Advanced Clinical Pharmacist - Inpatient Mental Health Services
Band 8a
Main area: Pharmacy
Grade: Band 8a
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 350-TWS6094168-A-B
Site: Broadoak Unit / Hollins Park Hospital
Town: Liverpool
Salary: £53,755 - £60,504 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 10/02/2025 23:59
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust celebrates diversity and promotes equal opportunities; we are committed to challenging and eliminating racism and other forms of discrimination and advancing and promoting equality of opportunity in the provision of services and creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
We take positive action to support disadvantaged groups and also particularly encourage applications from ethnic minorities, disabled and LGBTQIA+ people that are under-represented in our workforce.
Job overview
Are you looking for a new challenge? Fancy joining a dynamic, forward-thinking, and patient-focused team that is continuously striving to deliver excellent clinical pharmacy services?
We have fantastic opportunities across our mental health in-patient and secure and learning disability services, for experienced, enthusiastic, adaptable, highly self-motivated pharmacists with a passion for mental health to join our friendly and supportive teams.
Successful candidates will be responsible for leading, delivering and developing our mental health clinical pharmacy services. You will support multi-disciplinary teams to deliver high quality, safe and cost-effective pharmaceutical care for patients.
We are looking for proactive candidates with excellent leadership and interpersonal communication skills and ability to work autonomously, build relationships, manage, and motivate a team.
Main duties of the job
1. To participate in the delivery of highly specialist clinical pharmacy services, ensuring that services meet professional standards and comply with relevant legislation.
2. To carry out medicines reconciliation, clinically checks and medication reviews to ensure the safe and effective use of medicines.
3. To actively participate and develop effective partnerships with other professions as part of a multi-disciplinary approach to medicines optimisation.
4. To undertake pharmaceutical care planning, utilising local trust guidance and national protocols.
5. To provide specialist information and advice on the safe and effective use of medicines to patients and their carers to support informed decision making and treatment adherence.
6. To ensure effective medication practices are developed and carried out consistently across mental health services, promoting medicines safety and reducing harm from medications.
7. To participate in clinical audit and practice research.
8. To participate in training, supervision, mentoring and line management of colleagues.
Working for our organisation
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.
We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.
At the heart of all we do is our commitment to ‘perfect care’ – care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
1. To participate in the delivery of highly specialist clinical pharmaceutical and medical supply services, ensuring that services meet the standards set by the General Pharmaceutical Council and relevant legislation.
2. To act as the advanced clinical pharmacist for inpatient mental health, specifically clozapine services, within the medicines management team.
3. To act as the trust’s point of contact for pharmaceutical issues within inpatient mental health services.
4. To be responsible for leading, delivering and developing comprehensive clinical pharmacy and supply services to the trust’s inpatient mental health services.
5. To be responsible for the development and implementation of inpatient clozapine initiation services, including the implementation of systems and processes for the ongoing monitoring of patients’ prescribed clozapine in the inpatient setting.
6. To ensure that effective medicines management practices are developed and carried out consistently within all inpatient mental health services within the trust.
7. To develop evidence-based treatment protocols for use within inpatient mental health and clozapine services.
8. To facilitate the implementation of local and national guidelines relating to inpatient mental health and clozapine services.
9. To contribute to the development of new policies and procedures relating to inpatient mental health and clozapine services.
10. To undertake clinics with direct patient contact, including medication reviews and home visits.
Person specification
Qualifications
* Master of Pharmacy degree, or equivalent qualification
* Postgraduate diploma in Clinical Pharmacy, or equivalent experience
* Independent prescriber qualification, or willingness to work towards
* Registration with General Pharmaceutical Council
* Postgraduate qualification in Psychiatric Therapeutics/Clinical Pharmacy, or willingness to work towards
* Membership of the College of Mental Health Pharmacy (CMHP)
* Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS)
Knowledge/Experience
* Experience of working within pharmaceutical services
* Experience of working within an NHS organisation
* Experience of multi-disciplinary team working
* Experience of undertaking audit within pharmaceutical services
* Experience of providing supervision
* Experience of providing education regarding medicines
* Understanding of the benefits and risks of clozapine therapy and its place in patient care
* Understanding of how medicines optimisation contributes to high quality patient care
* Clear understanding of relevant legislation and guidance
* Awareness of local area prescribing committee processes
* Understanding and positive regard for the needs and rights of people with mental health problems or learning disabilities, and their carers
* Demonstrable evidence of commitment to self development and CPD
* Experience of working in hospital pharmacy
* Experience of working within inpatient mental health services
* Experience of provision of medicines information services
* Experience of line management of staff
* Knowledge of the evidence base relating to the prescribing of psychotropic medicines
* Knowledge of recent and upcoming initiatives within pharmaceutical services
Values
* Accountability
* Support
* High professional standards
* Responsive to service users
* Engaging leadership style
* Transparency and honesty
* Discreet
* Change oriented
Skills
* Excellent organisational skills
* Ability to work both independently and as a team player
* Ability to work flexibly
* Ability to work under pressure
* Ability to prioritise workload and manage time effectively to meet specified deadlines
* Self-motivated and able to use initiative
* Problem-solving skills
* Ability to analyse data
* Negotiating and influencing skills
* Ability to adapt to changing environments, needs and demands
* Recognition of own limitations and ability to ask for support when necessary
* Professional manner
* Ability to travel between different sites
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