Mental Health Pharmacist

PENNINE CARE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST; Ashton-under-Lyne; On-site; GBP 36,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous annual leave

Flexible working opportunities

Continued Professional Development

Job summary

Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust in Greater Manchester is seeking a pharmacist for a development role spanning inpatient and community mental health services. The post holder will provide and develop a clinical pharmacy service, ensuring high standards and patient-focused care.

Guided by the senior pharmacist, you will work across inpatient and community teams, contribute to medicines management, and support transfer of care while upholding GPhC standards and ongoing professional development.

Qualifications

• GPhC registered pharmacist with experience in mental health.
• Ability to work across inpatient and community settings.

Responsibilities

• Review prescriptions to ensure safe, effective prescribing.
• Liaise with primary care for transfer of care and physical health monitoring.
• Provide medicines information to medical staff, patients and carers.
• Promote evidence-based practice and participate in audits.

Skills

Clinical pharmacy

Mental health services

Job description

Pennine Care are looking for pharmacists to join our team and are offering a development role which aims to give the postholder a broad experience of mental health pharmacy as it is practised in both inpatient and community settings. Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust are proud to have recently received a Good rating under the Well-Led domain of CQC inspection. The base locations for these posts will be within Stockport and Rochdale. The Mental Health Pharmacist - Community Services and Inpatients will be responsible for the provision and continued development of a clinical pharmacy service for inpatient and community services under the supervision of the senior pharmacist in the area. The post holder will work with both inpatient and community teams ensuring a seamless care approach as well as through joint working with home-treatment and primary care pharmacy teams. The post holder will cooperate in ensuring the provision of high quality patient focused pharmaceutical care. The post holder will work under the supervision of the senior pharmacist in the area. The post holder will work as part of both the Community Service pharmacy team and inpatient pharmacy team but also as required as the sole pharmacist, taking responsibility for their own workload and decision making. To provide and develop a specialist clinical pharmacy service to mental health inpatient and community services. This will include:

• Maintaining and developing clinical pharmacy services to nationally approved standards in conjunction with the senior pharmacist and pharmacy team thereby ensuring safe and appropriate use of medicines in order to maximise benefit and minimise risk.
• Ensuring that the pharmacy service provided meets the standards laid down by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and national standards for the delivery of the medicines management in mental health trusts.
• Working with the senior pharmacist and wider pharmacy team to ensure the production, consultation and implementation of all Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust policies and procedures that impact on medicines management and pharmaceutical care including those related to shared care and physical health monitoring
• Developing close links with inpatient wards, community teams, the primary care pharmacy teams and the PCFT pharmacy team to ensure smooth transfer of care

We are proud to provide high quality mental health and learning disability services, both inpatient and in the community across five boroughs of Greater Manchester - Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport and Tameside and Glossop. Our vision is for a happier and more hopeful life for everyone in our communities and our staff work hard to deliver the very best care for the people who use our services. We're really proud of our #PennineCarePeople and do everything we can to make sure we're a great place to work. All individuals regardless of race, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership are encouraged to apply for this post. We would also encourage applications from individuals with a lived experience of mental illness, either individually or as a carer.

• Generous annual leave entitlement for Agenda for Change and Medical and Dental staff.
• Flexible working opportunities to support your work/life balance
• Access to Continued Professional Development
• Involvement in improvement and research activities
• Health and Wellbeing activities and access to an excellent staff wellbeing service
• Access to staff discounts across retail, leisure and travel

Clinical

• Reviewing and advising on prescriptions to ensure safe and effective prescribing appropriate to the individual patient.
• Liaising with primary care to support transfer of care and physical health monitoring
• Giving medicines management advice to medical, nursing and other staff and medicines information to all patients, carers, and members of staff.
• Recommending monitoring of mental and physical health when indicated.
• Attending multidisciplinary care planning reviews to advise on matters relating to choice and use of medicines.
• Preparing drug history reports for patients detailing positive, negative and adverse responses to past treatment with recommendations for future treatment.
• Undertaking medicines reconciliation on admission and supporting transfer
• Conducting medication education sessions for patients and carers, either on a one-to-one or in groups.
• Involvement in the discharge planning process and liaising with General Practitioners and community pharmacists to ensure that the medicines management needs of patients in the community are fulfilled.
• Participating in the promotion of evidence based effective practice
• Contributing to other groups such as the Managing Prescribing Risk Subgroup and supporting learning from incidents.
• Acting as an expert source of pharmaceutical advice for health and social care staff, patients and carers.
• Working with primary care and GMMMG through the senior pharmacist to improve shared care.

Management and Administration

• Ensuring compliance with medicines legislation
• Ensuring that the medication provided to community services bases is stored appropriately to maintain quality and potency.
• Ensuring that any concerns in prescribing practice are reported appropriately.
• Ensuring policies and guidelines are followed
• Contributing to relevant Trust committees and meetings, such as the sub-groups of the Drugs and Therapeutics Committee and community services meetings.
• Working in close liaison with pharmacists in primary care settings to develop a common approach to shared care / transfer of care
• Working with the Chief Pharmacist and senior clinical pharmacist to monitor drug expenditure
• Using Word, Excel and PowerPoint to prepare reports and presentations.
• Using the internet to obtain up to date therapeutic information on medicines related issues.
• Providing sickness and absence cover for other pharmacists employed by the Trust when requested to do so by the Chief Pharmacist
• Delivering teaching sessions on medication and medication management for healthcare professionals, including as part of the Trust's induction program.
• Deputising for the senior pharmacists as required
• Managing students and technicians when required
• Identifying changes in prescribing practices that may impact on the drugs budget

Professional

• Undertaking and record Continuing Professional Development as required for continued registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
• Contributing to the provision of supervision, training and assessment of pre-registration pharmacists, technicians or rotational pharmacists.

Information Technology

• Becoming involved in the continuous improvement of information on the Trust web page
• Becoming involved in the implementation of electronic prescribing / robotic dispensing as appropriate to the mental health setting.
• Using advances in IT to change how medicines management functions are delivered.

Research, Development and Audit

• Demonstrating a critical approach towards pharmacy practice
• Integrating research evidence into practice
• Supporting others undertaking research
• Undertaking clinical audit as part of the multidisciplinary audit process.
• Monitoring community services drug use.
• Promoting cost-effective drug use.

Other

• Working in a busy environment where there may be confused, agitated or distressed patients or relatives
• Able to manage interruptions during periods of work, which require high levels of concentration to avoid error
• All employees have a duty and a responsibility not only for their own health and safety but for the health and safety of colleagues, and patients within their care.