Advanced Pharmacist - Critical Care

Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust; Kettering; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a senior Clinical Pharmacist with a focus on Critical Care to lead pharmaceutical care for inpatients and participate in MDT rounds. You will be responsible for expert prescribing, education, and policy development within the Critical Care unit.

You will supervise junior staff, contribute to training and competency assessments, and work with multidisciplinary teams to ensure safe, cost-effective medicines use and adherence to NHS

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Pharmacy or equivalent level of education, training or experience.
• GPHC registration with a current practising status.
• Postgraduate qualification in hospital pharmacy or equivalent (3 years+).
• Registered Independent prescriber with relevant scope.
• Member of Intensive Care Society.

Responsibilities

• Deliver and develop specialist clinical pharmaceutical services to Critical Care.
• Participate in MDT ward rounds with regular prescription reviews.
• Ensure medicine reconciliation on admission and discharge from Critical Care.
• Prescribe medicines as per non-medical prescribing scope and trust standards.
• Lead training for junior pharmacists and provide mentoring.
• Line manage junior pharmacists or pharmacy technicians.
• Provide education on medicines management to MDT, nursing and medical staff.
• Contribute to formulary submissions and guidance updates.
• Attend Critical Care MDT meetings to discuss pharmaceutical care.

Skills

Clinical leadership

MDT ward rounds

Communication

Education/teaching

Change management

NHS knowledge

Prescribing in Critical Care

Interpersonal skills

Time management

Audit/Research

Education

Master's degree in pharmacy

GPHC registration

Postgraduate hospital Pharmacy qualification (3+ yrs)

Registered Independent prescriber

Member of Intensive Care Society

Job description

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Communication

To have responsibility for delivering and developing specialist clinical pharmaceutical services to Critical Care. This will include the provision of expert advice on all pharmaceutical matters in line with application of legislation, national guidance and regulatory frameworks (e.g. CQC).

To actively participate in consultant and MDT ward rounds with joint regular reviews of prescriptions.

To ensure seamless pharmaceutical care during admission and on discharge from Critical Care. This includes ensuring medicine reconciliation takes place on the unit if not previously done on admission.

Ensuring communication with the MDT and accurate documentation where discrepancies are noted.

To provide handover (verbal or written) to other pharmacist colleagues for patients discharged from Critical Care to ensure continuity of care.

To liaise with other health care professionals in primary care or other hospitals to ensure full information regarding a patient's drug history is available and there is no delay to patients receiving ongoing further supplies of medicines.

To work with the Critical care practice development (PD) team to provide education for the MDT on pharmaceutical matters.

To prescribe medicines to patients as laid out in the non-medical prescribing scope of practice. To undertake all prescribing as per Trust prescribing standard.

To attend Critical Care MDT meetings to discuss pharmaceutical care of current inpatients.

To communicate with Critical Care team, and EPMA pharmacist to ensure prescribing system is up-to-date relating to formulary, clinical guidelines and policies.

Planning and Organising

To monitor and report on drug spend within Critical Care, and theatres, noting reasons for variance (including changes in prescribing practice) and to identify priority areas for action to reduce expenditure or justify appropriate budgetary changes and methods of funding treatment.

To highlight potential implications of the introduction of new medicines and national guidance (e.g. NICE publications) on the directorate, Trust expenditure and continued prescribing issues in primary care.

Personal and People development

To supervise and facilitate ongoing training of foundation trainee pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and early career pharmacists. This may include accompanied ward visits and ward rounds including joint review of prescriptions.

To contribute to competency assessments and testimonials required of training records.

To act as mentor or tutor for junior pharmacists working within Critical Care.

To line manage one or more junior pharmacists or pharmacy technicians.

To undertake regular 1:1s, annual appraisals and provide ongoing support.

To provide educational training on medicines management topics related to own area of expertise to medical, nursing and other clinical staff within the Trust.

This will include working with Critical Care teaching staff in developing training content and delivery for the provision of training sessions for Critical Care nursing staff and healthcare assistants. In addition, to help in the supporting of staff for any additional educational requirements in response to learning from medication errors.

To contribute to the training and competency assessment of junior rotational medical staff for safe prescribing at discharge of the for electronic prescribing in Critical Care patients.

To monitor and work with staff on analysis of any medication errors (prescribing and administration) in order that staff can pro-actively learn from any errors and practice changes are made as a result.

To provide induction training sessions for all resident doctors on rotation to the Critical Care Unit.

To undertake personal development and continuing education and training as necessary, ensuring a high level of competency and clinical knowledge in order to provide a highly specialist pharmacist role.

To maintain own CPD records as required by the General Pharmaceutical Council.

To achieve accreditation with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society as an Advanced Specialist Practitioner.

Health, safety and security

To promote the safe, cost-effective and evidence based use of medicines throughout the business unit (including Theatres, and Recovery) and offer specialist knowledge and expertise on drug therapy. To participate in the review of the Trust formulary for medicines used in specialist area of practice. To assist consultant medical staff in any formulary submissions to the New Medicine Group (NMG), ensuring that prior approval by the divisional management has been gained prior to NMG approval.

To identify any risk management or clinical governance issues with the use of medicines within the division and liaise with those staff who may need to be aware of the risks and initiate remedial action, ensuring safe practice at all times.

To work collaboratively with ward managers to ensure the safe and secure storage and handling of medicines, including controlled drugs in Critical Care and in line with CQC requirements.

To provide advice and where necessary conduct risk assessments with Critical Care staff when issues of policy compliance may occur.

To review the ward inventory (stock list) on a 3 monthly basis to ensure the continuing needs of the unit are met and that stock issues are in line with knowledge of prescribing practice and medicines administration records on the unit.

Service Improvement

To be responsible for the development of pharmaceutical policies and procedures within Critical Care. To initiate and implement clinical guidelines and other multi-disciplinary protocols relating to the safe and cost-effective use of medicines for patients within Critical Care thereby ensuring that patients receive optimal medical therapies whilst also ensuring their use has been sanctioned through due process within the Trust medicines management strategy. To work with lead Intensivist/s to ensure that any Critical Care specific medicine related clinical guidelines are available and regularly updated on the Trust internal website.

To foster, participate in or undertake practice research and clinical audit in specialist area of pharmaceutical practice. To undertake drug utilisation reviews ensuring that prescribing represents best value for money in terms of cost effectiveness as well as efficacy. Ensure that any changes meet the Trust and directorate SIP targets and are measurable and accurate.

To assist the lead pharmacist for Clinical Trials with any prospective clinical trials that are proposed and running in Critical Care and Theatres.

Thematically review existing medication practices, incident reporting and other intelligence to support safer medication practices.

To contribute to and where necessary prepare business cases for additional pharmaceutical resources (staffing, equipment or service development) in conjunction with Critical Care management and the Chief Pharmacist.

Quality

To work as an Independent prescriber alongside other MDT members of the Critical Care team.

To work with all other clinical pharmacists in the provision of an out of hours on call service for advice and emergency supplies of medicines. To support the provision of a limited pharmacy service over weekends (for Saturday and Sunday sessions) and bank holidays on a rotational basis.

This role includes weekend working and on-call commitments.

Person specification

Educations, Training and Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Educated to master's degree in pharmacy level or equivalent level of education, training or experience
• Registration with the GPHC
• Postgraduate qualification in hospital Pharmacy or equivalent (3 years +)
• Registered Independent prescriber
• Member of Intensive Care Society

Desirable criteria

• Working towards RPS Faculty recognition
• Member of UKCPA

Knowledge and Experience

Essential criteria

• Clinical experience in a range of ward/clinical areas
• Specialist knowledge of Critical Care and Nutrition
• Teaching/training/coaching/Tutor experience
• Experience of leading or implementing change
• Knowledge of current NHS and national priorities - CCG, NHSE, NICE, CQC
• Experience of working in Critical Care setting at Foundation level or equivalent critical care pharmacy experience
• Experience of attending MDT Ward rounds in Critical Care

Skills

Essential criteria

• Excellent interpersonal, influencing and negotiating skills
• Time management/Organisation/Delegation/ Prioritisation
• Demonstrable leadership skills - role model for junior clinical pharmacists and members of MDT
• Clinical Audit/Research Evaluation experience

Key Competencies/Personal Qualities and Attributes

Essential criteria

• Passionate and committed to bring our Dedicated to Excellence values to life, improving the way we work with each other, particularly focusing on empowerment, equality diversity and inclusion of our staff, patients and service users

Important Information

Applications will be transferred to TRAC system, by completing an application your are giving authorisation for the transfer of your data.

Correspondence regarding your application will be sent to you via a TRAC system account.

We are an equal opportunities employer, which aims to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons from all backgrounds.

We welcome applications from members of our black and minority ethnic (BME) communities, especially in relation to senior posts within at KGH.

Applicants who have a disability and meet the essential criteria for the job will be interviewed if you indicate you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme. If you require a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process please make the recruitment services team aware as soon as possible.

Appointments will be made on merit.

In submitting an application form, you authorise Kettering General Hospital (KGH) NHS Foundation Trust to confirm any previous NHS service details via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process. Including factual reference, occupational health clearance and statutory and mandatory training record.

If you need to have a Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check, as a requirement of the role, you will be required to repay the cost of obtaining a DBS check (£49.50) and this amount will be reclaimed from your first salary. From 1st February 2019 all new starters to the Trust are required to join the DBS update service as per Trust DBS Re-checking Policy which has an annual cost of £16. New employees who do not join the update service will be required to pay £49.50 for a new DBS check in 3 years time.

Please note that news starters with KGH are subject to a six month probationary period.

Please ensure that the information you provide on your application form is correct, accurate and that nothing has been omitted. Any information that is stated in your application form in relation to qualifications/training courses/work/education experience/references must be able to be evidenced. Failure to do so may result if your offer being withdrawn.

"Safeguarding is everyone's business. KGH considers Safeguarding a priority amongst its citizen's and a key value for all employed to the service."

We want to recruit the best people to deliver our services across the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire and help to unleash everyone's full potential. As an organisation, we value how we communicate and promote our vacancies to all communities. The Hospital Group encourages applications from people who identify from all protected groups, especially those from BAME, Disabled and LGBTQ+ backgrounds as these are underrepresented in our hospitals. We understand that we need to work with colleagues from diverse backgrounds and make sure the environment they work in is inclusive and collaborative. We have active Networks that promote and support colleagues from all backgrounds. This ensures everyone feels supported and has a sense of belonging working for Kettering and Northampton General Hospitals.