Advanced Clinical Pharmacist (XR08)

Leeds Teaching Hospitals; Leeds; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent NHS Trust in the UK is seeking an Advanced Clinical Pharmacist to join their Urgent Care Pharmacy Team. The role involves providing advanced clinical pharmacy services to their Emergency departments and assisting in the management of patient care plans. The successful candidate will lead a team of pharmacists, ensure safe medicine use, and engage with multidisciplinary teams. This position requires advanced clinical knowledge, excellent communication skills, and the ability to work independently.

Qualifications

• Understanding of local and national pharmaceutical and clinical strategies.
• Leadership in clinical settings.
• Ability to manage complex pharmaceutical issues.

Responsibilities

• Provide advanced clinical pharmacy services to Emergency departments and Acute medicine wards.
• Lead the clinical pharmacy team to ensure safe and effective medicine use.
• Manage and monitor patient care plans with multidisciplinary teams.

Skills

Advanced clinical pharmacy knowledge

Exceptional communication skills

Team player

Self-motivated

Ability to work under own initiative

Education

MPharm

Clinical Diploma or Equivalent

Job description

Anexcellent opportunity has arisen for an aspirational and motivated individualto join the Urgent Care Pharmacy Team at Leeds Teaching Hospitals as anAdvanced Clinical Pharmacist.

Youwill be a core member of our Urgent Care Pharmacy Team providing advancedclinical and pharmaceutical services to our both our Emergency departments,Same Day Emergency Care unit and Acute medicine wards.

OurEmergency departments are split over two sites. Leeds General Infirmaryspecialising in Cardiology, Neurology, Trauma and Orthopaedics andPaediatrics. Our St Jamess site specialises in Elderly medicine, Oncology,Haematology, Respiratory and General Medicine.

Youwill be responsible for supporting the evolution of the service workingalongside other team members including Advanced Clinical pharmacists,Specialist Clinical Pharmacists, Specialist Clinical Pharmacy Technicians andPharmacy Technicians.

Therewill be an opportunity to line manage and support junior members of staff.

Main duties of the job

Leads the highly specialisedclinical pharmacy service to patients and the multidisciplinary team within a given clinical speciality. Ensures medicines are used appropriately, safely, and cost-effectively in accordance with Trust policy, standard operatingprocedures and medicine legislation. The post holder is expected to determine how the outcomes are best achieved in specific circumstances.

Manage other pharmacists providing specialised clinical pharmacy service within own clinical speciality depending on size of area.

Works directly and regularly with consultants, senior nursing staff and managers within the clinicalspeciality. Monitors and interpretsexpenditure on medicines within own clinical speciality. Provides theDirectorate with regular reports to assist in the safe use of medicines, the management of the drug budget and clinical governance issues. The report alsoincludes risk management such as the recording of significant clinicalinterventions and near misses.

Supervise, along with other membersof their multidisciplinary team, the development and implementation of treatment protocols, and guidelines for use of drugs within the clinicalarea.

Provides minimum of at least one 4hour session of service cover in the dispensary or aseptic dispensary eachweek. Participates in evening, weekend and bank holiday rota.

About us

LeedsTeaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) is one of the biggest NHS Trusts in the country, offering a range of both general and specialist hospital services. The Trust has an international reputation for excellence in specialist care, research and academic training.

Youwill be joining an inclusive and supportive team with the wider PharmacyDepartment and the Urgent Care Clinical Service. We are forward thinking andsupport individuals to progress along the advance practice framework.

LeedsTeaching Hospitals is committed to our process of redeploying 'at risk'members of our existing workforce to new roles. As such, all our job advertsare subject to this policy and we reserve the right to close, delay or removeadverts while this process is completed. If you do experience a delay in theshortlisting stage of the recruitment cycle, please bear with us while thisprocess is completed, and contact the named contact if you have anyquestions.

Job responsibilities

Clinical

Lead the highly specialisedclinical pharmacy service to patients and the multidisciplinary team within a given clinical speciality.

Supports the Trust's PrescribingStandards and challenges practice where prescribers have not adhered to theMedicines Code.

Demonstrate the ability to provide safe, clinically effective and cost-effective use of medicines in accordance-with Trust policy, standard operating procedures and medicine legislation. This will include individual prescription review to optimise therapy, advising on dosage and side effects and on safe administration of medicines. The post holder is expected to determine how the outcomes are best achieve inspecific circumstances.

Pharmacists who are registered asprescribers will, with the agreement of the clinical director of thespeciality, prescribe within their level of competence, to support patientcare.

Plan, manage, monitor and review individual patient care plans.

Participate in consultant wardrounds and multi-disciplinary team meetings.

Manage difficult and ambiguous problems, often when information is limited.

Undertake risk management, including investigating clinical incidents in the clinical area and ensuring compliance with medicine legislation.

The post holder will be expected to identify, where necessary, areas that require service changes and develop a strategy to carry out the change through consultation with senior colleagues within and outside the pharmacy.

Manage the introduction of newdrugs, including unlicensed drugs, into the clinical speciality.

Manage the clinical pharmacistinput into clinical trials.

Develop and update policies for thesafe, effective and economic use of medicines through discussion with medical and nursing staff.

Communication with Primary Care about medicines policies or guidelines specific for their area of practice.

Management

Monitor and interpret expenditure on medicines within own clinical speciality. Provide the Directorate with regular reports to assist in the management of the drug budget.

• Attend the monthly Clinical Specialty Management meetings to advise on medicine use and financial implications


• Horizon scan for new drugs and advise the clinical speciality meetings on the financial implications


• Co‑coordinate Medicines Use Savings Projects


• Review prescribing data from out‑patient clinics

Contribution to financial initiatives

Write or respond to business cases for service development to secure additional funding.

Responsible for day to day supervision / management of specialist clinical pharmacists in clinical speciality (some staff)

Research and Education

Occasionally participates in research and development within clinical speciality

Undertakes own research/audit within clinical speciality

Supervise, teach, and assess junior pharmacy staff completing training modules within the clinical area. This input varies, mostly based on the experience of the post holder, and will typically include:

• Acting as a trainer to pre‑registration and junior pharmacists in their area of specialist practice


• Being a named tutor for a pre‑registration and/or diploma pharmacist


• Lecturing on clinical issues relevant to the specialty, as part of the pre‑registration training program, the clinical diploma, and any other in‑service training.

The post holder is also expected to participate in the training of other clinical professionals within their specialist area as requested.

Develop the role of a specialist pharmacist through national links.

Other

Provide a service commitment, typically a four hour session to a specific area within the pharmacy department e.g. dispensary, aseptics or medicines information.

Perform other duties as directed by manager.

Participate in the weekend service and where contracted, the emergency duty service.

Health and Safety/Risk Management

All staff are responsible for working with their colleagues to maintain and improve the quality of services provided to our patients and other service users. This includes complying at all times with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Policies, including Health and Safety policies, in particular by following agreed safe working procedures, and reporting incidents using the Trust Incident Reporting system.

Infection Control

The job holder must comply at all times with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Infection Control policies, in particular by practising Universal Infection Control Precautions. Hand hygiene must be performed before and after contact with patients and their environment.

Equality and Diversity

The job holder must comply with all policies and procedures designed to ensure equality of employment and that services are delivered in ways that meet the individual needs of patients and their families. No person, whether they are staff, patient or visitor, should receive less favourable treatment because of their gender, ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion etc.

Patient and Public Involvement

The Trust has a statutory duty to involve patients and public in evaluating and planning services. All staff have a responsibility to listen to the views of patients and to contribute to service improvements based on patient feedback.

Training and Personal Development Continuous Professional Development

The job holder must take responsibility in agreement with his/her line manager for his/her own personal development by ensuring that Continuous Professional Development remains a priority. The jobholder will undertake all mandatory training required for the role.

Respect for Patient Confidentiality

The jobholder should respect patient confidentiality at all times and not divulge patient information unless sanctioned by the requirements of the role.

10. COMMUNICATION & WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

Communicate highly complex information about medicine use to pharmacy staff, consultants, junior doctors, nursing staff, patients, other members of the multidisciplinary team and managers within clinical speciality.

All registered healthcare professionals must ensure adherence to professional codes of practice.

11. SPECIAL WORKING CONDITIONS

i) PHYSICAL EFFORT:

The post requires a combination of sitting, standing, and walking with little requirement for physical effort, excepting an occasional need to move pharmacy boxes, fluids, enteral nutrition packs. These typically weigh approximately 10kg per box.

ii) MENTAL EFFORT:

Concentration required when clinically checking and reviewing prescriptions on ward or in other departments and performing complicated calculations. Concentration required for periods of time when preparing financial reports, papers reviewing medicine use. Interruptions for urgent advice occur frequently viableep, telephone or in person at any time, including during breaks.

iii) EMOTIONAL EFFORT:

Depending on the clinical specialty the post holder may be exposed to distressing or emotional circumstances due to their work with sick or dying patients. They may occasionally be exposed to distressing or emotional circumstances when investigating drug misadventures, and explaining to relatives the consequences of a medicine related incident.

iv) WORKING CONDITIONS:

The post holder will spend a significant part of their working day in clinical areas. This means they will regularly be in the vicinity of, but not having to deal with personally, body fluids, smells, foul linen etc. Exposure to unpleasant working conditions outside of a clinical area will be rare, except for pharmacists who undertake aseptic work where they will occasionally experience noxious fumes and could be at increased risk of exposure to cytotoxic drugs.

Person Specification

Experience

• Understanding and appreciation of local and national pharmaceutical and clinical strategies


• Advanced clinical pharmacy knowledge in a relevant area


• Understanding of NHS/government policy and its applications


• Leadership

Qualifications

• MPharm


• Clinical Diploma or Equivalent

Skills & behaviours

• Team player


• Self motivated


• Be highly adaptive to changing circumstances and situations


• Able to work under own initiative


• Exceptional communication skills written, verbal, and listening

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.