharmacy SeniorManagement Team to lead on continuous quality improvement projects and auditwithin mental health

Managerial

To providementoring, training, supervision and line management of mental healthsubstantive and rotational pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and other pharmacystaff and students as required, including appraisals and performance reviews.

Toorganise the trainee pharmacist timetable when they rotate through mentalhealth

Toact as Designated Supervisor to a Trainee Pharmacist annually as required.

To mentor/buddy other NMPswithin Mental Health.

To Act as a Designated PrescribingPractitioner, Educational supervisor or Practice Supervisor as appropriate formembers of the team undertaking their independent prescribing training.

Freedom to Act

Pharmacists are expected to work largelyunsupervised and to act on their own professional judgement.

Clinical supervision from another healthprofessional can be arranged and is to be encouraged.

Technical roles are defined by standardoperating procedures which should always be followed.

Clinical roles are supported by policiesand guidelines within which the pharmacist is allowed professional discretion / interpretation.

This roleincludes setting the parameters under which other pharmacy staff will operate.

Training andEducation

To lead on the training and developmentof pharmacy staff within Mental Health and support training of other staffmembers within the team as appropriate

To plan, develop and deliver appropriatetraining and education to healthcare colleagues, carer groups and outsideagencies to promote the safe use and clinical application of medicines within mental health

To beresponsible for and lead on the induction of new pharmacy staff with mental health

To assist and lead, where appropriate,on the training provided to pharmacy students, trainee pharmacists and otherpharmacy staff

Health, Safety andSecurity

To worksafely in the dispensary, ward and office environments ensuring any risksidentified to health and safety are managed or escalated to line manager

To ensuresafety and security of medicines, prescription stationery and patientidentifiable documents according to locally agreed standard operating procedures.

To informline manager of any breaches of safety or security or if agreed procedures arethought to be inadequate to manage the risk.

COMMUNICATIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS

The ability tocommunicate highly complex drug or medicine related information to prescribers,clinicians, patients, relatives within the mental health service.

Well-developed verbal andwritten communications skills (including telephone and email) are essential tothe role.

To liaise with all levelsof healthcare staff and professionals working in the multidisciplinary team within mental health.

The ability to challengeand accept professional challenge from other health care professionals

To liaise with patientsand carers, the acute hospitals, doctors, GPs, community nurses and communitypharmacists to ensure appropriate supply ofmedicines.

To communicate pharmacy /medication issues clearly and concisely at team meetings and governance groupse.g.MGG.

Towork virtually through use of technology where required.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS OF THE JOB

There is a need to travel between units in a timely fashion,therefore ability to drive and to use own car is an advantage.

Goodkeyboard / computer skills are essential.

Limitedmanual handling of static loads.

Person Specification

Experience

• Experience as a practising pharmacist, including experience of working in mental health and as a member of a Multidisciplinary Team
• Experience of networking with other healthcare professionals across the full range of disciplines at all levels
• Experience of review and development of pharmacy / medication related policies, procedures and PGDs
• Experience of audit work
• Experience of delivering education to healthcare staff and patients / carers via workshops, informal discussion or formal lectures
• Experience of preparing documents for clinical governance groups and presenting these to a committee
• Experience of leading on audit and producing reports
• Experience of mentoring, supervision and line management
• Experience of influencing, negotiating and implementing change in practice

Qualifications

• Masters Degree (or equivalent) in Pharmacy
• Registered Practising Member of the General Pharmaceutical Council
• Specialist knowledge acquired by postgraduate diploma or equivalent evidence of specialist knowledge, competence and achievements in practice in mental health
• Evidence of Continuing Professional Development and revalidation
• Postgraduate qualification in psychiatric pharmacy
• Member of specialist interest groups
• Working towards membership of the RPS Faculty or towards being a credentialed member of the College of Mental Health Pharmacy
• Independent prescriber or willingness to work towards

Skills

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills including verbal, written and formal presentation skills for a wide variety of audiences
• Computer literate including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Email and Internet
• Excellent critical appraisal and analytical skills, with a sound understanding of evidence based medicine
• Can work with and influence managers, nursing and medical staff
• Leadership and team working skills
• Ability to act as an excellent role model or mentor
• Self-motivated and able to motivate others with enthusiasm
• Able to reflect on and appraise own performance and that of others
• Ability to plan and prioritise own work and that of others with good organisational and time- management skills
• Able to work under pressure and to tight deadlines
• Ability to travel across the LSW area
• Ability to influence and negotiate with a range of stakeholders to implement change in practice
• Able to resolve conflict and disagreement
• Ability to manage change
• Access to own transport

Knowledge

• Excellent knowledge of clinical pharmacy as it relates to mental health and substance misuse
• Knowledge and understanding of antimicrobial stewardship
• Understanding of non-medical prescribing, patient group directions and other alternatives to medical prescribing
• Aware of current healthcare targets, NICE guidance and other national directives and the implications for implementation in primary and secondary care
• Highly specialised knowledge of drug use within mental health and substance misuse
• Broad knowledge of the structure, organisation and priorities of the NHS and other healthcare services at a national and local level

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.

Full-time,Part-time,Job share,Flexible working

Reference number

B9832-2025-PH-329

Job locations

200 Mount Gould Road

Mount Gould

Plymouth

PL4 7PY