Palliative Care Pharmacist
The Rotherham Hospice
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Job summary
The Rotherham Hospice is seeking a Palliative Care Pharmacist to lead our pharmacy service, provide medicines advice across all hospice services and work with the Care Navigation hub to ensure safe, person-centred prescribing.
You will oversee the drugs room, collaborate with regional pharmacy services, and drive e-prescribing while contributing to audits, training, and policy development to improve medicines use for our patients.
Qualifications
- Masters degree in Pharmacy and GPhC registered.
- Postgraduate clinical pharmacy experience required.
- Experience in hospital or specialist clinical settings preferred.
Responsibilities
- Deliver expert pharmaceutical care to hospice inpatients, day patients and community patients where applicable.
- Review and optimise medications for symptom control (pain, nausea, agitation, breathlessness).
- Advise on complex prescribing and lead e-prescribing implementation.
- Oversee medicines governance, audits and formulary development.
- Provide training on palliative pharmacotherapy to staff.
- Participate in MDT meetings and risk management processes.
Skills
Education
Job description
The Palliative Care Pharmacist is the lead pharmacist for Rotherham Hospice and provides strategic and operational leadership and medicines advice for safe, effective and person centred use of medicines across all hospice services.
Working as part of the Care Navigation hub, the post holder works with the Head of Care Navigation, Triage Manager, Doctors, Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACPs) and Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS) with expert advice on medicines, prescribing and stewardship. They oversee the onsite drugs room, work closely with TRFT pharmacy services for medicines supply, and lead the hospice transition to e prescribing.
The Palliative Care Pharmacist is responsible for clinical pharmacy services, medicines governance, policies and audits, and for ensuring that medicines support Living Lifes Wishes, helping patients to manage symptoms and maintain quality of life in the safest and most effective way possible.
Rotherham Hospice is a charity dedicated to the people of Rotherham, offering specialist palliative and end of life care to our community since 1996.
We provide comprehensive, compassionate care through two primary patient services:
- 24-hour, 14-bed Inpatient Service
- 24-hour Hospice at Home Service
Additionally, we offer wider support to patients and their families through:
- Complementary therapies and hairdressing
- Counselling and Bereavement Support for adults, children and teenagers
- Day services with individual and group sessions
- Family memory events
- Occupation therapy and physiotherapy
- Social work
- Spiritual care
- Tailored experiences for patients and loved ones
Date posted: 29 October 2026
Pay scheme: Other
Salary: £47,810 to £54,710 a year
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: B0109-26-0015
Job locations: Broom Road, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, S60 2SW, United Kingdom
- Deliver expert pharmaceutical care to hospice inpatients, day patients, and community patients where applicable
- Review and optimise medication regimens for symptom control e.g. pain, nausea, agitation, breathlessness
- Provide advice on complex prescribing, including syringe drivers and anticipatory medications
- Support deprescribing and rationalisation of medicines in line with patient goals of care
- Monitor for adverse drug reactions and interactions, particularly in frail and complex patients
- Participate in ward rounds and multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings
- Ensure the safe, legal, and effective supply of medicines within the hospice
- Oversee controlled drugs management in accordance with UK legislation
- Develop and implement policies, guidelines, and standard operating procedures
- Support audit and quality improvement initiatives related to medicines use
- Contribute to formulary development and cost-effective prescribing
- Provide training and education to healthcare professionals on palliative care pharmacotherapy
- Support the development of junior pharmacists, nurses, and medical staff
- Offer guidance to patients and carers on medication use, including administration and side effects
- Provide compassionate, patient-centred counselling on medicines
- Support patients and families in understanding treatment options and symptom management
- Contribute to advance care planning discussions where appropriate
- Participate in clinical audit, research, and service evaluation
- Ensure compliance with professional standards e.g. GPhC, NICE, local policies
- Contribute to risk management and incident reporting processes
- Lead the planning and implementation of e prescribing within the hospice, working with clinical, IT and external partners.
- Contribute to system design, testing, training and go live planning to ensure safe and user friendly e prescribing processes.
- Develop and maintain associated policies, procedures and guidance for e prescribing and medicines administration.
- Line manage and support the Pharmacy Technician, ensuring regular supervision, appraisal and development.
- Promote a culture of openness, learning and high standards within the pharmacy and Care Navigation teams.
- Act at all times in line with the values and behaviours of Rotherham Hospice.
- Ensure compliance with hospice policies, including health and safety, infection prevention and control, safeguarding, lone working, information governance and confidentiality.
- Participate in meetings, training and mandatory updates as required.
- Undertake any other duties commensurate with the role and grade, as agreed with the Head of Care Navigation.
- Masters degree in Pharmacy - MPharm or equivalent
- Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council - GPhC
- Postgraduate clinical pharmacy experience
- Experience working in hospital or specialist clinical settings
- Strong knowledge of pharmacotherapy, particularly in pain and symptom management
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Ability to work independently and within a multidisciplinary team
- Independent Prescriber qualification, or working towards
- Experience in palliative care, oncology, or geriatrics
- Postgraduate diploma or MSc in clinical pharmacy or palliative care
- Experience in hospice and community-based care
- Compassion and sensitivity when working with patients at end of life.
- Strong clinical decision-making and problem-solving skills.
- Attention to detail and commitment to patient safety.
- Ability to manage complex and emotionally challenging situations.
- Commitment to continuous professional development.
- Professional, reliable and accountable, with high standards of integrity.
- Detail focused and safety conscious.
- Compassionate and person centred, with a focus on quality of life.
- Flexible and adaptable, able to work across services and respond to change.
- Enthusiasm for developing pharmacy and medicines optimisation in a hospice environment.
- Ability to design and deliver training and education sessions.
- Skills in data analysis and presentation for medicines related reports.
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.
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer name: The Rotherham Hospice
Employer's website: https://www.rotherhamhospice.org.uk/
Employer contact details: Human Resources, hr@rotherhamhospice.org.uk, 01709966000
For questions about the job, contact: Human Resources, hr@rotherhamhospice.org.uk, 01709966000
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