Job summary
- Main area
- Pharmacy
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent: Will work one Saturday / Sunday in six
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Per annum inclusive of HCAS)
- Job ref
- 391-RFL-7364261
- Employer
- Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Royal Free Hospital
- Town
- Hampstead
- Salary
- £64,156 - £71,148 Per annum inclusive of HCAS
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 03/11/2025 23:59
Employer heading

Band 8a Senior Specialist Pharmacist - Cancer Services and Surgery
NHS AfC: Band 8a
Our trust has over 17,000 staff serving 2 million patients every year. It comprises Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital, the Royal Free Hospital, North Middlesex University Hospital and more than 30 services in the community. This larger scale organisation provides an unprecedented opportunity for us to continue our pioneering work, particularly in finding ways to deliver even better care to our patients.
Our mission is to deliver world class care and expertise in our clinical services, underpinned by world class teaching and research and we will continue to measure our progress against our five governing objectives: excellent outcomes, excellent patient and staff experience, excellent value for taxpayers’ money, being safe and meeting our external duties, and building a strong organisation.
Everyone is welcome at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. We're proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME, gender equality, staff carers and people with disabilities and lived experiences to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.
Click here to view our video Welcome to the Royal Free
Job overview
Job title – Senior Specialist Pharmacist – Cancer Services and Surgery, Band 8a
We are looking for an enthusiastic and dynamic pharmacist to join our well-established pharmacy team at the Royal Free Hospital. The role is mainly clinic based. The oncology part of the role will involve providing prescribing, monitoring and screening of systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT) prescriptions, including ensuring doses are within protocol and take into account blood results and comorbidities. The surgical part of the role will involve medicines optimisation and peri-operative management of surgical patients, including cancer surgeries. This role will also allow you to develop your specialist pharmacy skills including writing clinical guidelines, maintaining the SACT prescribing system and understanding funding streams and commissioning processes for high-cost drugs.
This role would be expected to cover a prescribing clinic and/or pre-assessment clinic, according to the service demands at the Royal Free Hospital Hospital with occasional work at Barnet Hospital or Chase Farm hospital.
You may be a band 7 pharmacist looking to further develop your skills within cancer services/surgery or a current 8a pharmacist looking to explore the exciting opportunity of developing the realms of this post. The successful applicant will be a team player who ideally has some experience of working in cancer services and/or surgical team.
Main duties of the job
The post-holder will deliver, develop and support the pharmacy cancer service and clinical pharmacy service to the Surgical Specialities wards and other Surgical areas in accordance with priorities agreed by the Principal Pharmacist – Cancer Services and Principal Pharmacist - Surgery. To ensure the safe and cost-effective use of drugs and to demonstrate effective control of drug expenditure for these areas through the development of treatment guidelines. The post will be a 50%/50% split between Cancer Services and Surgery.
In summary, the post-holder will be expected to:
• Provide clinical pharmacy services to cancer patients and surgical patients
• Regular active participation in speciality ward rounds to support safe and effective use of medicines with these areas
• Participation in pre-operative assessment clinics, taking an accurate medication history and providing advice on the use of medicines in the perioperative period.
• To work as an independent prescriber in pharmacist-led outpatient clinics
• To demonstrate an advanced level of clinical assessment
• Develop and maintain clinical, organisational and professional skills as appropriate to carry out the role of a pharmacist operating as part of the pharmacy team at the Royal Free London NHS Trust
• Work with the Principal Pharmacists – cancer services and surgery to develop the role of the pharmacist within this area
The post-holder must carry out their role in line with the Trust World Class values.
Working for our organisation
The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s biggest and most innovative trusts. Across three main hospitals, our dedicated army of staff care for over 1.6million patients, treat more than 200,000 in A&E, deliver over 8,000 babies and carry out more than 17million tests.
Our size, scale and influence offer you unrivalled career opportunities and a forward-thinking approach to working that works around your lifestyle. From flexible hours and generous benefits, to next level training, we make it easier to take your career to the top.
For more information please follow link https://www.royalfreelondonjobs.co.uk/
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached Job description and person specification for more information on working at The Royal Free London.
Person specification
Royal Free World Class Values
Essential criteria
- Demonstrable ability to meet the Trust Values
Education & professional Qualifications
Essential criteria
- MPharm or equivalent
- Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
- Post graduate diploma in pharmacy practice or equivalent
- Registered supplementary or independent prescriber.
Desirable criteria
- Advanced qualification in specialist area
- RPS Faculty membership
- BOPA SACT Verification Passport
Experience
Essential criteria
- At least 4 years’ experience working as a hospital pharmacist and at least 2 years’ experience providing a clinical service to cancer and/or surgical patients.
- Experience of managing change and leading service developments
- Experience of multidisciplinary working
- Evidence of clinical audit/drug evaluation/practice research and the promotion of evidence-based practice
- Experience in delivering education and training
- Developing clinical guidelines and protocols
- Comprehensive band 6/7 rotation
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working in outpatient clinics
- Experience of appraising staff and giving feedback
- Experience of managing and analysing drug expenditure
- Experience of clinically verifying Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT)
Skills and aptitudes
Essential criteria
- Good written and verbal communication skills
- Good interpersonal skills when dealing with staff and patients
- Good presentation skills
- Excellent teaching and training skills
- Time management & problem solving
- Ability to carry out day to day responsibilities and deal effectively with unpredictable/acute demands.
- Ability to justify and reason any advice given should this be challenged.
- Ability to communicate with patients/carers and staff of all levels.
- Good negotiation skills and the ability to influence senior pharmacy and medical staff, and the management team
- Ability to work alone and a part of a team
- Ability to work accurately under pressure
- Ability to integrate in a multidisciplinary forum
- Ability to manage difficult and ambiguous situations
- Demonstrates initiative particularly in relation to problem solving
- Ability to identify and implement best practice
- Ability to identify and manage risk
- Demonstrates advanced clinical knowledge and pharmaceutical care skills
- Expert clinical knowledge on the medical management of cancer and palliative care patients
- Ability to take full responsibility for and be accountable for own actions
- Ability to contribute to business plans, policies and clinical protocols
- Understanding of clinical risk and clinical governance
- Understanding of current national standards, guidelines and service delivery issues relevant to cancer service patients and palliative care
- Computer literate (including word processing, email & use of internet. Preferably knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages)
Desirable criteria
- Undertakes own research
Personal Qualities & attributes
Essential criteria
- Enthusiastic/positive attitude, self-motivated and, hardworking
- Identifies own training needs actively seeks training opportunities and maintains a portfolio of practice.
- Flexibility to work weekends, bank holidays, late nights and on call and potential 7 day working
- Reliable with good attendance record
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
- Clayton Wong
- Job title
- Principal Pharmacist Cancer Services (RFH)
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 02074726306
- Additional information
Teji Randhawa
Senior Surgery Pharmacist
email: [email protected]
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