Job summary
- Main area
- Advanced Specialist Pharmacist
- Grade
- Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 205-6068610-A
- Employer
- University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Smithfield 1
- Town
- Stoke on Trent
- Salary
- £50,952 - £57,349
- Closing
- 02/05/2024 23:59
Employer heading
Advanced Specialist Pharmacist
Band 8a
Job overview
An exciting opportunity to join our Acute Care at Home (ACAH) service as Advanced Specialist Pharmacist being responsible for the development and provision of clinical pharmacy services within CRIS (Community Rapid Intervention Service 2hr UCR) and Virtual Ward services including clinical, governance and operational functions.
This role will be a key member of the multidisciplinary team developing and delivering the clinical services to patients within ACAH. This will include all aspects of the ward based clinical pharmacy service; medicines reconciliation on admission and discharge, advising on optimising and monitoring patients medicines. Depending on patient need this may be undertaken be contacting patients remotely or attending a patient’s home.
We are looking for someone with extensive post registration hospital experience or clinical pharmacy experience gained through working with GP practices or in an intermediate care setting.
Who hold a Master’s Degree in Pharmacy or equivalent.
Are able to plan and organise their own workload, and work closely with the MDT. They will be committed, enthusiastic and lead by example, encouraging team members.
Please see full Job Description for detailed role description
Please contact Lesley Roberts Head of Operations or Sara Wells Lead ACP
Main duties of the job
- To be responsible for the development and provision of clinical pharmacy services to the CRIS (Community Rapid Intervention Service) and Virtual Ward Services including clinical, governance and operational functions.
- To be a key member of the multidisciplinary team developing and delivering the clinical service to patients in the virtual ward. This will include all aspects of the ward based clinical pharmacy service: medicines reconciliation on admission and discharge, advising on optimising and monitoring patients’ medicines . Depending on patient need this may be undertaken by contacting patients remotely or attending a patient at
- To lead on developing effective and efficient supply of medicines to patients in their own home under the care of the Virtual Ward service.
- To advise the Deputy Chief Pharmacist, ACP Lead of any new developments within the CRIS/Virtual ward to ensure that the Pharmacy service continues to evolve and meets the changing requirements of medicines supply, clinical governance and medicines optimisation.
- Provide expert pharmaceutical support and advice to the CRIS and Virtual ward services to ensure that patients receive the medicines that are prescribed/recommended by the Virtual Ward team as efficiently and timely as possible, in line with legislation.
- Act as an independent prescriber for patients in the Virtual Ward Service
Working for our organisation
University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust is one of the largest and most modern in the country. Based across two sites, Royal Stoke in Stoke-on-Trent and County Hospital in Stafford, we are proud to serve around three million people and we're highly regarded for our facilities, teaching and research. We are the specialist centre for major trauma for the North Midlands and North Wales.
All of our employees make a valuable contribution regardless of role here at UHNM and we are proud of our wide range of development packages aimed at ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their true potential.
UHNM create and encourage a culture of inclusion, providing equal opportunities for career development that are fair and transparent. We are committed to being a diverse and inclusive employer and foster a culture in which all staff feel valued and respected. In return we ask all of our employees to make a commitment to the values, co-created by or staff, patients and carers, and that unite us as a Trust.
At University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust we know that investing in, supporting and developing our staff has a direct impact on the quality of care that we deliver. Our employees are as important as our patients and the population that we serve.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Role Summary Clinical Service Delivery (UHNM)
- Identification, reporting and monitoring of medicines related adverse incidents and interventions arising from the Virtual ward and support the CRIS/Virtual Ward to share learning and prevent recurrence.
- Provide advice and education to patients on the correct use of medication and ensure that directions associated with medications are Proactively signpost and refer patients to external agencies for follow up and further support if necessary.
- Encourage compliance with the national, regional, and local clinical guidelines, Antimicrobial Guidelines and the prescribing formulary at all times to promote rational and economic prescribing.
- Provide guidance to the Virtual Ward Services on relevant medicines legislation and Trust policies and ensure all staff prescribing, supplying or administering medicines conform with these.
- Aid with the production of policies, procedures, guidelines, and Patient Group Directions to assist in the smooth delivery of medicines optimisation to patients being cared for by the Virtual Ward Service.
- Lead and participate in medicines and pharmacy related audits and continuous quality improvement projects relevant to Virtual Ward Service.
- To contribute to communications across the Trust in relation to Virtual Ward processes and procedures for transferring medicines/prescribing at the point of transfer and pharmacy staff are familiar with ongoing requirements for medicines.
- Monitoring expenditure on drugs and providing feedback (including transportation of medicines to patients h addresses)
- To improve communication between primary and secondary care by ensuring discharge letters contain accurate information relating to medicines and use of the Discharge Medicines Service
- To provide advice and training to other health care staff, including medical and nursing staff, in relation to medicines use on the Virtual Ward.
- Deliver a high quality patient focused clinical pharmacy service to any allocated ward/clinical area. This includes: proactive engagement with clinicians and the wider multi-disciplinary team (MDT); delivery of medicines optimisation, governance and safety initiatives; supporting patient flow for both in-patient and out-patient areas
- Undertake ward rounds and/or patients reviews using the clinical prioritisation tool. This may be in ward or clinic settings
- Ensuring that clinical pharmacy workload activities are recorded and regularly reviewed to inform service developments and quality improvements.
- Ensure that all medicines related policies are embedded into routine practice and support the clinical governance, risk management and medicines safety agenda. This includes preparation for Care Quality Commission inspections and a remedial action plan implementation.
- Proactively support the antimicrobial and antifungal stewardship agenda within the Trust via implementation of guidelines, undertaking audits and recommended actions and initiatives to minimise consumption and resistance patterns.
- Work with the Advanced Specialist Pharmacist – Commissioning and Best Value Medicines to implement commissioning requirements regarding PBr excluded / Cancer Drug Fund medicines including Blueteq completion, clinical service specifications, free of charge medicines and CQUINs.
- Support the managed entry of new
- Review the clinical evidence base to support the use of any new antimicrobial and antifungal agents relevant to their ward and their inclusion on the local health economy formulary. This will be done in conjunction with the Pharmacy Directorate Clinical Information Team and will include cost effectiveness and financial forecasting.
- Commitment to undertake initiatives to support quality improvement initiatives and the change agenda within Pharmacy
- Undertaking medicines related audits and practice research to improve service delivery and
Role Summary Other
- Proactively contribute and support the implementation of the: Pharmacy Workforce Development Strategy, Pharmacy Directorate Annual Business Plan; UHNM Medicines Optimisation and Clinical Strategy; and digital medicines roadmap including electronic prescribing and administration medicines.
- Proactively contribute to effective team working via: regular communication and engagement with all members of the pharmacy and MDT team; forward planning and sharing of ideas; celebrating success; learning lessons from adverse incidents and proactively addressing feedback from service users and
- Effectively manage, support and develop any junior pharmacists, trainee pharmacists and / or pharmacy technicians through implementation of relevant Trust Human Resources Policies, acting as a role model and undertaking meaningful peer review.
- Commitment to staff engagement and well-being initiatives to support improvement of national Staff Survey results within Directorate.
- Take every opportunity to positively promote the Pharmacy Directorate at UHNM through practice research including the publication of abstracts and articles in peer reviewed journals and regional / National
- Support delivery of clinical placements for Stage 3 and Stage 4 MPharm students
- Working closely with colleagues in developing and delivering the placement program, reinforcing appropriate linkages within an integrated curriculum.
- Contributing to undergraduate teaching in areas appropriate to their personal expertise through the development of clinical case studies and review of course content, and to supervise undergraduate
- Working with the university and secondary care colleagues in developing assessment tools to measure the performance of students on
Person specification
Person Specification
Essential criteria
- Master’s degree in Pharmacy (MPharm) or equivalent
- Registered with General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
- Post registration Clinical Pharmacy Diploma / MSc or equivalent Qualification
- Independent Prescriber with appropriate annotation on GPhC register or willing to undertake where there is an identified clinical need
- Commitment and evidence of professional updating and mandatory continuing professional development portfolio
Desirable criteria
- Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Great Britain (RPSGB) and / or Faculty status
- Formal management and / or leadership qualification
- Teaching/Training Qualification
- MSc Clinical Pharmacy
- \Member of United Kingdom Clinical Pharmacy Association and / or specialist group(s
Knowledge, Skilles, Training and Experience
Essential criteria
- Comprehensive experience as a clinical pharmacist practitioner including a solid grounding in a broad range of clinical specialties.
- Extensive post Diploma clinical pharmacy experience either in a hospital or in GP Practice/Intermediate Care setting
- Broad knowledge of therapeutics and application to clinical practice
- Experience in working directly with clinicians, the wider multidisciplinary team, patients and the public
- Evidence of ability to appropriately recommend, substantiate and communicate therapeutic options to patients and healthcare staff
- High standard of oral and written (including report writing) communication skills with attention to detail
- Able to demonstrate good leadership skills
- Good and broad understanding of current hospital pharmacy practice and future direction of travel
- Ability to communicate with patients and other healthcare professionals using virtual means and face to face
- Confidence in being able to discuss clinical guidelines and patient management plans with senior clinicians and provide clinical challenge as required
- Demonstrates advanced level of clinical reasoning and judgement
- Able to influence senior clinicians and managers in the resolution of difficult and / or ambiguous problems.
- Good organisational and time management skills and meeting set targets and deadlines
- IT skills and knowledge of the digital medicines agenda.
- Able to appraise information / data and use in solving problems
- Good knowledge of the medicines safety, risk management and governance agenda and it’s application to the clinical role
- Good knowledge of evidence based medicine, formulary application / management processes and drug use evaluation
- Methodical with effective Organisational skills in the workplace including prioritisation of workload to meet deadlines
- Interest in expanding knowledge and self-development
- Good analytical, evaluative and problem solving skills
- Able to contribute to the strategic planning and further development of clinical pharmacy services to the Directorate
- Knowledge of directorate pharmacy services
- Sound knowledge of national clinical guidelines (e.g. N.I.C.E.) relating to specialty for pharmacy practice
- Evidence of involvement in pharmacy practice research and/or audit
- Substantial post registration experience of UK hospital pharmacy practice or GP practice/intermediate care
Desirable criteria
- Have recent hospital clinical pharmacy experience or experience of working in a GP practice/intermediate care
- Experience of directorate pharmacy services and / or writing drug usage reports
- Experience of managing a team Management experience and / or experience of undertaking appraisals
- Evidence of involvement in writing of guidelines/policies/procedures
- Experience of writing training packs/programs
- Publication of research in a peer reviewed journal
- Presentation of abstract on pharmacy practice research at a regional or national conference
Personal Qualities
Essential criteria
- Professional behaviour and credibility
- Ability to demonstrate Trust values
- Enthusiasm and commitment to the specialist role
- Enthusiasm to developing innovative approaches to service delivery and quality improvements.
- Patient focused with a strong commitment to providing a high-quality care and a positive experience
- Positive attitude to change processes and service transformation
- Ability to work unsupervised and alone
- Ability to work under pressure
- Ability to work with other colleagues as part of a team
- Willingness to undertake flexible work patterns according to service demands. This includes unsocial hours, weekend and bank holiday working
- Able to proactively support the Trust’s staff engagement and well-being agenda
- Pleasant manner and sociable behaviour
- Honest and trustworthy and able to maintain strict confidentiality at all times
- Must have ability to travel between sites
- Ability to adhere to policies, procedures and standards
- Must have ability to respond to urgent on- call requests within 30mins (including travel time) staff living further away from the Trust than this are expected to arrange overnight accommodation at their own cost.
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
- Sara Wells
- Job title
- Clinical Lead ANP
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 03001230983
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