Lead Clinical Pharmacist (PCN) - MATERNITY COVER

NHS; Baldock; On-site; GBP 47,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

Icknield PCN is actively looking for a Clinical Pharmacist to lead their dedicated team while providing maternity cover for the Lead Clinical Pharmacist. This role demands significant experience within Primary Care, focusing on patient care, medicines optimisation, and team management. The ideal candidate will thrive in a dynamic environment, ensuring the delivery of high-quality healthcare and mentoring junior staff.

Benefits

Excellent terms and conditions

A supportive and friendly working environment

Support with training and development

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years post registration experience.
• Evidence of multidisciplinary working.
• Minimum two years of managing a team.

Responsibilities

• Support effective patient care by optimising medications within GP Practices.
• Lead monitoring of patient care in collaboration with practice teams.
• Supervise and mentor Clinical Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians.

Skills

Clinical leadership

Patient care

Mentorship

Communication

Organisational skills

Education

Master's Degree in Pharmacy

Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy

Teaching qualification

Job description

Icknield PCN is seeking a high quality, experienced Clinical Pharmacist to lead our team of dedicated Clinical Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians, who work within our member Practices. The post is to provide maternity cover for the Lead Clinical Pharmacist. The ideal candidate will be an experienced Clinical Pharmacist with significant experience within Primary Care, and who is also an experienced manager or Team Leader.

Main duties of the job

The postholder will support the effectivedelivery of patient care in GP Practices within the PCN by utilisingpharmaceutical skills to embed the principles of medicines optimisation withinthe wider practice teams, ensuring safe patient care through regular review andmonitoring of patients based on clinical need and supporting demand managementthrough consultation with patients as appropriate.

You will provide clinical leadershipon medicines management and quality improvement as well as managing someaspects of the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), Enhanced CommissioningFramework (ECF), Improvement and Investment Fund (IIF) and Enhanced Services.

You will providesupervision, mentorship and line management to the appointed clinicalpharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians and locum Clinical Pharmacists working acrossthe PCN GP Practices.

About us

Icknield PCN is a well-established and dynamic PCN covering a population of over 58,500 patients registered with our 5 member Practices in Letchworth, Baldock and Ashwell (North Hertfordshire).

Our team includes a variety of different professionals who can offer peer support and shared learning. This role will work as part of this large team that includes:

• First Contact Physiotherapists
• Social Prescribers
• Clinical Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians
• Mental Health Nurses

We encourage our team members to share ideas and to offer suggestions for how our services can be delivered to improve our patient care across our local population.

Our Clinical Pharmacy team are employed by 12PointCare Ltd. 12PointCarevalues our staff and can offer:

• Excellent terms and conditions
• A supportive and friendly working environment
• Support with training and development

Job responsibilities

Job Summary

To support the effectivedelivery of patient care in GP Practices within the PCN by utilisingpharmaceutical skills to embed the principles of medicines optimisation withinthe wider practice teams, ensuring safe patient care through regular review andmonitoring of patients based on clinical need and supporting demand managementthrough consultation with patients as appropriate

To provide clinical leadershipon medicines management and quality improvement as well as managing someaspects of the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), Enhanced CommissioningFramework (ECF), Improvement and Investment Fund (IIF) and Enhanced Services

The post holder will providesupervision, mentorship and line management to the appointed clinicalpharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians and locum Clinical Pharmacists working acrossthe PCN GP Practices

The post holder willwork as part of a multidisciplinary team in a patient facing role, basedeither remotely or within a member GP Practice, but working for all GPPractices across the PCN at all times as required

This post is part of theAdditional Roles Reimbursement Scheme for PCNs funded by NHS England andincludes funded access to the Primary Care CPPE Pathway for any further modules required to completethe pathway

Core Activities

The post holder will ensurethat the Practices integrate with community and hospital pharmacy to helputilise the skill mix, improve patient outcomes, ensure better access tohealthcare and help manage workload. The role is pivotal to improving the qualityof care and operational efficiencies so requires motivation and passion todeliver excellent service within general practice. The post holder will workclosely with the ICB Medicines Optimisation team, community pharmacists andhospital pharmacists to support an integrated hub approach to prescribing

The post holder will bepassionate about achieving excellence in care and will be supported in terms ofclinical learning and professional development

The post holder will beexpected to travel between PCN Practices, patients homes and meetings acrossthe PCN

Key priorities

• Provide leadership and line management to the PCNClinical Pharmacy team
• Provide supervision, coaching and mentorship to theappointed Clinical Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians working across the PCNGP Practices
• Ensure optimum benefit for prescribed medicationthrough high levels of compliance and concordance achieved by support for thepatient and carers
• Provide professional input to PCN Practice teams andnetwork multidisciplinary teams working to improve patient outcomes and reduceavoidable admission to hospital
• Liaise across providers to ensure accurate andeffective medication management
• Provide direct care to patients with long termconditions, minor ailments and other clinical areas within the scope ofpractice
• Support the care of complex patients in their ownhomes or in nursing or residential accommodation as part of a multidisciplinaryteam
• Provide professional leadership on matters relating tomedicines optimisation and quality improvement
• Monitor and manage the effectiveness of the ClinicalPharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians activities in the Practices
• Support with planning of courses and training
• Following through HR processes, appraisals, flexible working requests etc, appraisals, probationary reviews etc, HR queries, recordingabsences, performance management
• Support with locums, overarching supervision, reviewingclaims etc, support with setup
• Working and developing relationships withpracticesto achieve the best from the pharmacist team performance
• Pharmacy team collaboration and team building, sharinggood practice, pastoral support
• Good communication with the PCN leadership team,practices and clinical pharmacy team, ICB prescribing teams, community pharmacyICB lead
• Attending PCN meetings as a CP representative andcascading relevant info to CP team
• Representing the PCN as a pharmacy lead at meetings sucha ICB prescribing meeting, polypharmacy meetings
• Network building with other clinical pharmacy PCNteams
• Supporting with proposals, inductions and planning newrecruitments including interviews and shortlisting
• Work with practices, support with any queries, offeringadvice
• Strategic pharmacy planning and workingindependently
• Complex pharmacy/pharmaceutical queries offering adviceon matters when or if required.

Clinical duties

• Provide face to face clinical medication reviews forpatients with single or multiple longterm conditions including patients onmultiple medications, focussing on single conditions as appropriate
• Toplan and organise own workload, including audit and project work, care homevisits, MDT meetings and training sessions for members of the Practice team,patients, and carers.
• Run clinics where medicines are the maininterventions e.g. anticoagulant monitoring clinics.
• Review daily Pathology results and act on results.
• Act across the interface liaising with other providersi.e. secondary care, community pharmacy and care/nursing homes as necessary toensure safe transfers of care.
• Provide support to patients to maximise the benefitfrom their medication
• Provide medication reviews to complex patients intheir place of residence
• Manage a case load of patients presenting with common orselflimiting minor aliments within the scope of practice signposting toappropriate community services
• Provide telephone support for patients with medicationqueries
• Discuss patients with complex needs at the local MDTmeetings and refer to the named professional in line with recommendations
• Provide professional telephone and email advice andsupport to patients and their carers
• Reconcile the medications of patients whose care istransferred back to primary care in a timely and effective manner liaising withpatients and other providers to ensure patients receive appropriate medicationon discharge
• Proactively engage with patients whose care has beentransferred to reduce potential re-admission including identifying andrectifying unexplained variation
• To maintain full and complete records of all patientcontacts using appropriate clinical templates and coding
• Provide feedback and seek advice from GPs for patients where the post holder has clinical concerns aroundcompetence to safely manage their medications

Medicines management and repeat prescribing

• Carry out structured medicines optimisation reviews incare homes associated with the PCN working with all stakeholders in themultidisciplinary team to ensure optimal patient care and reduction ofunplanned hospital admissions
• Review the ongoing need for medication and make suitablerecommendations to the registered GP or amend within the scope of practice
• Manage requests to prescribe medication from specialistsin line with East & North Hertfordshire formulary and locally agreedguidelines
• Monitoring patients with complex long-term conditionssuch as hypertension, diabetes and COPD, ensuring that medication is optimised,titrated, monitored and complied with
• Work with practices to ensure safe and effective systemsfor the repeat prescribing of medication making recommendations on thereduction of potential wastage
• Set up systems to ensure the effective and continuoussupply of medication to high risk patients
• Act as a source of medicines information for all of thepractice team and patients (e.g. around doses, side effects, adverse events, possiblealternatives e.g. around out of stocks).
• Implement changes to medicines in line with MHRA alerts,produce withdrawal and other local or national guidance
• Advise patients on effective techniques required for theuse of medication delivered by devices
• Refer patients to their community pharmacist for supportwith using their medicines (e.g. Medicines Use Review or New MedicinesService).
• Update patient medication records in line with incomingclinical correspondence
• Reconcile medicines following hospital discharge, amendmedication lists and contact patients/ carers regarding such changes, asappropriate, to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge.
• Make appropriate prescribing decisions and/orrecommendations based on clinical information obtained during consultation orin the patients record.
• To contribute to the reduction of medicine wastagewithin practices across the PCN, resulting in improved budget performance forboth the practice and the wider CCG area.

Audit and riskstratification

• Participate in the effective care planning andmanagement of high-risk patients as part of the multidisciplinary team
• Participate in audit activities in practices and withgroups of practices to optimise the use of prescribing resource
• Make recommendations based on the outcomes of auditand shared learning activities
• Proactively identify and recall patients due formedication review ensuring all appropriate monitoring tests performed
• Contribute to reductions in medicine related hospitaladmissions and readmissions by supporting patients to get the best outcomesfrom their medicines and identifying and addressing medicines related issues.
• Work across the PCN as required to ensure a consistentapproach with regards to medicines optimisation and safe, effective, highquality patient care.

Supervision and mentorship

• Provide an appropriate induction programme for newlyappointed / junior clinical pharmacists.
• Develop the role of the clinical pharmacist in theirPCN Practice and undertake assessments.
• Support pharmacists failing to progress within theirrole at the expected rate.
• Be involved with performance support when appropriate.
• Oversee appropriate management guidance andprofessional development.
• Provide advice to PCN Practices regarding appropriateclinical work and pharmacist role development.
• Pastoral support for clinical pharmacists,facilitating group mentoring and professional development where required.
• Fully participate in personal training anddevelopment.
• Promote and participate in the development andoperation of a peer support network

Person Specification

Experience

• Minimum 5 years post registration experience
• Interest in the development of the general practice clinical pharmacist role
• Portfolio of evidence of continuous professional development and post-qualifying experience
• Evidence of multidisciplinary working
• Evidence of the application of innovative practice and the application of evidence-based interventions
• Basic management training or equivalent experience
• Minimum two years of managing a team
• Experience of mentoring Pharmacy Technicians
• Evidence of supporting others with learning and development
• Clear, concise record keeping / report writing skills
• Good IT skills ability to use Word, Excel, Powerpoint and internet to obtain, analyse and present information
• Ability to undertake research
• Skills in an acute care and Long Term Conditions management related setting (training will be provided)

Personal attributes

• Team player with willingness to learn
• Excellent communication and organisational skills
• Demonstrates use of appropriate communication to gain the co-operation of relevant stakeholders
• Flexible and adaptable approach to working
• Ability to work under pressure and achieve tight deadlines in a complex / changing environment
• Be able to organise workload and work autonomously as well as within a team
• Able to recognise personal limitations and refer to more appropriate colleague(s) when necessary
• Self-motivated and directed

Qualifications

• Maintain registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council
• Master's Degree in Pharmacy
• Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
• Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy or Prescribing
• Teaching qualification

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.

£47,000 to £54,000 a yearDependent on experience