Primary Care Pharmacist

NHS Orkney; Kirkwall; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

NHS Pension

Work-life balance policies

Employee assistance programme

Discounts

Job summary

NHS Orkney is seeking a Primary Care Clinical Pharmacist to lead a new Polypharmacy and Medicines Reablement Service. The role focuses on structured reviews, reconciliation and optimisation to support frailty and multimorbidity across Orkney’s remote communities.

The post offers a dynamic, supportive team environment with opportunities to contribute to service development and professional progression, including Royal Pharmaceutical Society credentialing.

Qualifications

• Must be a registered pharmacist with excellent clinical, communication and interpersonal skills.
• Experience in primary care, community pharmacy or hospital pharmacy is welcomed.
• An Independent Prescribing qualification is essential to the role.

Responsibilities

• Undertake structured polypharmacy reviews across GP practices, care homes, community settings and patients' homes.
• Perform medicines reconciliation and medicines optimisation to reduce medicines-related harm.
• Collaborate with GP practices, hospital teams and care services to provide person-centred pharmaceutical care.
• Utilise remote consultations and planned locality visits to deliver services across Orkney.

Skills

Clinical Pharmacy

Polypharmacy

Medicines Reconciliation

Communication Skills

Independent Prescribing

Education

Registered Pharmacist (GPhC)

Job description

About The Organisation

NHS Orkney is committed to delivering excellent care to our 22,000 residents. Whether you’re new to the NHS or bringing experience from elsewhere, your skills will make a real difference.

Our modern healthcare facility, The Balfour, brings together inpatient care, emergency services, outpatient clinics, diagnostics, GP practices and the Scottish Ambulance Service. We’re also investing in services across our outer isles, ensuring high-quality care reaches every corner of Orkney.

We are guided by our core values that shape everything we do Open and honest, Respect and Kindness from how we care for our patients to how we support each other as colleagues.

About Orkney

With over 70 islands 20 of them inhabited Orkney offers a unique blend of natural beauty, close-knit community and an opportunity for adventure. From dramatic coastlines and rare wildlife to rich cultural traditions and active lifestyles, it’s a place where compassion thrives and every day brings something new.

Regularly named one of the UK’s best places to live, Orkney offers a lifestyle that’s both fulfilling and inspiring.

The Position

Primary Care Clinical Pharmacist (Polypharmacy & Medicines Reablement)

Help Shape the Future of Medicines Optimisation in One of Scotland's Most Unique Health Systems

We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated pharmacist to join NHS Orkney's Primary Care Pharmacy Team and help deliver an innovative new Polypharmacy and Medicines Reablement Service across Orkney.

This exciting new post has been created through transformational funding to improve outcomes for people with frailty, multimorbidity and complex medicines needs. Working across GP practices, care homes, community settings and patients’ own homes, the successful candidate will undertake structured polypharmacy reviews, medicines reconciliation and medicines optimisation activities aimed at reducing medicines-related harm and supporting people to remain independent for longer.

The post holder will work closely with GP practices, community pharmacies, hospital teams, care home and care at home services, patients, carers and unpaid carers to provide person-centred pharmaceutical care across mainland Orkney and the outer isles. A flexible approach, making effective use of remote consultations, multidisciplinary working and planned locality visits, will be key to delivering this service.

You will join a friendly, supportive and experienced pharmacy team and be supported by our established Primary Care Pharmacy Service. Team working is central to how we deliver care, and you will have opportunities to contribute to service development, quality improvement and innovative models of care across NHS Orkney. The role offers experience across the four pillars of advanced pharmacy practice: clinical practice, leadership and management, education, and research, and we are committed to supporting the successful candidate in their professional development, including progression through the Royal Pharmaceutical Society credentialing programme.

This is an exciting opportunity to make a real difference to patient care while helping shape a new service expected to deliver significant benefits for patients and the wider health and care system. The programme aims to support over 800 polypharmacy reviews annually and improve access to pharmaceutical care for people living in our remote and island communities.

The successful candidate must be a registered pharmacist with excellent clinical, communication and interpersonal skills. Experience in primary care, community pharmacy or hospital pharmacy is welcomed. An Independent Prescribing qualification is essential to the role.

This post offers a unique working environment with a friendly and enthusiastic team in a stunning remote and rural setting, where you can make a visible difference to the health and wellbeing of the Orkney population.

Location, Working Pattern and Contract Duration

This post will be based at The Balfour.

The successful candidate will work: Full Time 36 hours per week.

This post is Fixed-Term/Secondment* until November 2028 months due to funding for a specific project.

It is a condition of this employment that you must live and remain a resident within the UK for the post in which you will be employed with NHS Orkney.

Benefits And Salary

Did you know NHS Scotland salaries are higher than those in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland?

The salary for this post is Band 7 and if residing on Orkney, you’ll also receive a Distant Islands Allowance of £1,719 pro rata per annum, adding extra value to your rewarding career with us.

NHS Orkney also offers an attractive pension scheme, wide range of work life balance policies, employee assistance programme and various discounts to both local and national retailers.

Further Information

We are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that candidates may need during the recruitment process, and you will be asked whether you require any during your application. If there are additional requirements you would like to request, please contact

For further guidance on the recruitment process and tips for creating a strong application, please refer to our Candidate Application Pack.

To Find Out More About This Opportunity Please Contact

Lyndsay Steel, Lead General Practice Pharmacist by email on or phone [phone]

This post is subject to a Disclosure Scotland check.

NHS Orkney is an equal opportunities employer committed to advancing equality and particularly welcomes applications from groups of people currently underrepresented within the workforce. We are a committed participant in the Disability Confident Leader Scheme and guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for our vacancies.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) - Candidates should provide original and authentic responses to all questions within the application form. The use of artificial intelligence (AI), automated tools, or other third-party assistance to generate, draft, or significantly modify responses is strongly discouraged. By submitting your application, you confirm that all answers are your own work, reflect your personal knowledge, skills and experience, and have not been solely produced or altered by AI or similar technologies.

Failure to comply with this requirement may result in your application being withdrawn from the application process.

Please note this advert may close early if sufficient applications are received.

Interview Date: Interviews will take place w/c 21st of September, date to be confirmed.

• Please discuss seeking a secondment with your line manager, prior to submitting an application.