PCN Clinical Pharmacist listing

Local Primary Care GP Federation; Blackburn; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization in Blackburn is seeking a pharmacist to conduct clinical medication reviews and support care homes. The ideal candidate will have at least 2 years of experience and must be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council. Responsibilities include providing expert advice to prescribers, improving medication concordance, and potentially leading on medication-related projects. This role offers the opportunity to advance in a supportive team environment.

Benefits

Ongoing professional development

Supportive team environment

Qualifications

• Minimum of 2 years experience as a pharmacist.
• Experience with elderly medicine and common conditions in care homes.
• May hold or working towards an independent prescribing qualification.

Responsibilities

• Conduct clinical medication reviews and communicate recommendations.
• Provide expert pharmaceutical input into safeguarding incidences.
• Support non-medical prescribers and enhance decision-making processes.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Analytical skills

Leadership

Education

Undergraduate degree in pharmacy

Registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council

Job description

The post holder will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient-facing role. They will undertake clinical medication reviews to proactively manage patients with complex polypharmacy.

The post holder will develop, manage and deliver safe, efficient and effective medicines optimisation support to residents within care homes (nursing and residential care homes) in Blackburn with Darwen (BwD).

The post holder will contribute to the delivery of prescribing and medicines management services across BwD to meet the pharmaceutical care needs of the population, improve concordance and reduce waste.

The post holder will provide support to general practice staff with regards to prescription and medication queries. They will help support medicines reconciliation on transfer of care and systems for safer prescribing, providing expertise in clinical medicines advice while addressing both public and social care needs of patient.

The postholder will lead on delivery of the PCN DES national service specification for structured medication review and Enhanced Health in Care Homes.

The post holder will support and work alongside a team of clinical pharmacists across general practice. In this role they will be supported by a senior clinical pharmacist who will develop, manage and mentor them.

If necessary, the post holder will be supported to develop their role to become a non medical prescriber.

About us

Local Primary Care works with member practices to provide excellent services to patients. Supporting practices to develop their workforce and leadership

Our practices have adopted new methods of working via the extended clinical workforce which include Salaried GP's, Clinical Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians, Physician Associates, Care Home Pharmacists and Technicians, Assistant Practitioners, Care Co-ordinators, Social Care Link Workers and Health Care Assistants.

The successful candidates will be well supported in their Primary Care roles by accountable GPs and others in the PCN MDT team.

We are looking to expand and develop this team further by recruiting additional team members to our growing team

Job responsibilities

To carry out clinical medication reviews and communicate recommendations to prescribers to ensure identified improvements in quality and value are achieved

Communicate advice to patients and staff, ensuring patients and families are able to be involved in decisions, practicing patient centred care who on occasions may be resistant to change on subjects which are often of a very sensitive nature

Assess and identify problems with patient concordance including practical issues with taking medications for specific patient groups. e.g. manual dexterity, visual impairment, cognitive impairment, swallowing difficulties.

Liaise with other healthcare professionals to find appropriate solutions where conflicting opinions may exist

Provide expert pharmaceutical input into safeguarding incidences relating to medicines in care homes where appropriate

Work on individual projects relating to prescribing as required, for example development and delivery of training packages to relevant audiences (e.g. Nonmedical prescribers, staff etc.) and development of policies, protocols and procedures

Answers relevant medicine-related enquiries from GPs, other practice staff, other healthcare teams (e.g. community pharmacy) and patients with queries about medicines.

Suggesting and recommending solutions.

Providing follow up for patients to monitor the effect of any changes

Review the use of medicines most commonly associated with unplanned hospital admissions and readmissions through audit and individual patient reviews.

Put in place changes to reduce the prescribing of these medicines to highrisk patient groups.

To reconcile medicines following discharge from hospitals, intermediate care and into care homes, including identifying and rectifying unexplained changes and working with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge.

Set up and manage systems to ensure continuity of medicines supply to highrisk groups of patients (e.g. those with medicine compliance aids).

Ensure that patients are referred to the appropriate healthcare professional for the appropriate level of care within an appropriate period of time e.g. pathology results, common/minor ailments, acute conditions, long term condition reviews etc.

Identification of cohorts of patients at high risk of harm from medicines through pre-prepared practice computer searches. This might include risks that are patient related, medicine related, or both.

Contribute pharmaceutical advice for the development and implementation of new services that have medicinal components

Develop and implement prescribing audits and protocols

Develop policies and procedures in own work function with an impact on the wider organisation, as required.

Assist prescribers in achieving evidencebased, cost effective prescribing

Assist with the implementation and monitoring of medicines management targets and initiatives, including national prescribing targets

Devise and provide improvements to current management of information; analysing, reporting and suggesting procedures to enhance decision making processes

Ensure timely and accurate information analysis and reporting to management on agreed areas of work

Utilise and support robust systems to keep electronic records of reviews and issues arising to identify trends and develop quality initiatives and action plans, including audits, where appropriate

Contribute to regular reports detailing evidence of transformation and delivery of the EHCH agenda

Analyse, interpret and present medicines data to highlight issues and risks to support decision making.

Implement changes to medicines that result from MHRA alerts, product withdrawal and other local and national guidance.

Provide education and training to the primary healthcare team on prescribing/medicines optimisation issues

Work with care homes and general practice teams to ensure is compliance with CQC standards where medicines are involved.

To support public health campaigns.

To provide specialist knowledge on all public health programmes available to the general public.

Maintain constructive relationships with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders.

Liaise with CQC, Providers, Care homes and commissioning teams in relation to care homes and other medicines management areas when required; identifying and supporting any work programmes to address relevant care home issues arising and ensure alignment

Work with general practices, community pharmacies and care homes to implement robust systems relating to repeat prescribing (including electronic repeat dispensing e-RD) services, ensuring they are optimised in relation to care homes and minimising waste

Participate in relevant internal and external working groups/projects, services and initiatives to provide, information and analytical advice and expertise.

Present information and issues, explaining highly complex issues, to a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.

Recognise the roles of other colleagues and their role to patient care

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

Demonstrate ability to work as a member of a team

Recognise personal limitations and refer to more appropriate colleague(s) when necessary

Foster and maintain strong links with all services

Explores the potential for collaborative working and takes opportunities to initiate and sustain such relationships

Liaises with other stakeholders as needed for the collective benefit of patients

Knowledge, Skills and Experience Required

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

Minimum of 2 years experience as a pharmacist, demonstrated within a practice portfolio.

Have experience and an awareness of elderly medicine and the common acute and long-term conditions that are likely to be seen in care homes

May hold or be working towards an independent prescribing qualification.

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

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 guidelines.

NB: it is anticipated level of qualification held may vary according to the level of position and the components of the role being carried out, see person specification for details.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Demonstrate understanding … (continued as per original block)

Person Specification

Experience

• Minimum of 2 years post qualification experience Excellent interpersonal, influencing and negotiating skills Excellent written and verbal communication skills Demonstrate the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information in an understandable form to a variety of audiences (e.g. patients) Is able to plan, manage, monitor, advise and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long term conditions. Good IT skills Experience of GP clinical systems Able to obtain and analyse complex technical information Recognises priorities when problem solving and identifies deviations from the normal pattern and is able to refer to seniors or GPs when appropriate Able to work under pressure and to meet deadlines Experience of managing staff Demonstrates accountability for delivering professional expertise and direct service provision
• Experience and an awareness of elderly medicine and the common acute and long-term conditions that are likely to be seen in care homes An appreciation of the nature of GPs and general practices An appreciation of the nature of primary care prescribing

Additional

• Self Motivated
• Adaptable
• Full driving licence
• Basic life support training

Professional Registration

• Registration with General Pharmaceutical Council
• Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society

Qualifications

• Specialist knowledge acquired through postgraduate diploma level or equivalent training/ experience Independent prescriber or working towards/intent of gaining independent prescribing 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.