Senior Pharmacist - Cancer Services

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

Job summary

The Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust is recruiting a Senior Clinical Pharmacist for the Cancer Services team. This role offers a chance to work in a supportive environment while providing essential clinical pharmacy services, mentorship, and opportunities for personal development in an exciting healthcare landscape.

Benefits

Supportive and friendly team

Structured training and development

Opportunities for service improvement involvement

Qualifications

• Registered with GPhC.
• Experience of caring for people with cancer.
• Evidence of project work completed.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist clinical pharmacy services to oncology and clinical haematology.
• Mentor junior pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
• Ensure safe prescribing and patient care during transitions.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Negotiation skills

Presentation skills

Communication skills

Education

MPharm/BPharm

Independent prescriber

Diploma/MSc in clinical pharmacy

Job description

Go back Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trusts

Senior Pharmacist - Cancer Services

The closing date is 02 July 2025

We are looking for an enthusiastic Senior Clinical Pharmacist to join our well-established Cancer Pharmacy team at NUH, to start or continue your specialist career in cancer pharmacy.

You will provide a specialist clinical pharmacy service to the oncology and clinical haematology specialties, working closely with the Specialist Clinical Pharmacists and other members of the multidisciplinary team to provide excellent patient care. In this exciting post you will rotate through the cancer service and gain exposure to a wide range of sub-specialties. These include oncology, haematology, palliative care, specialist admissions, bone marrow transplant and CAR-T. You will support the specialities to ensure the safe and appropriate use of anticancer medicines in-line with national and regional guidelines.

You can expect structured personal development and the opportunity to contribute to high level clinical and service delivery projects. You will be fully supported by senior members of the Pharmacy team.

Main duties of the job

This posts presents an opportunity to join an established cancer pharmacy team embedded in one of the UK's largest and busiest acute NHS teaching hospital Trusts. Having previous experience of caring for people with cancer would be desirable but is not essential.

What we offer:

A supportive and friendly cancer pharmacy team

Established collaborative relationships with the wider cancer multidisciplinary teams

Opportunities to rotate through the main clinical areas of oncology, haematology, specialist admissions and palliative care

Development of clinical knowledge and decision making for patients undergoing chemotherapy and other cancer treatments

Structured and supported training and development, both personal and professional

Involvement in the process for introducing new cancer therapies to the trust

Opportunities to contribute to service improvement, with the aim of improving patient experience

Opportunity to manage/mentor junior colleagues

About us

With Over 19,000 staff, we are one of the biggest employers in the city with a central role in supporting the health and wellbeing of our local population. We play a leading role in research, education and innovation.

Come and join our wonderful team at NUH. We are big believers in diversity and welcome new ideas to help develop our team in order to deliver world class healthcare to the vast patient populations we serve. With endless personal development opportunities available, at NUH we will endeavour to turn your job into a career!

Job responsibilities

Job Summary

To partake in clinical pharmacy duties, ensuring core clinical pharmacy activities are undertaken in the CAS Division (including Oncology and Clinical Haematology)

Leadership, management and Divisional/Specialty support roles

To line manage and support more junior pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in pharmacy CAS team

To take full part in the 7 day shifted rota and bank holidays duties

The post holder will be predominantly based at the Nottingham City Hospital Campus.

Key Job Responsibilities

Core clinical pharmacy activities

To work in accordance with relevant pharmacy and Trust policies and procedures relating to the management of medicines.

To ensure safe, rational and effective prescribing by undertaking medication reconciliation, assessing suitability of prescribed medication (including chemotherapy and associated medicines), enabling use of patients own medicines and patient self-administration, counselling (to optimise medicines use), and ensuring continuity of patient care at transitions of care

Providing medicines for individual patients during their stay in hospital, at discharge and during day case and out-patient visits

Interpreting and requesting clinical tests to monitor and make recommendations to improve effectiveness and safety of drug therapy

Proactively liaison with other members of the multidisciplinary team (medical staff, nurses, microbiologists, physiotherapists, dietitians etc) in order to ensure safe and effective use of medicines

Actively make recommendations about medicines to improve patient outcomes and to encourage adherence to hospital formulary and national guidelines

Providing advice and guidance in relation to the prescribing of unlicensed and clinical trial medicines under the direction of the senior pharmacist for clinical trials

To professionally screen prescriptions for Systemic Anticancer Therapy in accordance with local and national guidelines

To support the Pharmacy Production Services when required, predominantly in a checking role

Other

To contribute to, facilitate or conduct clinical audits according to the Pharmacy audit plan

To participate in research, communicate results and if suitable register for a further degree

To act as lead pharmacist for a specified area with in the cancer pharmacy team

To undertake and document continuing professional development

To contribute to the teaching and training of undergraduate, postgraduate students and other healthcare professionals

To undertake any other duties that may reasonably be required as agreed by senior staff

Leadership, management and Divisional/Specialty support roles

Support the Divisional Lead and specialist clinical pharmacists in delivering clinical pharmacy and medicines management services to the assigned clinical specialties

Liaise and work alongside relevant pharmacy colleagues and directorate staff and managers in ensuring continuity and development of clinical pharmacy services within the specialty

Maintain contact with and actively participating in regional and national specialty groups, and in also identifying best practice and incorporating it into NUH practice

Support the Divisional Lead and Assistant Head of Pharmacy (Clinical Services Lead) in delivering the best possible clinical pharmacy service

Support the Assistant Clinical Services Lead and Assistant Head of Pharmacy (Clinical Services Lead) by developing KPIs that clearly demonstrate the contribution made by the pharmacy team

Report all KPIs (delivered by the clinical pharmacy service) at regular intervals, as directed by the Assistant Head of Pharmacy clinical services lead e.g. activity data, contributions, service development contributions etc.

Deputise for the relevant specialist clinical pharmacist(s) in the cluster in relation to issues linked to the cluster e.g. attending relevant specialty meetings

Supporting the respective specialist clinical pharmacist(s) in the submission of business cases to secure funding for service developments/new pharmacy posts within the specialty

Assist specialist clinical pharmacists in monitoring drug usage, prescribing patterns and expenditure in order to support the service in achieving a balanced drugs budget and planning for new drug developments

To contribute to the multidisciplinary identification, review, ratification and implementation of policies, treatment guidelines (including NICE guidance) in the specialty

Act as a role model

Undertake and support relevant project work within the department

Assist in the recruitment of new staff

Line manage and support more junior pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in the pharmacy CAS cluster

Direct, mentor and support the more junior pharmacists and other members of the team in the cluster

Support and encourage more junior pharmacists in accomplishing their objectives

Take significant role in education and training of staff (rotational and diploma pharmacists, technicians, pre-registration pharmacists, pharmacy students) that are linked to the specialties

To take full part in the 7 day shifted rota and bank holidays duties

This post-holder will be required to provide clinical cover on weekends (half-day both weekend days) approximately once every two months this may vary with staffing levels. For each weekend worked, a full-day will be recompensed in either the week before or after the weekend cover. There will also be a requirement to be part of the senior pharmacist on-call rota as well as participating in rostered flexible shift working including evening, weekend and bank holiday arrangements over a 7 day period, in line with service requirements.

In addition to the brief list above you must familiarise yourself with the full job description and person specification attached to this advert prior to applying.

Person Specification

Training & Qual

• MPharm/BPharm
• Registered with GPhC
• Diploma/MSc in clinical pharmacy or other appropriate post graduate qualification/experience
• Independent prescriber
• Member of RPS
• Validated with BOPA SACT passport

Experience

• Wide/broad post registration hospital clinical pharmacy experience
• Experience of teaching/supervision
• Broad Clinical Knowledge base
• Evidence of project work completed
• Experience of caring for people with cancer
• Experience of screening chemotherapy

Communication and Relationship

• Good interpersonal, negotiating and presentation skills, both written and verbal skills
• Empathy with patients, relatives and pharmacy customers
• Teaching experience
• Evidence of management

Analytical and Judgement

• Able to assess and minimise the risk in medication process
• Evidence of critical evaluation of clinical information with application to practice

Planning and Organisation

• Organised, able to prioritise own work and assist other to prioritise

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.

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trusts