Primary Care Pharmacist

ST ANDREWS SURGERY; Wales; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A local healthcare practice is looking for an experienced pharmacist to join their multidisciplinary team. Responsibilities include conducting medication reviews, managing patient caseloads, and ensuring optimal medication use. The ideal candidate should be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council and demonstrate excellent communication and data analysis skills. This position requires a proactive approach to improving patient care through medication management. The role offers opportunities for professional development and collaboration with healthcare colleagues.

Qualifications

• Completion of an undergraduate degree in pharmacy.
• Registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council.
• Commitment towards continuing professional development.
• Post registration experience in community or primary care pharmacy.

Responsibilities

• See patients in clinics, managing cases and medications.
• Administer clinical medication reviews with patients.
• Lead quality improvement programmes in medication safety.

Skills

Communication skills

Time management

Data analysis

Interpersonal skills

IT skills

Education

Undergraduate degree in pharmacy

Postgraduate qualification in pharmacy practice

Tools

Microsoft Office

Clinical software systems

Job description

Overview

Pharmacist role within the multidisciplinary team at St Andrews Surgery. The practice team consists of 3 GP partners, 1 Clinical Pharmacist, 3 Practice Nurses, 3 Health Care Assistants, and a supportive administration and reception team.

Main duties of the job

• See patients in multi-morbidity clinics and in partnership with primary healthcare colleagues, implementing improvements to patient medicines, including de‑prescribing.
• Manage own case load and run long‑term condition clinics where medicines play a large component.
• Review the ongoing need for each medicine, monitoring requirements and support patients with medicines use to optimise outcomes.
• Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients with multi‑morbidity and polypharmacy, and order relevant monitoring tests.
• Provide telephone consultations for patients with questions, queries and concerns about their medicines.
• Reconcile medicines following discharge from hospitals, intermediate care and into care homes, identifying and rectifying unexplained changes and managing these changes without referral to a GP.
• Implement the practice repeat prescribing policy, manage repeat prescribing reauthorisations and review medicines reaching review dates, ensuring patients are booked in for necessary monitoring tests.
• Assist in service development, implementing new services around NICE guidance and new medicines, and improving care pathways (e.g., oral anticoagulants for atrial fibrillation).
• Analyse and present medicines data to highlight issues, risks and support decision‑making.
• Lead medicines quality improvement programmes, including audit, clinical projects and local/national research initiatives.
• Monitor practice prescribing against the local health board formulary and liaise with hospital colleagues to manage shared‑care prescribing.
• Provide education and training to primary healthcare team on therapeutics, medicines optimisation and public health campaigns.
• Develop and maintain effective collaborative working relationships with other NHS and private organisations, ensuring consistency of patient care.
• Recognise the roles of other colleagues, communicate effectively, and act appropriately within the practice hierarchy.

Patient‑facing responsibilities (additional)

• Patient‑facing clinical medication reviews in care homes and residential settings, managing caseloads, and working with care home staff to improve medication safety.
• Manage caseload of vulnerable housebound patients at risk of hospital admission, undertaking medicine reviews, ordering monitoring tests and formulating care plans.
• Signpost to community pharmacy or GP where appropriate and provide patient‑facing clinics for those with questions or concerns about their medicines.

Qualifications

• Completion of an undergraduate degree in pharmacy.
• Registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council.
• Membership as practising pharmacist with The General Pharmaceutical Council.
• Commitment towards continuing professional development in accordance with requirements of The General Pharmaceutical Council.
• Relevant post registration experience of community, hospital, and/or primary care pharmacy practice.
• Demonstrate the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information in an understandable form to a variety of patients.
• Evidence of working autonomously and as part of a team.
• Proven ability to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of their own clinical practice.
• Understanding and knowledge of policy developments related to the delivery of General Practice and primary care services, the GMS Contract, Clinical governance.
• Understanding of systems to gain an understanding of the health needs of the Practice population as they relate to Primary Care.
• Understanding of Evidence Based practice.
• Knowledge of national standards that inform practice, (e.g. National Service frameworks, NICE guidelines etc).
• Understanding of equal opportunity and diversity issues.
• Ability to assess and manage patient risk effectively and safely.
• Well developed word processing, data collection and general IT skills.
• Excellent inter‑personal, verbal, and written communication skills.
• Time Management and ability to prioritise workload.
• Able to analyse data and information, drawing out implications for the individual patient and impact on care plan.
• Able to establish and maintain effective communication pathways within the organisation, and with key external stakeholders.
• Post‑graduate qualification to Diploma or Masters level in a recognised area of pharmacy practice or equivalent.
• Experience of Microsoft Office software.
• Experience of using a clinical software system.
• Interpreting and implementing local and national policy agendas for health.
• Knowledge of Primary care.
• An ability to think strategically.
• Proven record of effective use of networking and influencing skills.
• Experience of presenting information to wider audience.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and requires a Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB).