Job summary
- Main area
- Pharmacy
- Grade
- Band 7
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 430-CC26-1014A
- Employer
- Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Pharmacy (Dept)
- Town
- Milton Keynes
- Salary
- £49,387 - £56,515 Per annum pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 30/07/2026 23:59
- Interview date
- 12/08/2026
Employer heading
Specialist Pharmacist
Band 7
At Milton Keynes University Hospital, you will be welcomed into a friendly and supportive environment where teamwork and respect are at the heart of everything we do. We are proud to live our Trust values and behaviours every day, creating a culture where everyone feels heard and valued.
MKUH staff's Motivation and Involvement scores are among the highest in our peer group, showing that our people feel inspired and included in decision-making (Staff Survey, 2024).
Our benefits
We believe in recognising and rewarding the amazing contribution of our staff and that is why we offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your wellbeing, work-life balance, and professional growth, including:
- Free on-site parking including EV charging
- Complimentary refreshments
- Flexible working arrangements
- Discounted gym membership
- Salary sacrifice car scheme
- Generous annual leave, with the option to bank holiday entitlement
- Membership of the NHS Pension Scheme
- On-site nursery (charges apply)
- A wide-ranging staff health and wellbeing programme including EAP
- VIVUP products to support your mental, physical, and financial Wellbeing
Job overview
Title: Specialist Pharmacist- Frailty and Care of the Elderly
Department: Pharmacy
Band 7, £49,387 - £56,515 Per annum pro rata
Hours: Full time, 37.5 hours per week plus on-call, weekends & bank holiday rota. Note: all MKUH roles will be considered for flexible working
Are you a pharmacist with a passion for Elderly Care and Frailty. As the specialist pharmacist you will work as part of a pharmacy team and develop specialist clinical pharmacy services to elderly patients working across the interface. The post holder will develop the role in the transfer of care across the interface to ensure optimisation and safe discharges for the elderly population.
Now is an excellent time to become part of the pharmacy team at MKUH; we are a friendly, forward-thinking department who continue to grow in both size and influence.
Our services are evolving to provide our pharmacists and pharmacy technicians with more time to work alongside patients while supporting their medical and nursing colleagues. Our commitment is to ensure that every patient receives safe, high-quality care, placing our patients at the heart of our mission. This role is a compelling career opportunity for a skilled and dedicated pharmacist to join our hardworking, forward-looking, and innovative pharmacy team.
'We care We communicate We collaborate We contribute'
Please note: We are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.
Interview date: 12 August 2026
Main duties of the job
As the Specialist Pharmacist – Frailty and Care of the Elderly, you will work closely with the Principal Pharmacist to provide expert clinical pharmacy services to older adult inpatients. You will undertake comprehensive medication reviews, supporting the safe and effective use of medicines to achieve the best possible patient outcomes. The role focuses on optimising medicines, reducing inappropriate polypharmacy, improving adherence, and enhancing patients' understanding of their medicines to support safe, person-centred care.
You will have the opportunity to work in our newly built specialist inpatient wards, purpose-designed to provide high-quality care for older adults, including those living with dementia. You will also work closely with our experienced Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) and Virtual Ward multidisciplinary frailty teams, delivering comprehensive, patient-centred geriatric care to older people across Milton Keynes. In addition, there is also an opportunity to support the pharmaceutical care of older patients within a rehabilitation unit associated with the Trust, providing a diverse and rewarding clinical experience across the frailty pathway.
Working for our organisation
Milton Keynes University Hospital, in proud partnership with the University of Buckingham, is a University Teaching Hospital committed to advancing patient care through cutting-edge research and education. With a “Good” rating from the CQC and significant investment underway, this is an exciting time to join our team and grow your career.
As a medium sized general hospital, we provide a full range of general medical and surgical services, including a busy Emergency Department, Maternity, and Paediatrics. As the population of our city and surrounding areas continues to grow rapidly, we are expanding and enhancing our facilities to meet rising demand and improve access to care for all our communities.
We are also proud to offer a growing portfolio of specialist services. In January 2025 we opened our state-of-the-art Radiotherapy Centre, bringing advanced cancer treatment closer to home. Our services also include neonatology, specialist surgical care, and a wide range of diagnostics, supported by the new Community Diagnostic Centre at Whitehouse Health Centre. We have just opened the Oak Wards - a new ward block featuring two 24-bed wards.
Further investment is underway, including the recently approved Women and Children’s Centre, set to open by 2030.
Visit our website to explore the latest news and opportunities at MKUH - News - Milton Keynes University Hospital -
For further information about Milton Keynes please visit - Visit Milton Keynes
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
NHS Staff Survey: Our Compassionate Culture and Leadership scores reflect a workplace where kindness, respect, and empathy are the norm—not the exception.
Alongside delivering ward-based clinical pharmacy services within Frailty and Care of the Elderly and providing clinical support to the dispensary, you will have the opportunity to develop your leadership and service improvement skills. This includes supporting and supervising junior pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, undertaking quality improvement and audit projects, championing medicines optimisation and medication safety initiatives, and working with the Principal Pharmacist to identify and address medicines-related issues across the elderly care division.
Our standard working pattern consists of four long days per week (8:00 am to 6:00 pm), with participation in a weekend and Bank Holiday rota. Following a comprehensive induction and training programme, you will also contribute to the pharmacy out-of-hours service.
If successful, you will join a friendly, supportive, and forward-thinking pharmacy team that is committed to delivering outstanding patient care while fostering professional and personal development. This is an excellent opportunity to expand your specialist clinical skills, contribute to service development, and make a meaningful difference to the care of older people across Milton Keynes.
Please refer to attached Job description for further information.
We believe success lies in the diversity of our employees and are committed to promoting equality, encouraging diversity, and embracing inclusion. We welcome applications from everyone interested in working for us.
MKUH is committed to equal opportunities and improving the working lives of our staff and as such we offer a range of flexible working practices.
We reserve the right to expire vacancies prior to the advertised closing date once enough applications have been received.
MKUH uses identification scanning technology to confirm the authenticity of documents; all prospective employees of MKUH will have their original documents verified using this technology.
By applying for this role, you accept if successful, that information from your application will be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR) system. Your personal data may be transferred from the Trust to another NHS organisation where your employment transfers within the NHS. This is in accordance with the streamlining programme which aims at saving you time and improving efficiencies within the NHS when your employment transfers.
Upon commencing employment with the Trust, all employees (except Medical & Dental Staff on national terms and conditions) are subject to a probationary period lasting a period of six months with an option to extend for a further six months to a total of 12 months.
Person specification
Qualifications and knowledge
Essential criteria
- B.Sc. / B.Pharm. / M.Pharm
- Registered with GPhC
- Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Pharmacy (or equivalent)
- Evidence of on-going CPD (in line with GPhC requirements)
Desirable criteria
- Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy or evidence of equivalent experience e.g. GLF
- Member of RPS
- Evidence of a good understanding of medicines management issues at the interfaces between primary, secondary and tertiary care
Experience
Essential criteria
- Post registration experience in a hospital-based clinical post
- Experience working as part of a multi-disciplinary team to provide patient care
- Experience of clinical audit work.
- An awareness of current national standards, guidelines and service delivery issues
- Experience of Medicines Information
- Knowledge of the medical management of disease in a range of the specialties
Desirable criteria
- At least 2 years post registration experience in a hospital-based clinical post
- Evidence of influencing medicines use to optimise care and help clinicians manage expenditure
- Evidence of experience managing prioritisation in relation to the use of new drugs and new uses for drugs
- Evidence of significant contribution to innovative or developmental roles and activities within pharmacy
Skills
Essential criteria
- Effective and safe pharmaceutical skills
- Ability to manage time effectively and work to deadlines
- Ability to plan, prioritise and organise self and others and deal effectively with unexpected demands
- I.T. skills such as computer literacy, word processing and spreadsheet skills.
- Ability to communicate effectively with other staff, patients and members of the public
- Good presentation skills
- Good written communication skills
- Problem solving
- Good team work and ability to work alone
- Evidence of leadership skills
- Ability to motivate and act as a role model
Personal and people development
Essential criteria
- Experience of supervising and developing colleagues
- Evidence of Continuous Professional Development to meet GPhC standards
- Evidence of leadership
Communication
Essential criteria
- Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to influence others
- Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
- Evidence of team working
- Evidence of effective and timely project delivery
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Reva Shah
- Job title
- Pharmacist Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Additional information
If you would like to find out more, please contact Reva Shah ( Clinical Pharmacy Manager – Frailty, Elderly Care and Endocrine on [email protected] ) for an informal discussion.
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