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Job summary

Main area
Pharmacy
Grade
NHS AfC band 7
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Part time - 30 hours per week
Job ref
346-PH-017-26-A
Employer
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
West Park Hospital
Town
Darlington
Salary
£49,387 - £56,515 pro rata, per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
23/06/2026 23:59

Employer heading

Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust logo

Specialist Clinical Pharmacist

NHS AfC band 7

We are the Mental Health & Learning Disability NHS Trust for County Durham and Darlington, Teesside, North Yorkshire, York and Selby.

From education and prevention, to crisis and specialist care —our talented and compassionate teams work in partnership with our patients, communities and partners to help the people of our region feel safe, understood, believed in and cared for.

We nurture the recovery journey of anyone in need of our help. In Our Trust, everyone has a say in how they are supported and treated because we listen to every person in our care until they feel understood. Our patients, their families and carers work together with us towards better mental health.

We’re committed to new thinking that improves the wellbeing of our region. We connect with our communities and partners to get mental health care right, in areas that really need it.

We won’t rest until everyone in our region has the mental health care they need, to lead their best possible life.

Job overview

Are you looking for a challenge in a new clinical area based in County Durham?

Our pharmacists make a real difference to the mental health of the people who most need support across our communities.  The roles are patient facing with time to develop advanced clinical skills whilst caring for those in need as part of a multi-disciplinary team.

This post is based at West Park Hospital in Darlington, delivering services to wards across the Durham and Darlington locality. The successful candidate will be delivering the in-patient service with the support of pharmacy technicians. They will be supported by a very experienced team of senior pharmacists. 

Our pharmacists can work flexibly within the needs of the service. Use of flexi-time is standard for all staff, we can offer flexible working arrangements to support your well-being and a healthy work-life balance. Weekend working is limited to half days on only 1 or 2 weekends per year.  There are no late nights, and the on-call rota is currently covered with pharmacists opting in.

There are many benefits to working for TEWV including free access to well-being support, free car parking, lease car schemes and excellent annual leave entitlements.

You must have the Right to Work in the UK in order to be successfully appointed to this role. Please note, this role does not meet the required eligibility criteria for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa and therefore the Trust is unable to offer sponsorship for this particular role.

Main duties of the job

We are looking for experienced pharmacists wishing to specialise in mental health having already developed through their newly qualified pharmacist pathway.   You should have enthusiasm, confidence and drive to make a real difference to the lives of patients with mental illness. Previous mental health experience is desirable, but training will be provided; however, you should be able to demonstrate a sound understanding of other areas of pharmacy and of mental health conditions and the medication used for them.

You should have experience of patient counselling, prescription screening/checking and have underpinning clinical pharmacy skills and knowledge. Excellent communication skills are essential.

Applicants should have experience of providing clinical pharmacy and medicines optimisation services in a hospital setting. You should have experience of patient counselling, prescription screening/checking and have underpinning clinical pharmacy skills and knowledge, ideally demonstrated through current study of, or attainment of a clinical diploma. 

Working for our organisation

Our teams are friendly, supportive, and committed to providing the best possible services.  We developed a 5-year Medicines Optimisation and Pharmacy Framework, which was co-created with the team enabling a shared set of themes and priorities.  The trust has also co-created a direction of travel known as Our Journey to Change.  

The Pharmacy team in TEWV has over 100 people including drivers, pharmacy assistants, admin, nurses, pharmacy technicians and pharmacists.  Individual team members are spread across multiple sites, with a dispensary in each of our 3 localities.  The locality teams work independently, but come together to agree standards and best practice, learning from each other to improve.  

We are committed to developing our staff and can provide the opportunity to undertake post graduate qualifications including independent non-medical prescribing and the Aston University Post Graduate Certificate in Psychiatric Therapeutics. The Trust is committed to Quality Improvement Systems and there will be opportunities to development your skills using these tools.

If you are interested in this role then we would encourage you to contact us for more information either before or after applying.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for further detailed information to ensure that you meet the role criteria before applying.  The job summary is below:

To work as a Specialist Clinical Pharmacist within the Clinical Pharmacy Team, and liaise with professional staff and patients and carers; to deliver high quality pharmaceutical care for patients with complex, specialist mental health needs.

To deliver the clinical pharmacy service and promote medicines optimisation within own specialist area and support the responsible 8a Senior Clinical Pharmacist for the speciality/locality.

To support and be involved in clinical pharmacy service developments as needs or opportunities arise.

To participate in audit and clinical trials within own clinical specialism.

To promote at all times a positive image of people with mental health conditions and learning disabilities.

To promote at all times a positive image of the Pharmacy department and profession and the wider Trust.

The successful applicant should be capable of independent travel, to be able to support clinical services at all sites within the locality.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Masters degree in Pharmacy or equivalent
  • Member of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
  • Evidence of Continuous Professional Development
  • Postgraduate qualification in clinical pharmacy or currently studying.
  • Postgraduate qualification in psychiatric pharmacy; or currently studying for or willing to work towards.

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Recent significant and relevant experience in community or hospital pharmacy, delivering medicines management activities to patients
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of mental health pharmacy

Skills

Essential criteria
  • IT skills
  • Ability to work independently and as a member of a team
  • Confident and articulate communicator both written and verbal
Desirable criteria
  • Critical appraisal skills
  • To use the internet to provide useful information and search bibliographic databases
  • Understanding of health service issues in primary and secondary care
  • Medicines Information skills

Personal attributes

Essential criteria
  • Able to work in accordance with the Staff Compact and Trust Values and Behaviours.
  • Professional in approach and manner
  • Motivation to develop clinical pharmacy skills and specialist mental health knowledge
  • Good interpersonal and social skills
  • Committed to continual quality and service improvement.
  • Self-aware and committed to continual professional and personal development. Able to accept and respond positively to feedback from supervision.
  • Committed to promoting a positive image of people with mental health conditions and learning disabilities
  • Committed to promoting a positive image of Pharmacy department and the wider Trust
Desirable criteria
  • Assertive and innovative
  • Ability to plan and organise workload

Employer certification / accreditation badges

We are a Living Wage EmployerVeteran AwareApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyPositive about disabled peopleAge positiveImproving working livesArmed Forces Covenant (Silver Award)Mindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerStep into healthArmed Forces CovenantBetter Health at Work Gold Award

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.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. Please complete and submit your application in good time to avoid disappointment.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Dan Jukes
Job title
Lead Pharmacist for Durham and Darlington
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
0191 4415778
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