Job overview
An opportunity has arisen for an experienced mental health pharmacist to join our established, friendly, and dynamic clinical pharmacy team at the Maudsley Hospital.
You will lead a small team of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians within the Clinical pharmacy services at the Maudsley Hospital, as well as providing direct patient care at the dispensary and ward level as part of the MDT. You will work as an independent prescriber, prescribe medicines to service users within competence and agreed management plans, and liaise with dispensary managers to seek innovative ways to improve the clinical services at the Maudsley
We are looking for a pharmacist whose career has demonstrated broad-based clinical knowledge and excellent communication skills, and who having already gained a grounding in psychiatric pharmacy is now wanting to develop their career further. You will be a registered pharmacist with a Masters degree in pharmacy or equivalent as well as hold a post graduate qualification.
Main duties of the job
1. To lead the clinical pharmacy service at the Maudsley Hospital
2. To ensure standards of clinical practice are maintained within the Clinical Pharmacy services at the Maudsley Hospital
3. To implement the trust medicines optimisation programme within the Clinical Pharmacy Services at the Maudsley Hospital
4. To coordinate and provide training and support for patients, carers, healthcare professionals and other staff, and identify unmet needs
5. To ensure that the needs of the patients are the focus of the service
6. To lead on research and audit projects as requested
7. To provide clinical and operational supervision to rotational clinical pharmacists
Working for our organisation
South London and the Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust provides the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK. We are a world leading Trust in research, working closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London.
The pharmacy department provides dispensing services from the Maudsley, Lambeth, Bethlem Royal hospitals and Ladywell unit and a clinical pharmacy service to 1,000 inpatients and 3,000 community patients. The Medicines Information Centre at the Maudsley is the national centre for information on psychotropics. The department produces the Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines, now on its 14th Edition, for expert guidance on prescribing practice in mental health, including drug choice, treatment of adverse effects and how to augment or switch medication. The department is the world’s leading pharmacy centre for research in psychiatry, having published over 300 clinical papers in the past 25 years.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Key Responsibilities:
§To maintain clinical pharmacy services in line with local and national priorities
§To implement and audit policy and guidelines as directed by the clinical lead
§To provide and co-ordinate a quality pharmacy service to multidisciplinary ward rounds at the Maudsley
§To liaise with dispensary managers to seek innovative ways to improve the clinical services at the Maudsley
§To demonstrate a high standard of clinical knowledge and a patient focussed approach
§To develop quality improvement initiatives
§To participate in clinical supervision
§To advise on updates/changes to the Trust medicines management policy, medicines management bulletins and departmental SOP’s as requested by the Principal Pharmacist
§To undertake and publish research on psychiatric medication where appropriate
§To provide education and training to pharmacy staff, medical staff, patients, nursing, occupational therapists and other allied healthcare professionals
§To ensure patient safety and patient experience remain the focus of the pharmacy department and ensure all patients are offered an appointment to speak to a pharmacist on a 1:1 basis during their admission to hospital
§To carry out any other duties as specified by the Chief Pharmacist
§To demonstrate innovation and extend the boundaries of the profession
§To work as an independent pharmacist prescriber within Trust policy and scope of practice
§To participate in emergency duty, Saturday, late clinic and bank holiday rotas as required
Communications and Working Relationships:
§To provide specialist information on medicines to patients, carers, doctors and other healthcare professionals and to advise and support more junior pharmacists in their clinical advice and decision making
§To ensure information provided by the pharmacy department is done so in a timely manner in line with the Trust’s 5 commitments
§To interact with all team members in a manner that is open and inclusive
§To encourage others to share their ideas and suggestions
§To share relevant information with co-workers, including job knowledge
§To keep appropriate people informed of relevant issues and events
§To demonstrate excellent verbal and non-verbal communication skills
§To demonstrate highly effective listening
§To use opportunities to teach others
§To respond to needs/requests and inform others when the request will be met
§To introduce self to others, present purpose of interaction or ask “how may I help?”
§To use tone and body language that reflects interest and willingness to help
§To make clinical decisions affecting the pharmacy department and know when and where to refer if necessary
§To lead by example
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
8. MPharm or equivalent
9. Registration with General Pharmaceutical Council with mandatory CPD
10. Postgraduate qualification in clinical pharmacy
Desirable criteria
11. Post graduate qualification in psychiatric pharmacy
12. Member of the college of Mental Health Pharmacists
13. Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
14. Non-medical prescribing qualification
Experience
Essential criteria
15. Relevant experience in providing clinical mental health services in an NHS hospital pharmacy
16. Previous participation in audit, development of audit tools, data collection and collation
17. Experience of teaching
Desirable criteria
18. Management or supervisory experience
19. Evidence of implementing new procedures
Skills
Essential criteria
20. Ability to use own initiative and work effectively as part of a team both within pharmacy and a multidisciplinary environment
21. Excellent written and verbal communication skills
22. Good time management skills, with an ability to prioritise and organise self and others efficiently.
23. Knowledge of Windows and Microsoft Office operating systems, software applications in particular in completing graphs, spreadsheets and reports.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
24. Sound psychiatric clinical knowledge
25. Patient Counselling skills