Job summary
- Main area
- Pharmacy
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8b
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 409-S8122294
- Employer
- Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Southport and Ormskirk Hospitals
- Town
- Ormskirk
- Salary
- £66,582 - £77,368 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 06/08/2026 23:59
- Interview date
- 14/08/2026
Employer heading
Lead Clinical Pharmacist 8B - Medicines Information & Palliative Care
NHS AfC: Band 8b
After applying via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred Third-party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. You will not be able to track the progress of your application or receive messages through the NHS Jobs website, and furthermore, as an employer, we will not be able to respond to any e-mails sent to us via the NHS Jobs website. By applying for this post you are agreeing to "name of trust" transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are appointed to a post information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.
Job overview
We are looking for a motivated, dynamic and compassionate individual capable of leading the medicines information service (0.6WTE) across Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust , with 0.4 WTE commitment to palliative care service at Queenscourt Hospice in Southport. Queenscourt Hospice is an independent, charitable, voluntary body, aiming to provide individualised, holistic, specialist palliative care for adults who have advanced, progressive and incurable illness.
The post holder will be responsible for leading the development, management and delivery of the medicines information service and be lead pharmacist for palliative care in MWL
The postholder will need excellent interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to organise and prioritise their work. They will also require previous experience, knowledge and understanding of medicines information and palliative care.
The successful candidate will be based at Ormskirk Hospital and will be expected to participate in weekend and pharmacy out of hours emergency service for Southport and Ormskirk sites.
This post has been in place for 3 years and due to progression of the current postholder, and successful collaboration with Queenscourt Hospice and integration of end of life pharmaceutical care at MWL, we are keen to further establish this role.
Main duties of the job
Lead and manage all aspects of the Trust’s Medicines Information Service, ensuring that the service complies with the national standards specified by UK Medicines Information for service delivery and resources.
Provide professional, clinical and scientific information and advice to multidisciplinary healthcare staff, patients and carers, to support high quality, individual patient care and medicines management.
Provide a Clinical Pharmacy Service to Queenscourt Hospice. Review prescribing and medication administration practices and facilitate and implement related policies, to enhance efficacy, safety, cost effectiveness and overall quality of treatment.
Attend Queenscourt consultant ward rounds and/or multi-professional meetings. Pharmaceutical support for Controlled Drugs Accountable Officer. Attendance and pharmaceutical input at CQC inspections and engagement meetings at Queenscourt
Working for our organisation
The Trust delivers acute hospital care, intermediate care, community, and primary care services to a population of over 600,000 people with a combined workforce of around 9000 dedicated and skilled staff from 17 locations including Whiston, Southport & Formby, St Helens, Ormskirk and Newton hospitals.
The Trust provides regional services for burns, plastic surgery and spinal injuries to more than 4 million people across Mersey and West Lancashire, Cheshire, the Isle of Man and North Wales.
Our Vision is to deliver 5 Star Patient Care:
- CARE that is evidence based, high quality and compassionate
- SAFETY that is of the highest standards
- COMMUNICATION that is open, inclusive and respectful
- SYSTEMS that are efficient, patient centred and reliable
- PATHWAYS that are best practice and embedded, but also respect the individual needs of patients
Our achievements include:
- Trust rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
- Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
- Awarded National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for our Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme
Please see our Wellbeing & Benefits booklet for more information on our staff benefits. Accessible version available upon request.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The post holder will
- Lead, manage and provide a comprehensive Medicines Information Service, including an enquiry answering service, for both the Trust and the Local Health Economy, including external business users covered by Service Level Agreements.
- Be part of the Clinical Team and provide Medicines Information training to Pharmacists and Technicians. To provide Medicines Information at ward level wherever possible in line with the Carter Report.
- Audit, monitor and develop the Medicines Information Service within the Trust in line with national and local developments and user feedback.
- Liaise with the Interface Pharmacists in the development of the Pan Mersey Formulary including the promotion, review and dissemination of the Formulary and to audit compliance with the Formulary. Advise on, and facilitate internal review of the formulary with the Clinical Specialists.
- Supervise the Medicines Information duties and activities of junior Clinical Medicines Information Pharmacists.
- Be a key member of the Medicines Optimisation Team within the Trust, developing robust systems to ensure the safe, appropriate and cost-effective use of medicines.
- Liaise with senior members of the Pharmaceutical Teams across the Local Health Economy to ensure key Medicines Management objectives are achieved across the Health Economy.
Develop and deliver clinical services to Queenscourt Hospice (QCH)
Review medication prescribing and medication administration to ensure practices are safe, appropriate, and effective and meet with QCH policy across medical and nursing services. - Undertake medicines reviews as needed to rationalise highly complex drug regimes and provide highly specialised advice on palliative care pharmaceutical matters.
- Represent pharmacy at the MWL trust end of life steering group
Person specification
Our Values
Essential criteria
- We are Kind
- We are Open
- We are Inclusive
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Vocational masters degree in pharmacy
- Postgraduate Diploma/MSc in Clinical Pharmacy or relevant experience
- Registration as a pharmacist with General Pharmaceutical Council
Desirable criteria
- Membership of The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
- Accredited tutor for post-graduate clinical diploma
- Post-graduate qualification in Medicines Information and/or Palliative Care
Knowledge & Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience as qualified pharmacist in acute hospital pharmacy
- Experience in Medicines Information
- Experience in Palliative Care
Desirable criteria
- Experience oPublished pharmaceutical research in a peer-reviewed journalf electronic prescribing
- Line Management Experience
Skills
Essential criteria
- Excellent written and verbal communication
- Ability to affect and manage change
- Self-motivated and able to motivate/ inspire others
- Ability to work on own initiative and as part of a team
- Ability to teach pharmaceutical care within speciality
Desirable criteria
- Financial awareness regarding the management of drug budgets
Qualities & Attributes
Essential criteria
- Committed to patient care
- Approachable and flexible
- Supportive to other members of Pharmacy and multidisciplinary teams
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
- Laura Gibson
- Job title
- Deputy Chief Pharmacist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01704 704166
- Additional information
Alternatively, please contact Pharmacy Clinical Services Manager [email protected], or Louise Charnock, Executive Director for Nursing, Queenscourt Hospice, PA Joanne Oliver 01704 544645 [email protected]
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