Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For full information on the job description, please refer to the attached document. 

1.    CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES

To provide a high-quality clinical pharmacy service as part of the multidisciplinary team to HIV patients, to ensure maximum efficacy, safety, and economic drug use and to demonstrate professional accountability to enhance patient care.  The responsibilities will include:

• Regular attendance and contribution to consultant ward rounds and multidisciplinary team meetings
• Demonstration of a high level of clinical knowledge in the field of HIV medicine
• Delivery of a high quality, specialist out-patient and ward-based pharmacy service including medicines reconciliation, drug supply, review of highly complex medication regimens, interaction monitoring, adverse drug reaction monitoring and discharge planning 
• To contribute to and facilitate timely discharge
• Provision of prescribing advice in the specialist area, including drug selection, adverse events, dosage reduction and interaction monitoring
• Communication of complex pharmaceutical information, according to the level of understanding, direct to patients/carers and healthcare professionals.
• Clinical decision making where limited/conflicting information is available
• Promotion of high quality and cost-effective prescribing
• Making evidence-based decisions, in partnership with patients and other professionals within the specialist area
• Liaising with other ward pharmacists to ensure continuity of medicines management, and to implement systems for the effective transfer of medicines between wards
• Development and review of Patient Group Directions
• Development and review of Shared Care guidelines
• Implementation of relevant local and national guidelines within the specialist area
• Ensuring compliance with hospital formulary and microbiology guidelines
• Implementation and evaluation of Drug Usage Reviews and clinical audits, and changes in prescribing practice
• Being actively involved in the development of relevant patient information leaflets which complement licensed product information
• Provision of patient support on concordance related issues e.g. dosette boxes

2.    RESPONSIBILITY FOR PATIENTS

To ensure correct and safe prescribing within HIV, demonstrating expert clinical knowledge and an advanced level of clinical assessment.  Key duties include:

·        To qualify as an independent prescriber and undertake MDT-led prescribing clinics, reviewing PLHIV with complex co-morbidities, prescribing ongoing HIV medicines and monitoring for side effects and effectiveness of treatment

·        To provide medicine management reviews for complex patients

·        To provide clinical screening for all prescriptions for Ian Charleson Day Centre patients to ensure accurate and timely dispensing  

·        To assist in the planning and organising of a clinical pharmacy service to   HIV in the outpatient setting

·        To provide an in-patient service to the HIV inpatients

·        To liaise with doctors, administration staff and patients to ensure the safe and smooth running of the home delivery service.

·        To deal effectively with situations where medication errors have occurred, including liaising directly with patients and staff concerned

·        To liaise with other pharmacists to ensure continuity of medicines management, and to implement systems for the effective transfer of medicines between primary or secondary care

·        To assist in responding to complaints from patients and the public in relation to medicines management issues as required

·        To deliver a high quality and comprehensive medicines counselling service to patients and/or their relatives on all aspects of their pharmaceutical care and highlighting the importance of life-long concordance with anti-retroviral regimens.  To overcome communication barriers through the use of interpreters or other forms of communication

3.    RESPONSIBILITY FOR POLICY AND SERVICE DEVELOPMENT

·        To assist the Consultant Pharmacist, HIV in the production and implementation of business plans for the development of the pharmacy service provided to the speciality in line with the network plan

·        To assist in the formulation, prioritisation and implementation of long-term strategic plans for clinical pharmacy services in line with local, network and national objectives

• Contribute to the development of and ensuring adherence to evidence based prescribing guidelines
• Ensuring compliance with CQC medicine related outcomes, NICE appraisals and other government related initiatives
• To contribute to the development and collect data on KPI’s relating to medicine prescribing within HIV and prepare reports for relevant committees.
• To ensure that all pharmacy activities, procedures and documentation within the speciality are carried out in accordance with standard operating procedures and relevant medicines legislation
• To identify the risks of medicines use in the directorate and implement strategies to minimise them, working closely with the specialities clinical risk management committees.  Assist in the implementation of government led strategies to improve medication safety
• To participate in the audit of clinical incidents and implementation of the changes in practice resulting from this
• To assist in the management of changes that need to occur in order to maximise patient care and to consider and act upon the implications of the change to other areas/personnel
• To assist in the auditing of services provided with the aim of improving the services provided by the pharmacy HIV team

4.    RESPONSIBILITY FOR FINANCIAL AND PHYSICAL RESOURCES

To contribute to the management of the drug budget within the HIV Pharmacy team.  The responsibilities will include:

• Provision of detailed evaluated reports on drug expenditure to the Divisional Finance Manager, General Manager, and Clinical Head of Service and presenting these reports at the HIV management group
• Identifying options for reducing drug expenditure and ensuring the most cost-effective drug use including monitoring and presentation of savings made by participation in drug trials
• Implementing national and local guidelines on the use of anti-retroviral agents
• Forecasting new drug developments, and identify changes in prescribing practice that may impact on the drugs budget
• Contributing to the annual pharmacy department drug cost pressure document
• Interpreting published data on new drugs for use within HIV, preparing evaluations and presenting applications to the Drug and Therapeutics Committee and communicating relevant decisions back to the specialty care group and manage the introduction of new therapies in HIV
• Liaising with the key decision makers (senior managers, CRG’s, commissioners) to ensure provision of funding for high-cost drugs within HIV medicines and maintenance of the high-cost drugs database, Blueteq and (PhRED)
• Overseeing the supply of HIV medicines through homecare

5.    RESPONSIBILITY FOR LEADING AND MANAGING

·        To plan and organise the provision of the clinical pharmacy service to the infectious diseases ward and the Ian Charleson Day Centre, including day to day allocation of the workload 

·        To manage and support the development of Band 7 Senior Pharmacists, band 6 rotational pharmacists and trainee pharmacists rotating through HIV including undertaking appraisals and performance review.

·        To support and facilitate the development of junior pharmacists and pharmacy technicians

·        To deputise for the Consultant Pharmacist – HIV in his/her absence.

·        To support the consultant pharmacist HIV in the recruitment of staff for the HIV pharmacy team

·        To manage difficult and ambiguous situations and be aware of ethical dilemmas that may present in patient care and provide support and guidance to colleagues in any decision-making process.

·        To attend and be an active participant in relevant clinical and managerial groups divisionally, corporately and externally, to ensure the delivery of best care to patients. This may include presenting data / guidelines that may be controversial / likely to be challenged

·        To represent pharmacy and act as link person at relevant meetings and conferences and disseminate knowledge of developments to other staff

·        To act as an effective role model and provide advice and support on clinical issues within the specialist area to junior pharmacists and members of the multi-disciplinary team

·        To share expertise with healthcare professionals on a nationwide level through professional conferences, forum and bodies.

·        To motivate and inspire others in order to create and maintain a good working environment and facilitate staff retention

·         To demonstrate innovation in the highly specialised field of HIV medicine

• To demonstrate a commitment to any national professional or occupational standards associated with this role
• Any other relevant duties as assigned by the Senior pharmacy managers or Chief pharmacist