Principal Pharmacist, Frailty

Epsom Sthelier; Epsom; Remote; GBP 64,000 - 71,000; Full time

Job summary

Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust is seeking a Principal Pharmacist to join the Frailty Services team on a fixed-term basis. The role involves leading medicines optimisation for the frailty unit at Epsom Hospital or community hospitals, conducting detailed reviews, and working with a multidisciplinary team to ensure safe, effective care.

You will provide advanced pharmaceutical expertise in frailty and polypharmacy, supporting care transitions and adherence improvement within a

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in pharmacy or equivalent, registered with GPhC.
• Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy or equivalent.
• Registered as a pharmacist with The General Pharmaceutical Council.
• Non-medical prescriber and Royal Pharmaceutical Society member.

Responsibilities

• Provide a specialist clinical pharmacy service to frailty unit or SDHC Community Hospital ward.
• Lead medicines optimisation and medicines management on the ward.
• Provide clinical supervision for the pharmacy team and promote cost-effective prescribing.
• Liaise with MDT colleagues to implement national/local medicines guidelines.
• Conduct high-quality patient medication reviews to optimise therapy.

Education

Master’s degree in pharmacy

Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy

Registered as a pharmacist with The General Pharmaceutical Council

Non-medical prescriber

Member of Royal Pharmaceutical Society

Tools

CMM pharmacy computer system

Job description

Site Epsom General Hospital (with requirement to travel to community hospital site) Town Epsom Salary £63,665 - £70,887 pa incl HCAS Outer pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 08/11/2026 23:59

At Epsom and St Helier Hospitals, above all we value respect. We put respect at the heart of all we do, by living up to our shared behaviours of kindness, professionalism, positivity and teamwork. This enables us to provide great patient care and make ESTH a great place to work. When you sign up to work with us, you sign up to this and we welcome applicants who share our values.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our team on a fixed term 6 month basis as one of the Principal Pharmacists supporting Frailty Services. The successful candidate will join the multi-disciplinary team working on either the Mary Seacole frailty unit at Epsom Hospital, or at one of the Community Hospitals sites. The Mary Seacole Unit is a community-facing frailty unit based within Epsom Hospital. The unit supports patients who have frailty, complex needs and/or rehabilitation needs and offers enhanced Multidisciplinary team support in order to support the patients' transition of care back to their place of residence as soon as possible. The Community Hospitals provide care for people needing rehabilitation. They aim is to help patients return to living independently, or with care or other support. As the specialist pharmacist in the team you will lead on medicines optimisation and medicines management in the ward setting. You will provide advanced pharmaceutical expertise in frailty and polypharmacy. You will also conduct in-depth, personalised and goal orientated medication reviews with patients to improve their understanding of medicines, address adherence issues and reduce inappropriate polypharmacy. Ensuring seamless transfer of pharmaceutical care across interfaces will also be a key part of the role. If you are a motivated, autonomous individual who enjoys direct working with patients and being part of an MDT then this is the role for you.

Main duties of the job

• To provide a specialist clinical pharmacy service to the frailty unit or a SDHC Community Hospital ward.
• Providing a well-integrated, comprehensive, patient-oriented specialist clinical pharmacy service at ward level throughout the frailty unit or SDHC Community Hospital site.
• To provide advice and day to day clinical supervision for the pharmacy team working in the frailty unit or a community hospital ward, promoting evidence-based, cost-effective use of medicines
• To promote safe, responsible, cost effective prescribing and usage of medicines, in line with the formulary, to optimise clinical outcomes and minimise adverse reactions and errors.
• To liaise with appropriate MDT colleagues to ensure the implementation of National/Local guidelines related to medicines to optimise patient care and promote best practice.
• Combining pharmaceutical expertise and technical skills to proactively support patient centred medicine
• Undertaking high-quality patient medication reviews to maximise the therapeutic effects of medicines, minimise the risk of harm and improve patient adherence to medication regimens.
• Participating in Clinical audit, service and quality improvement where appropriate to aid shared learning and improvement.
• Promoting the safer use of medicines through identification, reporting and investigation of medicines related incidents and sharing the learning from incidents with the wider team

Working for our organisation

Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust provides a range of medical services to approximately 490,000 people living across southwest London and northeast Surrey. In addition, we provide more specialist services, in particular renal and neonatal intensive care, to a wider area, covering parts of Sussex and Hampshire.

We serve an area that is rich in diversity, with a mix of urban and rural areas, and differing levels of quality of life. We cover some of the most prosperous postcodes in the country, as well as some poorer areas. Together with our colleagues at NHS Surrey and NHS Sutton and Merton, we work to make sure that we deliver the best possible care to the communities we serve.

The Trust employs approximately 5,000 staff across its hospitals and is supported by over 500 volunteers.

Please see the attached supporting job description and person specification document which contains more information about ESTH and SDHC.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached supporting job description and person specification document which contains more information about the role and requirements.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in pharmacy or equivalent
• Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy or equivalent demonstrable experience
• Registered as a pharmacist with The General Pharmaceutical Council
• Non-medical prescriber
• Member of Royal Pharmaceutical Society

Experience

• Able to demonstrate experience providing a pharmacy clinical service to patients in a range of medical sub-specialities
• Pharmaceutical Knowledge of Polypharmacy/ Care of older People/ Frailty
• Experience of multidisciplinary team working
• Experience in providing and evaluating pharmacy education & training
• Experience of managing or supervising other staff
• Experience of audit and quality improvement projectsExperience in the provision of pharmacy expertise to the clinical governance agenda
• Experience of implementing and/or reviewing PGDs

Skills

• Able to communicate effectively with a wide range of healthcare professionals and patients
• Able to manage difficult or ambiguous situations
• Able to manage time effectively and meet tight deadlines and to prioritise and manage workload
• Able to use own initiative to inform decisions and ensure accuracy
• Critical appraisal skills
• Familiarity with CMM pharmacy computer system
• Ability to manage change

Safeguarding and DBS Checks
We are committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. For roles with direct access to these groups, an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be required. All staff are expected to understand and uphold their safeguarding responsibilities as part of their role.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.