Job summary
Areyou passionate about the care of cancer patients and want to take your skillsto the next level?
Haveyou got recent experience in a licensed or unlicensed aseptic unit and knowledgeof aseptic services? Are you committed tomanaging the care of cancer patients and would also like the opportunity todevelop your leadership, management and technical expertise?
Dueto promotion of the current post holder, we are looking for an enthusiasticpharmacist to join our cancer services team in this key leadershiprole to work alongside our accountable pharmacist.
You will be accountable for the day to day running ofthe aseptic unit, deliveringSACT to onc and haem patients receiving treatment at Worcester with focus on quality management systems and providing a riskmanaged effective service to our cancer patients.
Alongside this, you will maintain and develop your clinical skillsfor SACT alongside your ward based skills working with our supportive pharmacy, nursing and consultant teams.
You should possess excellent communication skills, show initiative, be forward thinking and be self-motivated.
Boththe Trust and the department embrace innovation and will encourage audit andservice development.
We can offer you a supportive and training-focusedenvironment that is second to none, within a friendly team.
Pleasecontact us to discuss. Steph Cookor Heather Perry on 01905 763333 ext 30236 or email S H
Main duties of the job
Lead on the day to day delivery of aseptic services provided to onc and haem patients with focus on quality management systems and providing a risk managed effective service to our cancer patients.
Provide senior aseptic services support to the aseptic unit and SACT reconstitution services, by providing Quality Assurance support and supervising the day to day preparation of products and release.
Work in conjunction with the Accountable pharmacist to improve standards and quality in the pharmacy aseptic services through a robust quality management system.
Development and reporting of national and local Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) under the direction of the Accountable Pharmacist.
Be responsible for providing a specialist pharmacy service to Haematology and Oncology patients.
Provide a clinical pharmacy service to the Oncology and Haematology wards.
Driving forward the development of technician roles within the aseptic unit including pre and in process checking.
Undertake teaching and supervision of less experienced staff
Line managing pharmacists as allocated.
Support the Lead pharmacist in the maintenance and development of the SACT work sheets and stock maintenance system.
To ensure that all staff are appropriately trained, ensuring compliance to all legal and best practice standards and local SOP's.
About us
Our purpose is simple - Putting Patients First. We are looking for exceptional colleagues who can help us achieve this.
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is a large acute and specialised hospital trust that provides a range of local acute services to the residents of Worcestershire and more specialised services to a larger population in Herefordshire and beyond.
The Trust operates hospital-based services from three sites in Kidderminster, Redditch and Worcester
Our workforce is over 7,000 strong, and our caring staff are recognised as providing good and outstanding patient-centred care. You could be one of them.
We are committed to recruiting the best people to work with us to achieve our Vision - working in partnership to provide the best healthcare for our communities, leading and supporting our teams to move 4ward. Our 4ward behaviours, which we ask all staff to demonstrate, underpin our everyday work and remain firmly at the heart of all we do.
Our objectives are simple:
1. Best services for local people
2. Best experience of care and best outcomes for our patients
3. Best use of resources
4. Best people
Better never stops, and our Clinical Services Strategy provides a clear future vision for our Trust, our hospitals, our services and our role in the wider health and care system.
We are proud to have achieved Timewise accreditation - this means we are committed to embedding flexible working within our organisation as a flex positive employer.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Toprovide senior aseptic services support to the aseptic unit and SACTreconstitution services, by providing Quality Assurance support and supervisingthe day to day preparation of products and release for use in accordance with nationaland local standards of Good Manufacturing Practice.
Assess and complete exception and error reports and whereneeded CAPA, critically analysing the impact and actions required to maintain asafe and risk managed service. This willinvolve making recommendations and completing action plans for any changes inservice delivery.
Managing the change control process under the oversight ofthe Accountable pharmacist. Assessingthe impact of change and creating action plans for implementation of change.
Supporting in the development and delivery of key validationrequired for the safe delivery of aseptic services, recommending andimplementing changes as required following analysis of the results.
Develop systems for collection of KPI data and for expandingthe KPI data for reporting to the Pharmacy Governance Committee.
Support the accountable pharmacist in the implementation ofthe Aseptic Audit (Farwell) action plan as detailed within the IQAAPS system,including leading on actions delegated from the Accountable pharmacist.
Developand personally deliver training to pharmacists, technicians, pre-registrationpharmacists and students using a variety of methods including class basedsessions, patient centred training, workshops and one to one training andmentoring.
Assistand lead in the development of appropriate competency based training packages inaseptic services and ensure that training is delivered in a timely manner topharmacists and pharmacy technicians working in the area of oncology andchemotherapy to maintain a safe and effective service.
Drivingforward technician development in the area of aseptic services including robustimplementation of pre-process checking by our technician team.
Supportin the development and maintenance of the SACT work sheets and stock managementsystem.
Toact as a point of contact for the SACT day unit team and others service users,responding to any complaints regarding service delivery and to actively engagewith the teams to drive forward service developments.
Developand maintain standard operating procedures to ensure that these are relevant,accurate and reflective of current practice.
Undertakepharmaceutical risk management for the cancer services provided and ensuremedicines legislation is complied with in those areas.
Providinga specialist chemotherapy and aseptic pharmacy service to Haematology andOncology patients and ensuring the chemotherapy regimes prescribed for patientsby haematologists and oncologists at WAH are safe and appropriate foradministration to individual patients given their diagnosis and health status,are in line with standard protocols or approved clinical trials, and areprepared accurately and safely in a timely manner.
Ensuringindividual patients entered into clinical trials are treated according to thetrial protocol, that their medicines are prepared as specified in the protocol,that any randomisation codes are allocate appropriately, and that all recordsare maintained correctly and stored suitably.
Substantiatingclinical pharmacy recommendations at the highest level and against challengefrom Consultants, where necessary, and effectively communicate any requiredactions to other medical and nursing staff.
Providingspecialist clinical advice to other health care professionals on allpharmaceutical issues arising within the specialist area of cancer services.This will include the extrapolation of clinical and complex medicinesinformation where data may be lacking and analysing, interpreting and comparingdiffering opinion or facts to determine the best prescribing strategy for anindividual patient or patient group.
Contributingtowards the pharmacy service development plan for chemotherapy and asepticservices.
Assistingwith the creation of clinical guidelines relating to all areas of medicines usewithin the cancer services.
Assistingin the delivery of key pharmacy modernisation initiatives within cancerservices and assisting in the assessment of the impact of such servicedevelopment initiatives on medical and nursing staff within the post-holdersarea and the WAH pharmacy department as a whole.
Provisionof Specialist Clinical Services
Provide aspecialist clinical pharmacy and medicines management service to patients andundertake pharmaceutical risk management for the haematology/oncology beds.
Ensure compliancewith medicines legislation, the Trust Medicines Policy, and medicines relatednational and local guidelines within haematology/oncology beds at WRH.
Contributeto the development and implementation of appropriate technical and professionalSOPs and associated policies to ensure that the haematology/oncology medicinesmanagement systems are safe, robust, guided by national directives, standards,guidelines, and the post-holders own specialist knowledge, and are qualityassured.
Evaluateprescribing practices and amend according to evidence-based practice,national/regional directives and clinical governance targets on a daily basis,during consultant ward-rounds, and at multidisciplinary team meetings
Substantiatepharmaceutical recommendations and advice to medical and nursing staff andcommunicate effectively any necessary actions to medical and nursing staff.
Constructpharmaceutical care plans for patients, assess and monitor clinical progressand outcome with regard to their medication and actively intervene to ensurethat patients receive optimal care with minimal side effects.
Providespecialist advice to healthcare professionals on all pharmaceutical issuesarising within the post holders specialist clinical area.
Beresponsible for the therapeutic blood monitoring of identified drugs within thepost-holders clinical area including
Managerial responsibilities
Manage pharmacists as allocatedincluding delivery of PDR and management of sickness based around trustpolicies.
Undertake the day to day supervision ofpharmacists, technicians, assistants and students
Ensure that staffingis managed within approved funded establishment
Develop and maintaingood internal communications within the department.
Ensure that thecapability, conduct and performance of every member of staff within theirresponsibility are continually assessed and appropriate action is taken toaddress shortfalls and resolve issues
Provision of Professional Dispensary Services:
Providing the clinical pharmacist check on allprescriptions dispensed by the Hospital Dispensary acting as the solepharmacist providing this check on a rota with other pharmacists. This willrequire the scrutiny of prescriptions from medical and other practitioners.
Questioning and challenging the prescriptions ofall prescribers including Consultants whenever the post holder perceives it tobe professionally appropriate and in the best interests of the patient.
Use the Electronic Discharge System forprocessing discharge prescriptions.
Participate in the Dispensary Saturday and BankHoliday rotas and the departmental on-call rota.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
5. Professional knowledge acquired through a vocational degree in pharmacy
6. Currently Registered as a pharmacist in UK: Member of the General Pharmaceutical Council
7. Currently meeting the GPhC standard for continuing professional development.
8. Postgraduate clinical specialist knowledge acquired through diploma level training Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy or equivalent.
Desirable
9. Independent prescriber
Experience
Essential
10. Experience of working in a licensed or un-licensed aseptic unit
11. Experience of delivering SACT services to cancer patients in an acute trust setting.
12. Experience of working with quality management systems in aseptic services.
13. Recent hospital experience of successfully delivering pharmacy services as a registered pharmacist to a range of general areas under the direction of lead specialist pharmacists.
14. Experience of teaching and mentoring other staff
15. Experience in delivering a clinical pharmacy service to a ward or clinical area.
16. Experience in influencing and persuading senior secondary care clinicians in relation to optimal medicine treatment for patients
17. Experience of working with complex IT systems.
Desirable
18. Experience of working with an electronic prescribing system
19. Experience of line managing staff
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
20. Skilled at working within a licensed or un-licensed aseptic unit to prepare patient specific SACT.
21. Skilled at understanding technical data from the aseptic unit such as microbiological reports.
22. Skilled at critical appraisal using reference sources, journals, the internet and on-line information sources to prepare evaluated technical information in relation to the aseptic unit.
23. Able to interpret national guidelines within specialist area(s), and Trust policies, procedures and guidelines related to specialist area(s) including clinical governance and risk management.
24. Skills for teaching and supervising pharmacists and technical staff
25. Able to supervise a team of pharmacist and technical staff
26. Up to date knowledge of the required quality management systems required within aseptic services.
27. Up to date knowledge of the technical requirements in order to safely and effectively managing an aseptic unit preparation service.
28. Knowledge about chemotherapy drugs and regimens in current use.
29. Up to date knowledge and understanding of Safe Systems of Working in hospital pharmacy services.
30. Able to set priorities, meet deadlines and manage time effectively.
31. Able to work well both under own initiative and effectively within a team.
Desirable
32. Skilled at working with an electronic chemotherapy prescribing system.