Advanced Specialist Pharmacist for Surgery

Transformationunitgm; Plymouth; On-site; GBP 53,000 - 61,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player seeks a dynamic Advanced Specialist Pharmacist for Surgery to join their innovative team. This role offers the opportunity to work within a Major Trauma centre, providing high-quality clinical pharmacy services across various surgical specialties. You'll be part of a proactive multidisciplinary team, supporting the Lead Care Group pharmacist while developing your clinical skills and working towards consultant credentialing. With a commitment to professional development and research, this position promises a fulfilling career path in a supportive environment. Join a forward-thinking organization that values diversity and work-life balance, and make a significant impact on patient care.

Benefits

Flexible Working

Relocation Allowance

Professional Development Support

Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Pharmacy and current registration with the GPhC required.
• Experience in clinical pharmacy and drug use within Surgery is essential.

Responsibilities

• Provide high-quality clinical pharmacy service for surgery patients.
• Lead the ward-based pharmacy team and supervise pharmacy staff.
• Support Chief Pharmacist in monitoring drug expenditure and budget.

Skills

Clinical Pharmacy

Leadership

Communication

Non-medical Prescribing

Clinical Supervision

Education

Master’s Degree in Pharmacy

Postgraduate Clinical Pharmacy Certificate

Current registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council

Tools

Clinical Pharmacy Policy

Medicines Budget Management

Job description

Main area Band 8A Grade Band 8a Contract Permanent: This post will attract a Recruitment & Retention Premia (RRP) totalling £5,000, payable upon appointment Hours

• Full time
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week Job ref 216-CB-C7087904

Employer University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust Employer type NHS Site Derriford Hospital Town Plymouth Salary £53,755 - £60,504 Per Annum Salary period Yearly Closing 22/05/2025 23:59

Advanced Specialist Pharmacist for Surgery

Band 8a

Job overview

Are you an enthusiastic, motivated and dynamic clinical pharmacist looking to work within a Major Trauma centre offering tertiary services across a number of different surgical specialties?

Are you at the stage of your career where you are looking to develop your clinical skills and work within well-respected and proactive multidisciplinary teams supporting the Lead Care Group pharmacist for Surgery & Critical Care to deliver high quality clinical pharmacy services across the surgical care group?

Would you like to work towards credentialing for a consultant post alongside utilising your skills as a non-medical prescriber across the Surgery Care Group?

Do you want to be part of an innovative Department that have had an ambitious 5-year strategy and workforce plan approved by the Trust Board?

If so, we would love to hear from you!

Depending on the stage of your career, further study will be encouraged and supported. Practice research is also encouraged in this role.

This post will attract a Recruitment & Retention Premia (RRP) totalling £5,000, payable upon appointment, (covering 36 months of service) in addition to a relocation allowance (subject to eligibility). The RRP payment is for external candidates only and is pro rata for part time employees.

If you would like further information, or to know the full terms of the Recruitment and Retention Payment and/or the Relocation Allowance, please contact [e-mail] for further details.

Main duties of the job

• This post holder will be responsible for the provision of a high-quality patient focused clinical pharmacy service for patients within the Surgery Pharmacy team.
• Develop a clinical interest within a chosen area of clinical practice to support clinical service to specific group of patients within the surgery care group.
• Act as team leader for the ward-based pharmacy team and as team member of for the Surgery Pharmacy
• Undertake teaching and clinical supervision of pharmacy staff and other healthcare employees.
• Provide specialist clinical pharmacy services and advice to the clinical specialities, demonstrating a high level of clinical effectiveness.

Candidates who meet the qualifications for this post but may not yet demonstrate the full knowledge or experience required at Band 8a will still be considered for this role as a Band 7 to Band 8a progression opportunity. The successful candidate will receive the necessary support to achieve the required progression milestones and demonstrate the expected level of practice before progressing to an advanced specialist Band 8a role.

***Preference will be given to internal Trust staff, as well as ‘Priority’ and 'At Risk' status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon who are able to display recent relevant experience as dictated by the Person Specification.***

Working for our organisation

University Hospitals Plymouth (UHP) NHS is the largest hospital on the Southwest Peninsula providing comprehensive secondary & tertiary care to a population of around 2,000,000 people who can access our specialist services including cardiothoracic surgery, kidney transplantation, neurosurgery, & the regional trauma Centre. Our specialist cancer treatments include bone marrow transplant, sarcoma surgery and hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancer surgery (not exhaustive). We work closely with our community partners delivering health & social care.

From September 2024, the highly-ranked University of Bath MPharm degree will be available to study at the University of Plymouth. There will be opportunities for pharmacist colleagues to participate in educational activities, with the potential for formal roles in the future.

The Surgical Care Group offers numerous surgical specialities many of which are regional tertiary services across 29 permanent theatres and 16 different ward areas. These include Bariatrics, Breast, Cardiac and Thoracic, Colorectal, Paediatrics, Dermatology, Ophthalmology, ENT, Maxillofacial Surgery, Neurosurgery, Upper GI, Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary, Orthopaedics, Major Trauma, Plastics, Urology, Vascular and General surgery, offered.

The Pharmacy team are considered an integral member of the multidisciplinary team supporting these services, joining a team of clinicians, nurse specialists and other allied healthcare professionals.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Responsible to the Associate Chief Pharmacist Clinical Services for strategic planning and delivery of clinical pharmacy services to patients within surgery.
• Support the Chief Pharmacist / Deputy Chief Pharmacist / Associate Chief Pharmacist and Care Group Lead Pharmacist in developing, monitoring and reporting on drug expenditure and medicines budget and the delivery of financial savings as part of the pharmacy CIP.
• Development, implementation and update of clinical pharmacy policy in conjunction with senior pharmacists within the clinical pharmacy team and surgery.
• Work as a member of the Clinical Pharmacy Team, Surgical Service Lines and wider UHP pharmacy team.
• Monitor, review and report on medicines related incidents within Surgery Service Lines.
• Provide highly specialist clinical pharmacy care to patients in the surgical areas and related units.
• To manage, lead and co-ordinate the clinical pharmacy team including junior pharmacists and technicians in the provision of a safe, effective and efficient clinical pharmacy service in accordance with local and national standards and strategy and to ensure all members of the pharmacy team are trained and competent for their roles.
• To act as a role model as a clinical pharmacist and team leader, to pharmacists, technicians, ATOs and all other members of the multidisciplinary team.
• To be a lead and role model in the field of Surgery locally, regionally, and nationally.
• To practice as an independent prescriber.
• To work towards advanced clinical practice.
• To engage with Quality Improvement and practice research.
• To write and review policies and procedures relevant to pharmacy practice in Surgery.
• Monitor and evaluate medicines related protocols and guidelines in Surgery.
• Ensure an appropriate level of clinical pharmacy service is provided to the Surgery areas.
• Propose policy or service changes which improve services and may have multidisciplinary and resource implications
• Configure and implement inductions for pharmacists in Surgery and the pharmacy department with support from the Associate Chief Pharmacist Clinical Services and Care Group Lead Pharmacists.
• Assist in the development and implementation of PGD’s and non-medical prescribing initiatives, when appropriate.
• Ensure that expertise within your area is seen as a resource within and outside the Trust and form working partnerships with other health and social care service providers.
• Recommendation of appropriate therapy for individual patients where evidence is not available, controversial evidence exists or other professionals may challenge advice
• Contribute to the organisations wider antimicrobial surveillance programme, implementing local programmes ensuring appropriate antimicrobial prescribing
• Attendance at Consultant/GP white board/MDT meetings/ward rounds to actively facilitate and provide advice on treatment, including highly complex patients.
• Promote compliance by prescribers and other healthcare staff with local/national policies and the South and West Devon Formulary.
• Application of highly complex knowledge of the evidence base behind drug therapies used.
• Manage day to day medicines queries, including face to face consultations with patients identified to have compliance or other problems in medicine administration.
• Refer patients to other community services where appropriate.
• Liaise with all levels of healthcare staff, patients and carers in all areas of work.
• Analysis, interpretation and monitoring of clinical data including but not limited to: drug levels, U&E’s, blood counts and microbiological sensitivities to guide diagnosis and drug therapy.
• Assess clinical requirements of patients as a clinical pharmacist and an independent prescriber through interpretation of clinical data and examination. If required request appropriate tests and examinations for patients directly under your care.
• Contribute to pharmaceutical initiatives that help with the seamless transfer of patients between different healthcare settings.
• Provide education and training to all healthcare professionals including medical students.
• Pharmacists are expected to work largely unsupervised and to act on their own professional judgement.
• Clinical supervision from another health professional can be arranged and is to be encouraged.
• Clinical roles are supported by policies and guidelines within which the pharmacist is allowed to exercise professional discretion / interpretation.
• Participate in any wider departmental rotas where needed.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Master’s Degree (or equivalent) in Pharmacy
• Current registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council
• Postgraduate Clinical Pharmacy Certificate
• Non-medical prescriber (or must be willing to undertake this when requested)
• Current registration with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
• Member of the United Kingdom Clinical Pharmacy Association (UKCPA)
• Active member of Surgery & Theatres Group within UKCPA or equivalent pharmacist specialist interest group

Knowledge & Experience

• Excellent proven knowledge of clinical pharmacy and drug use with the area of Surgery
• Demonstrable experience in a range of clinical specialties
• Excellent proven knowledge of general clinical pharmacy and drug use
• Demonstrable senior pharmacy management experience within a recognised area of pharmacy practice
• Proven skills in effective leadership, successful communication, negotiating, persuasion and influencing
• Proven knowledge of strategic care agendas
• Proven understanding of large clinical setting priorities and how to apply these locally
• Excellent oral and written communication skills to address highly complex issues
• Report writing skills
• Proven evidence of CPD
• Demonstrable experience of teaching, training and people development
• Demonstrable experience of providing diploma mentorship and/or pre-registration tutorship
• Demonstrable multidisciplinary working / ward round experience
• Proven knowledge of treatment pathways and commissioning of therapies for the treatment of drugs used within the area of Surgery
• Previous demonstrable experience of providing support to the management of a hospital directorate or division
• Demonstrable experience of designing and developing pharmacy services
• Demonstrable experience in presenting research
• Demonstrable experience in budget management and staff management

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION WILL BE ELECTRONIC, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY INCLUDING YOUR JUNK FOLDER.

If you need support with the online application process or require reasonable adjustments with the application and/or interview process please contact the Recruiting Manager for this post.

We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants about less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. We recommend contacting the manager of the role prior to applying and we commit to giving requests full consideration.

We welcome and encourage applicants who identify with all protected characteristics to apply for our roles. We believe that diversity strengthens our teams and improves our patients' experience. At UHP we aim to create an inclusive workplace and hospital where everyone feels they belong and included .

It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.

Providing false information is an offence & could result in the application being rejected or summary dismissal/police action if an applicant is successful.

Please note that if you are successful in your application & accept the position you agree that the Staff Health and Wellbeing Department can access your health records from your current/previous employer in order to check the status of your inoculations & screening tests. This is an automated process & the information will only be used for these purposes prior to your taking up the position with us.

For Doctors Roles:

Unsolicited CVs and Candidate Profiles/Details
University Hospitals Plymouth has a commitment to sourcing candidates directly and as such we do not accept speculative CVs from agencies.

We do, however, work with a defined list of preferred HTE Framework suppliers who may be invited to support us in sourcing candidates for particular roles.

In line with our preferred supplier list, we only pay agency fees where we have a signed agreement in place and an agency has been instructed by a member of the Trust’s Medical Workforce team.

We do not pay agency fees where speculative and unsolicited CVs are submitted to the Trust or Trust employees by any other means than the official route above. Where this is not observed the Trust reserves the right to contact these candidates directly and initiate discussions without payment of any agency fee.

Any candidate details (whether written or spoken) or CVs that are referred directly will not constitute an introduction. The Trust will under no circumstances be responsible for any recruitment fees in relation to these contacts.

Submission of any unsolicited CVs, candidate’s details and/or proposals to the Trust will not be considered further and will be deemed evidence of full and unlimited acceptance of this Agency Protocol.

In order to establish and maintain good working relationships with the Trust’s agency suppliers, we ask that this Protocol is adhered to and thank you for your co-operation.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Vivek Soni Job title Deputy Chief Pharmacist Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 01752 430454 Additional information

For an informal discussion or to arrange a site visit please contact Vivek Soni, Deputy Chief Pharmacist, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust [e-mail] or Odran Farrell, Lead Pharmacist for Critical Care & Surgery Care Group University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust [e-mail]