The following job description is for a lead pharmacist (8a) level. Please see band 7 specialist pharmacist JD in supporting documents if needed. Key Duties: The post holder will: Provide a specialist clinical pharmacy and medicines optimisation service to patients and undertake pharmaceutical risk management for patients within Surgical Division. Liaise with medical, nursing and pharmacy staff to identify patients who are planned for discharge and to support timely discharge to improve patient flow. Deliver specialised knowledge of medicines and nutrition support to provide advice to consultants, medical, nursing and pharmacy staff on all pharmaceutical aspects of medicines for patients. Make critical clinical decisions around the pharmaceutical care needs of patients and communicate these decisions to patients and clinical staff accordingly. Prescribe and deprescribe medications as an independent prescriber within GPhC regulations to optimise the pharmaceutical care of patients. Assess and identify key areas for service development and expansion in conjunction with the team lead Provide pharmaceutical teaching to pharmacy, medical and nursing staff. Ensure compliance with medicines legislation, the Trust Medicines Policy, Herefordshire and Worcestershires netFormualry and medicines related national and local guidelines within the division. Contribute to producing and implementing SOPs, guidelines and policies to ensure that the use of medications within the post holders clinical area and medicines management systems are safe, robust, evidence based and are quality assured. Critically evaluate prescribing practices and amend according to evidence-based practice, national/regional directives and clinical governance targets on a daily basis, during ward-rounds and within the multidisciplinary team. Monitor clinical progress of patients with regards to their medications and act accordingly on results and outcomes to ensure patients receive optimal care Establish effective working relationships with clinical staff and key stakeholders Contribute to the day to day running of the pharmacy department ensuring core functions are able to be delivered. Clinical Responsibilities The post-holder will: Use expert knowledge to devise management plans for patients independently or as part of an MDT, requesting appropriate tests and investigations in conjunction with consultant surgeons as needed. Leads consultation with patients to construct an accurate medication and/ or clinical history. Reconcile this information against the admission/ attendance and prescription chart using specialist knowledge to support any prescribing decisions. Pro-actively identify to medical/surgical staff any potential or actual medicines-related hospital admissions or associated issues and outline any required action to resolve identified discrepancies. Evaluate prescribing requirements, either initiating or modifying a range of interventions which may include prescribed medications and lifestyle advice in relation to the presenting complaint. Actively collaborates in consultant led MDT board/ward rounds providing clinical pharmacy support and referring on to other members of the MDT as appropriate. Assess patients information requirements to be able to communicate information regarding treatment at an appropriate level for the patient. Routinely be involved in the counselling of patients and carers under difficult and emotionally distressing situations, especially around a newly diagnosed clinical condition with far reaching implications on quality of life and life expectancy. This includes counselling patients with complex needs- such as physical disability, language requirements which may affect information requirements. Communicates highly complicated or contentious information with sensitivity, tact and diplomacy. Keeps accurate and complete records of all activities and communication in line with trust policies and procedures Acts as a clinical role model for developing and delivering care that is responsive to changing requirements, informed by an understanding of the local population health needs Managerial responsibilities The post holder will: Plan own workload, contribute to the planning of the pharmacy services to the Division and ensure pharmacy services are delivered according to plan. Be responsible for day to day management of medicines management technicians, clinical pharmacists, trainee pharmacists and students as allocated to achieve their designated outcomes efficiently and accurately. Work across service boundaries to plan workload for services with joint responsibilities/outcomes eg: pharmacist led clinics. Line manage assigned pharmacist(s) Contribute to the recruitment and selection of staff as appropriate Be the first point of contact for advising on medication errors and with any patient or staff complaints regarding the pharmacy service as a whole within their clinical area. Identify and respond to medication related errors, completing appropriate error reporting forms (DATIX) and providing investigation to support the root cause analysis and prevent future events. Financial Responsibilities The post holder will: Produce reports, analyse prescribing trends and provide guidance and advice on medicines expenditure, prescribing patterns and high cost medicines use within the post holders specialism. Advise on proposed new medicines for use within the post-holders clinical area and assist with compiling evidence-based reviews for submission to the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Medicines and Prescribing Committee for formulary and funding approval. Identify and implement measures to keep the Divisions medicines expenditure within agreed budgets. Discuss and influence medicines expenditure and its management with key medical staff and matrons. Service Development and Business Planning The post holder will: Develop pharmacy services to the division in response to the needs of the division and the Pharmacy department. Continuously look for and identify initiatives to contribute to quality improvement within the specialist and pharmacy directorates. Work with the directorate to evaluate the impact of service provision and contribute to further business cases to support developing other innovative strategies for utilising pharmacists in advanced practice roles. Contribute to planning and organising the delivery, standard and modernisation of clinical pharmacy services within WAHT. Participate in a regular review of all duties with the Clinical Pharmacy Team Lead and make such alterations as necessary to meet the demands of a changing service. Research and Clinical Audit The post holder will: Ensure all pharmaceutical aspects of research in the post-holders clinical area complies with relevant legislation Plan and conduct pharmaceutical practice-based research/audit in the Division in conjunction with the Clinical Pharmacy Team Lead Pharmacists. Contribute to a culture which encourages all staff to contribute to research and audit and use your expertise to support staff in this process. Develop and promote the role of an advanced pharmacist through contribution to professional publications and conference papers. Lead in the creation, implementation and audit of clinical guidelines relating to all areas of medicines use within the post-holders area. Education, Training and CPD The post holder will: Actively engage in the Trust skills development review (PDR). Agree service and personal objectives with the Clinical Pharmacy Team Lead and be responsible for self-audit to demonstrate both achievement of objectives and evidence of value to the Trust. Identify and address the training needs of junior pharmacists and other staff in relation to post holders specialism. Deliver teaching and training on the post holders specialist area to pharmacy, medical and nursing staff including pharmaceutical induction for new medical and nursing staff. Ensure pharmacy staff are regularly updated in new developments within post holders specialism. Train, assess and provide feedback for clinical and technical pharmacy trainees as allocated, proactively promoting the workplace as a positive learning environment, Act as a designated supervisor for trainee pharmacist prescribing Maintain compliance with mandatory training and CPD to maintain professional registration Dispensary and other Operational Responsibilities The post holder will: Assist in the delivery of other operational, and clinical, services as required to meet the needs of the service. Participate in a 7 day working rota in which contracted working hours will be worked over a 7-day period to include bank holidays Participate in the countywide emergency on-call rota. Improving Diversity and Inclusive Recruitment: As part of the Trust's aim to improve diversity across the Trust, positive action is being taken and all applications for this post from BAME, Disabled and LGBT+ candidates can request to be considered under an expanded Guaranteed Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum criteria as specified in the person specification for this role. Applicants will be prompted in the application form to declare if they wish to be considered under this expanded Guaranteed Interview Scheme, and their response would be visible to the Shortlisting Panel. If you have any queries about expanded Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please contact Rob Saunders (HR Manager - Recruitment) in confidence via email robert.saunders1@nhs.net