Clinical Pharmacist

North Thames Genomics Laboratory Hub; Worcester; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Worcestershire is seeking a qualified pharmacist to enhance community health services. The role involves conducting clinical medication reviews, managing prescriptions, and collaborating with healthcare professionals to improve patient outcomes. Ideal candidates will have a degree in Pharmacy and relevant experience, alongside strong professional skills. This position offers an opportunity to contribute to vital local healthcare initiatives while working within a supportive team environment.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 2 years post graduate experience in pharmacy.
• Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) - Desirable.

Responsibilities

• Provide expertise in clinical medicines review and address public health needs.
• Reduce inappropriate poly-pharmacy through clinical medication review.
• Manage patients and health care professionals medicine queries.

Skills

Expert Professional Practice

Collaborative Working Relationships

Education

Undergraduate degree in Pharmacy

Registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council

Job description

Were a federation of GP surgeries and PCNs in Worcestershire, serving over 600,000 NHS patients through a variety of local services. Our community of GPs are our stakeholders, meaning were powered by the community weve created - and our goal is to find ways to make it easier for them to spend less time and money on administrative workload, and more time with their patients.

Our GP surgeries remain independent, while keeping the benefits of being part of a larger organisation - and we exist to protect the interests of our members through advocacy, business support, and revenue generation.

Were ambitious about growth in our network - and so, our diversified services help our PCNs to reinvest in vital local healthcare initiatives, providing a sustainable future for their communities in the long term.

Main duties of the job

Job Purpose:

• Provide expertise in clinical medicines review and address public health and social needs of patients in the Practice
• Reduce inappropriate poly-pharmacy and wasteful prescribing through clinical medication review
• Reconcile medicines following hospital discharge and work with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge.
• Contribute to reductions in medicine related hospital admissions and readmissions by supporting patients to get the best outcomes from their medicines and identifying and addressing medicines related issues
• Interface with community and hospital pharmacy colleagues and develop referral processes between primary care professionals including the promotion of the repeat dispensing service
• Oversee and support the dispensary function of the Practice
• Oversee the repeat prescribing reauthorisation process, including reviewing requests for repeat prescriptions and medicines reaching review dates
• Manage patients and health care professionals medicine queries
• Increase quality and safety of prescribing through mechanisms such as audit and PDSA (PLAN DO STUDY ACT) cycles
• Manage practice formularies to improve the quality, safety and cost effectiveness of prescribing
• Implement drug withdrawals and alerts eg MHRA, aimed at improving medicines safety
• Work with primary care professionals and patients to implement NICE and other evidence based guidelines

About us

Vertis Health is a fast-growing providerof community-based healthcare services to NHS patients within South Worcestershire.The organisation utilises the excellent clinical expertise that already resideswithin the local NHS environment and harnesses it with efficient administrationpathways to provide patients with more convenient and accessible services. Wehope that by doing this we will not only deliver pathway improvements topatients but also go some way to relieving the growing volume pressures thatare being experienced within local hospitals and GP practices.

Job responsibilities

Please see attached Job Description for full details of this position.

JOB PURPOSE

Provide expertise in clinical medicines review and address public health and social needs of patients in the Practice

Reduce inappropriate poly-pharmacy and wasteful prescribing through clinical medication review

Reconcile medicines following hospital discharge and work with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge.

Contribute to reductions in medicine related hospital admissions and readmissions by supporting patients to get the best outcomes from their medicines and identifying and addressing medicines related issues

Interface with community and hospital pharmacy colleagues and develop referral processes between primary care professionals including the promotion of the repeat dispensing service

Oversee and support the dispensary function of the Practice

Oversee the repeat prescribing reauthorisation process, including reviewing requests for repeat prescriptions and medicines reaching review dates

Manage patients and health care professionals medicine queries

Increase quality and safety of prescribing through mechanisms such as audit and PDSA (PLAN DO STUDY ACT) cycles

Manage practice formularies to improve the quality, safety and cost effectiveness of prescribing

Implement drug withdrawals and alerts eg MHRA, aimed at improving medicines safety

Work with primary care professionals and patients to implement NICE and other evidence based guidelines

Work with Commissioning organisations and Stay Well Healthcare to comply with local medicines optimisation schemes and projects

Support and hold clinics where medicines are the main interventions eg asthma clinics

Contribute to multi-morbidity reviews and multidisciplinary reviews

Provide medicines information and training to Practice healthcare professionals and admin staff

Review daily Pathology results for patients on known medicines

Act as a source of medicines information for all of the practice team and patients (eg around doses, side effects, adverse events, possible alternatives eg around out of stocks)

Ultimately to undertake minor ailments triage; dealing with minor ailments and triaging patients appropriately

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

Working within the practice based team to undertake medication reviews particularly in high risk groups such as:

Frail elderly, Poly-pharmacy, Renal impairment, Hepatic impairment, Asthma, diabetes, hypertension and Rheumatoid and Dmard drug monitoring, Substance misuse, Patients on high risk medicines, STOPP/START identified patients and Revolving door Hospital admissions

Management support for the dispensary including: profitability and stock control; negotiations with drug company representatives and wholesalers; and organisational management including review of SOPS (Standard Operating Procedures) and compliance issues

Ensure the Practice continues to participate in, and meet the requirements of, the local DSQS (Dispensing Services Quality Scheme)

Improve prescribing practice through educational support for all prescribers within the practice

Lead on where changes in evidence require changes in prescribing across the patient population, eg where a drug is withdrawn or indications change

Liaise with colleagues in community pharmacy to align support for medicines adherence such as MUR (Meducation Use Reviews) and NMS (New Medicine Service).

Support improvements in clinical care through practice based audit and implementing change

Prescribing advice to prescribers in practice eg temporary non-availability of drugs

Ensure patient safety when they are transferred between care providers through reconciliation of prescribed medicines

Lead for medicines optimisation scheme compliance, including care home support; discharge reviews; medication reviews; and QIPP

Qualifications and Training for the Role

NB: it is anticipated that the level of qualification held may vary according to the level of position and the components of the role being undertaken

Completion of an undergraduate degree in Pharmacy, and registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council

Minimum of 2 years post graduate experience in pharmacy, as demonstrated within a practice portfolio

Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) - Desirable

Member of or working towards (through foundation) RPS Faculty membership May hold or be working towards a prescribing qualification

May hold or be working towards a postgraduate pharmacy qualification

Has an awareness of the breadth of common acute and long term conditions that are likely to be seen in a general medical practice

Behavioral Competencies and Skills for this Job Expert Professional Practice

Demonstrates general pharmaceutical skills and knowledge in core areas

Is able to plan, manage, monitor, advise and review general pharmaceutical care programmes for patients in core areas, including disease states / long term conditions identified by local Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment

Demonstrates accountability for delivering professional expertise and direct service provision as an individual

Demonstrates ability to use skills in a range of routine situations requiring analysis or comparison of a range of options

Recognises priorities when problem-solving and identifies deviations from the normal pattern and is able to refer to seniors or GPs when appropriate

Is able to follow legal, ethical, professional and organisational policies/procedures and codes of conduct

Involves patients in decisions about prescribed medicines and supporting adherence as per NICE

Collaborative Working Relationships

Recognises the roles of other colleagues within the organisation and their role to patient care

Demonstrates use of appropriate communication to gain the co-operation of relevant stakeholders (including patients, senior and peer colleagues, and other professionals, other NHS/private organisations eg CCGs)

Demonstrates ability to work as a member of a team

Is able to recognise personal limitations and refer to more appropriate colleague(s) when necessary

Liaises with CCG colleagues including CCG pharmacists on prescribing related matters to ensure consistency of patient care and benefit

Liaises with CCG pharmacists and Heads of Medicines Management/ Optimisation to benefit from peer support

Liaises with other GP Practices and staff as needed for the collective benefit of patients

Where the South Worcestershire CCG has entered into an arrangement with Stay Well Healthcare for the provision of a service relevant to this role, it is assumed that the term CCG above, should apply to all other individuals working under that agreement.

Leadership

Demonstrates understanding of the pharmacy role in governance and is able to implement this appropriately within the workplace

Demonstrates understanding of, and contributes to, the workplace / practice vision

Demonstrates ability to improve quality within limitations of service

Reviews last years progress and develops clear plans to achieve results within set priorities

Demonstrates ability to motivate self to achieve goals

Management

Demonstrates understanding of the implications of national priorities for the team and/or service

Demonstrates understanding of the process for effective resource utilisation

Demonstrates understanding of, and conforms to, relevant standards of practice

Demonstrates ability to identify and resolve risk management issues according to policy/protocol

Follows professional and organisational policies/procedures relating to performance management

Demonstrates ability to extend boundaries of service delivery within the team

Education, Training and Development

Understands and demonstrates the characteristics of role model to members of their team

Demonstrates understanding of the mentorship process

Demonstrates ability to conduct teaching and assessment effectively according to a learning plan with supervision from a more experienced colleague

Demonstrates self-development through continuous professional development activity

Participates in the delivery of formal education programmes

Demonstrates an understanding of current educational policies relevant to working areas of practice and keeps up to date with relevant clinical practice

Research and Evaluation

Demonstrates ability to critically evaluate and review literature

Demonstrates ability to identify where there is a gap in the evidence base to support practice

Demonstrates ability to generate evidence suitable for presentation at local level

Demonstrates ability to apply the research evidence base into working practice

Demonstrates understanding of the principles of research governance

Demonstrates ability to work as a member of the research team

Confidentiality:

In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately

In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder will have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source, and held in any format, is to be regarded as strictly confidential

Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Qualifications and Training for the Role
• NB: it is anticipated that the level of qualification held may vary according to the level of position and the components of the role being undertaken
• Completion of an undergraduate degree in Pharmacy, and registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council
• Minimum of 2 years post graduate experience in pharmacy, as demonstrated within a practice portfolio
• Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) - Desirable
• Member of or working towards (through foundation) RPS Faculty membership May hold or be working towards a prescribing qualification
• May hold or be working towards a postgraduate pharmacy qualification
• Has an awareness of the breadth of common acute and long term conditions that are likely to be seen in a general medical practice

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.