Senior Pharmacist - Rheumatology

East Lancashire Hospitals Nhs Trust; Lancashire; On-site; GBP 58,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust is seeking a Senior Pharmacist (Band 8a) to lead a specialist rheumatology pharmacy service. You will provide expert pharmaceutical care, lead clinics, and ensure safe, cost-effective medicine use within the MEC Division, while supporting MDT collaboration and service development.

You will act as an independent prescriber for a defined Rheumatology caseload, manage budgets, and participate in quality improvement and teaching initiatives across the pharmacy and

Qualifications

• MPharm degree and GPhC registration are essential.
• Postgraduate clinical qualification or NHS hospital experience preferred.
• Non-medical prescriber status to be undertaken on appointment if not held.
• Evidence of CPD and membership of the Royal College of Pharmacy.

Responsibilities

• Lead and deliver advanced specialist pharmaceutical care in rheumatology.
• Lead development of rheumatology pharmacy services and clinics.
• Provide high-level pharmaceutical advice and monitor drug expenditure.
• Supervise and mentor staff within a busy multidisciplinary team.

Skills

Clinical pharmacy care

Independent prescriber

Budget management

Quality improvement

Teaching / mentoring

Education

MPharm Degree

GPhC registration

Postgraduate clinical diploma/qualification

Non-medical Prescriber (NMP)

CPD (Continuing Professional Development)

Royal College of Pharmacy membership

Job description

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our dynamic Pharmacy team as a Senior Pharmacist (Band 8a) working within the Rheumatology Directorate. This position offers a wealth of unique clinical and professional development opportunities within the both the Rheumatology and Pharmacy Department. The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in delivering exceptional pharmaceutical care and services, working collaboratively within a multi-disciplinary team to support optimal patient outcomes. You will:

• Work as an integral member of the multi-disciplinary team to provide specialist clinical pharmacy support to the Rheumatology service.
• Be responsible for leading and developing the clinical pharmacy service to the Medicines and Emergency Care (MEC) Division in accordance with the objectives set by the Divisional Lead Pharmacist, with particular emphasis on the Rheumatology Directorate.
• Provide highly specialised advice in all pharmaceutical matters.
• Work as an independent prescriber managing a defined patient caseload within Rheumatology.
• Ensure that medicine use within the Rheumatology speciality is safe, effective and cost effective.
• Work with the homecare pharmacy team to ensure appropriate use of homecare medicine supply.
• Monitor and provide comment on drug expenditure as required e.g in relation to high cost (biologics and biosimilars) and the introduction of new therapeutic agents.

Main duties of the job

Lead and deliver an advanced specialist pharmaceutical care service to patients within the rheumatology service, in accordance with the priorities set by the post-holder and the Clinical Lead Pharmacist, in order to ensure, safe, clinically effective and cost-efficient use of medicines and taking into account national and corporate priorities. Lead the development of the Rheumatology pharmacy service including; setting up and delivering pharmacist-led rheumatology clinics, providing patient education on systemic treatments for rheumatology and initiate appropriate medication and associated monitoring ensuring accurate transfer of care information and follow up. Maintain clinical competencies and support the Clinical Pharmacy team by working on in-patient wards or the dispensary. In addition, you will be required to:

• Assist in the development of relevant policies, guidelines and pathways.
• Monitor compliance with NICE guidance and TAs, and other nationally and locally agreed guidelines, pathways and audits.
• Work with the homecare pharmacist to incorporate relevant treatments or undertake medicine switches.
• Proactively undertake quality improvement and/or research.

About us

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust aims to deliver the highest quality care to its patients. We employ dedicated staff, some of which have won awards for their work and are internationally renowned. Whilst being spread across sites and having a large number of staff we are very welcoming to all and have many assistants, technicians and pharmacists who have worked and progressed with us for very many years. We have strong links with our local universities with three teacher practitioners who support junior pharmacists and provide teaching to medical and pharmacy undergraduates. We have highly specialist pharmacists working within other clinical areas e.g Homecare and Medicines Information and those who deliver clinics for Cardiology, Dermatology and Paediatrics. We are keen to support the professional development of our staff and look to the future of Consultant Pharmacist roles at the Trust. It is a challenging time for all in the NHS, but at East Lancashire Teaching Hospitals you be given support, mentorship, autonomy and the Pharmacy Management Team will work hard to ensure that you reach and maintain your potential whilst having a rewarding and fulfilled career.

Details

Date posted: 17 September 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 8a
Salary: £57,528 to £64,750 a year per annum
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 435-D161-26
Job locations: Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital, Haslingden Road, Blackburn, BB2 3HH, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

See attached documents for full details of the job description and person specification. If you have any questions or would like to arrange an informal visit, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Please contact:
Hannah Robinson [e-mail] (ClinicalLead Pharmacist - Medicine) on 01254 732251 or
Emma Coupe [e-mail] (Assistant Director of Clinical Pharmacy and Governance) on 01254 732791 or via email.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• MPharm Degree (4 years) or equivalent
• Member GPhC
• Postgraduate clinical diploma/qualification (or equivalent NHS hospital experience)
• Non-medical Prescriber (to be undertaken on appointment if not already a registered NMP)
• Evidence of CPD
• Membership of the Royal College of Pharmacy (prev. Royal Pharmaceutical Society)
• Ability to provide a high level of pharmaceutical care within a specialism
• Ability to holistically and critically analyse prescriptions and treatment plans
• Advanced clinical assessment skills
• Ability to work on own initiative or as part of a multi-disciplinary team
• Ability to work under pressure
• Ability to supervise / mentor staff and support others
• Good time management, ability to prioritise and evaluate appropriatelyAware of limitations
• Thorough knowledge of care boundary issues and medication commissioning
• Clinical experience in rheumatology and of delivering clinical pharmacy services
• Experience of initiating, leading and managing a range of projects
• Experience of budgetary management and financial control
• Experience of managing and motivating staff, appraising and giving feedback
• Experience of audit and quality improvement
• Ability to work in a busy environment with daily contact with patients
• Experience of teaching or tutoring
• Experience of research practice

Judgement

Essential

• Intuition - anticipate difficulties and take appropriate action
• Knows when to consult (own limitations)
• Reflects on own practice and learns from experience
• Able to provide written information in a concise readable manner for patients and colleagues
• Facilitating and negotiating skills
• Able to build effective working relationships with a range of stakeholders

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Self-motivated
• Articulate
• Willing to adapt to change and learn new systems
• Organised and methodical approach to work
• Have integrity in all aspects of work
• Committed to providing a high quality pharmacy service

Other Requirements

Essential

• Flexible and adaptive approach

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab). From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Note: 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. Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab). From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab). Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

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Senior Pharmacist - Rheumatology • Blackburn, United Kingdom