Advanced Palliative Care Pharmacist

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust; Ashford; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Ashford is seeking an Advanced Palliative Care Pharmacist to lead and develop a specialised clinical pharmacy service. This role involves collaboration with multidisciplinary teams to ensure effective medication use for patients receiving palliative and end-of-life care. The ideal candidate will have a Master's degree in Pharmacy, experience in palliative care, and possess strong analytical and negotiation skills. The role offers a unique opportunity to contribute to patient quality of life and develop professional skills in a supportive environment.

Qualifications

• Masters Degree in Pharmacy or equivalent.
• Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council.
• Ability to work towards Non‑Medical Prescribing certification.
• Post‑graduate Diploma or MSc in Clinical pharmacy.

Responsibilities

• Provide a specialist clinical pharmacy service in palliative care.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to optimize patient care.
• Support education and training on medication use for staff.
• Contribute to policy and guideline development.
• Monitor medication expenditure and promote cost-effective prescribing.
• Participate in medicines governance and incident reviews.

Skills

Tact and negotiation skills

Analytical skills

Patient assessment skills

Advanced IT skills

Experience in palliative care

Education

Masters Degree in Pharmacy

Registered member of the General Pharmaceutical Council

Non‑Medical Prescribing certificate

Post‑graduate Diploma / MSc in Clinical pharmacy

Job description

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust

Advanced Palliative Care Pharmacist

The closing date is 29 December 2025

We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated Advanced Pharmacist - Palliative Care to join our team, working across East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) and Pilgrims Hospices in East Kent (Canterbury, Thanet, and Ashford).

This is a unique and rewarding opportunity to lead and develop a highly specialised clinical pharmacy service for patients receiving palliative and end‑of‑life care. The postholder will work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams to ensure safe, effective, and compassionate use of medicines that optimise symptom control, pain management, and quality of life for patients and their families.

You will play a key role in the ongoing development of medicines management and governance processes, contribute to policy and guideline development, and support the education and training of staff across hospice, hospital, and community settings.

We've got a really exciting opportunity for a pharmacist to join our hospice team while we cover a maternity leave. It's a great chance to build your experience as a Senior Pharmacist, while working in palliative and end‑of‑life care. You will have the opportunity to work closely with a supportive and caring team who respect pharmacy input as part of a wider MDT approach to patient care.

If you do not yet meet the full Band 8a requirements, a Band 7 appointment may be considered depending on your experience.

Main duties of the job

• Provide a specialist clinical pharmacy service to Pilgrims Hospices, supporting safe and effective use of medicines in palliative and end of life care.
• Work closely with hospice, hospital and community teams to optimise symptom control, pain management and overall quality of care for patients.
• Offer expert pharmaceutical advice to medical, nursing and pharmacy staff, ensuring compliance with legislation and best practice.
• Lead on the development, review and implementation of palliative care‑related medicines policies, guidelines and audits across Pilgrims Hospices and EKHUFT.
• Support education and training for hospice, community and hospital staff on medicines use in palliative and end of life care.
• Monitor drug expenditure and promote cost‑effective prescribing in collaboration with finance and medicines management teams.
• Contribute to medicines governance, including incident reviews, quality improvement initiatives and service development.
• Represent pharmacy at relevant meetings and committees, and act as a key link between EKHUFT and Pilgrims Hospices.

Job responsibilities

• To develop and provide a highly specialised clinical pharmacy service to the Pilgrims Hospices Sites at Canterbury, Thanet and Ashford.
• To support effective and safe use of medicines in palliative care and chronic pain at Pilgrims Hospice and EKHUFT by working closely with Pilgrims Hospice Team and the Palliative Care Team at EKHUFT.
• To provide education and training to Pilgrims Hospice, Community Services and EKHUFT staff on medicines use in End of Life Care.
• To provide pharmacy support for EKHUFT with development and implementation of any initiatives, guidelines and audits that relate to End of Life Care within the Trust.
• To be a Non‑Medical Prescriber in a defined scope area of practice within Palliative Care.

About us

We are one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five hospitals and community clinics serving a local population of around 800,000 people. Our vision is "great healthcare from great people". Everything we do is guided by our values: "People feel cared for, safe, respected and confident that we are making a difference". We have a new way of working at East Kent Hospitals, called "We care". It's about empowering frontline staff to lead improvements day‑to‑day. We're looking for compassionate people to be part of our improvement journey for the patients, families and carers we care for every day.

Please note that if you require a Certificate of Sponsorship to work in the UK you must declare this on your application form, even if you currently have a certificate of sponsorship or a work permit for another role and are already working in the country. Please note we are only able to sponsor candidates on a Skilled Worker Visa applying for roles Band 5 and above.

Person Specification

Qualifications & Education

• Masters Degree in Pharmacy or equivalent
• Registered member of the General Pharmaceutical Council
• Non‑Medical Prescribing certificate - or ability to work towards
• Post‑graduate Diploma / MSc in Clinical pharmacy

Skills & Knowledge

• Tact and negotiation skills to ensure adherence to drug treatment protocols / policies
• Analytical and judgmental skills to critically appraise medical literature and patient information for application to highly complex patient care situations
• Patient assessment and diagnostic skills within independent prescribing scope of practice.
• Advanced IT skills
• Previous experience in providing pharmaceutical care to palliative care patients

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.

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust