Job summary An exciting opportunity has arisen within Central Camden Primary Care Network (PCN) for a Clinical Pharmacist to support the delivery of services, and to provide clinical support and guidance. Central Camden PCN are a group of 9 member practices who work together at scale and collaborate with others in the local health and social care system. The PCN is highly innovative and delivers services with support from the GP Federation, Camden Health Evolution (CHE) Ltd, that aim to improve the quality of care and outcomes for their patients. Main duties of the job The post holder will work as part of a multidisciplinary team, collaborating with other PCN staff, as well as acute and community providers, to deliver a high standard of patient care and ensure the safe, accurate, cost-effective, and timely supply of prescribed medication to patients. The purpose of the role is to support the general practice workforce and facilitate improvements in patient care by supporting patients and the practice(s) with chronic disease management, undertaking clinical medication reviews, managing prescription processes and medication queries. The post holder will provide proactive leadership and expertise in clinical medicines use, medicines optimisation, and quality improvement achievements (including QOF). Excellent communication skills are essential for liasing with patients, primary care staff, community pharmacists and other partners. About us Camden Health Evolution (CHE) Ltd is a GP Federation which supports Central Camden Primary Care Network (PCN). There are 9 member practices in Central Camden PCN with a registered population of circa 85,000 patients. All practices are members of CHE GP Federation and share the vision, mission and values of the Federation and its key priorities. Date posted 21 February 2025 Pay scheme Other Salary £50,000 to £55,000 a year (Depending on experience) Contract Permanent Working pattern Full-time Reference number B0328-25-0000 Job locations Ridgmount Practice 8 Ridgmount Street London WC1E 7AA Job description Job responsibilities The following are the core responsibilities of the PCN Clinical Pharmacist. There may be on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels. Clinical Practice Deliver pharmaceutical face-to-face consultations, telephone consultations, and home visits to clinically assess and treat patients with long-term conditions. Manage the acute and repeat prescribing reauthorisation process by reviewing patient requests for repeat prescriptions and medicines approaching review dates; and ensure patients have appointments booked for necessary monitoring tests where required. Conduct clinical medication reviews and develop medicines care plan in collaboration with patients and carers. Undertake Structured Medication Reviews (SMRs) and shared decision-making conversations with patients on complex polypharmacy regimens and care home residents to ensure effective medicines use, reduce medicine waste, and promote self-care. Provide proactive leadership and expertise on medicines and prescribing systems to the multidisciplinary team, patients and their carers. Work as a member of a multidisciplinary team to deliver safe and effective pharmaceutical interventions across the PCN. Provide advice and guidance to patients regarding medication optimisation and lifestyle, e.g. inhaler techniques. Support the implementation of national prescribing policies and the achievement of Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) targets/PCN DES/IIF prescribing, QIPP, GP specifications, and other medication management and cost-effectiveness initiatives. Conduct medication reconciliation following hospital discharges, clinic visits, and other transfers of care (e.g. newly registered patients, care home residents), ensuring medication changes are safely implemented in a timely manner. Address medication queries from patients and clinicians in line with agreed protocols. Collaborate with hospital and community pharmacy colleagues to address discrepancies, supply issues, and queries within competency. Work with clinical colleagues to develop suitable medicines management plans for patients e.g. de-prescribing. Use tools such as PINCER to proactively identify at risk patients whose medication regime may lead to acute episodes or increased risk. Support the design and implementation of quality improvement activities, audits and cost-saving initiatives. Provide specialist expertise to address public health and social care needs of patients, including lifestyle advice, service information, and help in tackling local health inequalities. Support initiative for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing. Collaborate with PCN colleagues, local community pharmacists, and community pharmacies within Acute and Community Trusts to integrate general practice. Attend local meetings that seek to improve access to medicines or repeat prescribing processes, as required. Attend and participate in clinical and multidisciplinary meetings as necessary. Communication Utilise and demonstrate sensitive communication styles to ensure patients are fully informed and give consent to treatment. Anticipate communication barriers and take proactive steps to improve communication. Act as an advocate for patients and colleagues. Ensure awareness of sources of support and guidance, and provide information in an acceptable format to all patients, recognising any difficulties, and referring where appropriate. Demonstrate the use of appropriate communication to gain the cooperation from relevant stakeholders, including patients, colleagues, other professionals, and other NHS/private organisations e.g. ICBs. Liaise with ICB colleagues including ICB Medicines Management Team (MMT) Pharmacists on prescribing-related matters to ensure consistency of benefits to patient care. Communicate effectively and sensitively with patients and carers, recognising the need for alternative communication methods to overcome different levels of understanding, cultural backgrounds, and preferred communication styles. Improve patient and carer understanding of medication compliance, and build confidence in their commitment to take prescribed medicines. Liaise with other stakeholders as needed for the collective benefit of patients, including but not limited to: Patients GPs, nurses and other practice staff in the PCN Other healthcare professionals including ICB MMT pharmacists, PCN clinical pharmacists, PCN pharmacy technicians, optometrists, dentists, health and social care teams, dieticians, etc PCN clinical directors Care homes Community nurses and other allied health professionals Community and hospital pharmacy team Hospital staff with responsibilities for prescribing and medicines optimisation Quality and Safety Comply with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) Code of Conduct and ensure registration is up-to-date, documented, and checked annually within the service. Produce accurate, contemporaneous, and complete records of patient consultations, in line with legislation, policies, and procedures. Provide care that is evidence-based, working to agreed and established NSF and NICE clinical guidelines, and support others to do the same. Promote cost-effective, safe, evidence-based prescribing in accordance with local formulary, medication optimisation strategy, and national guidance. Work to agreed standards and continuously monitor and maintain the standard of care offered. Prioritise, organise, and manage own workload to maintain and promote quality. Undertake necessary training needed to ensure competencies for delivering all responsibilities. Assess the effectiveness of care delivery through self and peer review, benchmarking, and formal evaluation. Initiate and participate in the maintenance of quality governance systems and processes across the organisation and its activities. Identify national and local policies and guidance that affect patient safety through the use of medicines, including MHRA alerts, product withdrawals, and emerging evidence form clinical trials. Utilise the audit cycle as a means of evaluating the quality of the work of yourself and the team, implementing improvements where required. In partnership with other clinical teams within the ICB, collaborate on improving the quality of healthcare, responding to local and national policies and initiatives as appropriate. Evaluate patients responses to health care provision and the effectiveness of care. Use a structured framework (e.g. root-cause analysis) to manage, review, and identify learning from patient complaints, clinical incidents, and near-miss events. Assess the impact of policy implementation on care delivery. Recognise and work within own competencies, referring to appropriate colleagues when necessary. Education and Training Attend development courses offered by the ICB MMT as part of own personal and professional development. Undertake necessary training needed to ensure competencies for delivering all responsibilities. Participate in the delivery of formal education programmes i.e. national CPPE pathway, Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway. Support the provision of education, training, and mentoring to the pharmacy team and pharmacy trainees. With agreement and when appropriate, provide education and training to the wider primary healthcare team on therapeutics, medicines optimisation, and quality improvement. Support and participate in shared learning across the PCN, GP practices and with other stakeholders. Key Relationships Internal PCN Executive Team, PCN Clinical Directors, PCN member practices, PCN workforce. External Community Pharmacies, Care Homes, Local Providers (C&I, CNWL, RFL, LBC, UCLH), NCL ICB, NCL Federations, NCL PCNs & GP Practices, NCL STP, NHSE, CQC, PPGs. Job description Job responsibilities The following are the core responsibilities of the PCN Clinical Pharmacist. There may be on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels. Clinical Practice Deliver pharmaceutical face-to-face consultations, telephone consultations, and home visits to clinically assess and treat patients with long-term conditions. Manage the acute and repeat prescribing reauthorisation process by reviewing patient requests for repeat prescriptions and medicines approaching review dates; and ensure patients have appointments booked for necessary monitoring tests where required. Conduct clinical medication reviews and develop medicines care plan in collaboration with patients and carers. Undertake Structured Medication Reviews (SMRs) and shared decision-making conversations with patients on complex polypharmacy regimens and care home residents to ensure effective medicines use, reduce medicine waste, and promote self-care. Provide proactive leadership and expertise on medicines and prescribing systems to the multidisciplinary team, patients and their carers. Work as a member of a multidisciplinary team to deliver safe and effective pharmaceutical interventions across the PCN. Provide advice and guidance to patients regarding medication optimisation and lifestyle, e.g. inhaler techniques. Support the implementation of national prescribing policies and the achievement of Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) targets/PCN DES/IIF prescribing, QIPP, GP specifications, and other medication management and cost-effectiveness initiatives. Conduct medication reconciliation following hospital discharges, clinic visits, and other transfers of care (e.g. newly registered patients, care home residents), ensuring medication changes are safely implemented in a timely manner. Address medication queries from patients and clinicians in line with agreed protocols. Collaborate with hospital and community pharmacy colleagues to address discrepancies, supply issues, and queries within competency. Work with clinical colleagues to develop suitable medicines management plans for patients e.g. de-prescribing. Use tools such as PINCER to proactively identify at risk patients whose medication regime may lead to acute episodes or increased risk. Support the design and implementation of quality improvement activities, audits and cost-saving initiatives. Provide specialist expertise to address public health and social care needs of patients, including lifestyle advice, service information, and help in tackling local health inequalities. Support initiative for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing. Collaborate with PCN colleagues, local community pharmacists, and community pharmacies within Acute and Community Trusts to integrate general practice. Attend local meetings that seek to improve access to medicines or repeat prescribing processes, as required. Attend and participate in clinical and multidisciplinary meetings as necessary. Communication Utilise and demonstrate sensitive communication styles to ensure patients are fully informed and give consent to treatment. Anticipate communication barriers and take proactive steps to improve communication. Act as an advocate for patients and colleagues. Ensure awareness of sources of support and guidance, and provide information in an acceptable format to all patients, recognising any difficulties, and referring where appropriate. Demonstrate the use of appropriate communication to gain the cooperation from relevant stakeholders, including patients, colleagues, other professionals, and other NHS/private organisations e.g. ICBs. Liaise with ICB colleagues including ICB Medicines Management Team (MMT) Pharmacists on prescribing-related matters to ensure consistency of benefits to patient care. Communicate effectively and sensitively with patients and carers, recognising the need for alternative communication methods to overcome different levels of understanding, cultural backgrounds, and preferred communication styles. Improve patient and carer understanding of medication compliance, and build confidence in their commitment to take prescribed medicines. Liaise with other stakeholders as needed for the collective benefit of patients, including but not limited to: Patients GPs, nurses and other practice staff in the PCN Other healthcare professionals including ICB MMT pharmacists, PCN clinical pharmacists, PCN pharmacy technicians, optometrists, dentists, health and social care teams, dieticians, etc PCN clinical directors Care homes Community nurses and other allied health professionals Community and hospital pharmacy team Hospital staff with responsibilities for prescribing and medicines optimisation Quality and Safety Comply with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) Code of Conduct and ensure registration is up-to-date, documented, and checked annually within the service. Produce accurate, contemporaneous, and complete records of patient consultations, in line with legislation, policies, and procedures. Provide care that is evidence-based, working to agreed and established NSF and NICE clinical guidelines, and support others to do the same. Promote cost-effective, safe, evidence-based prescribing in accordance with local formulary, medication optimisation strategy, and national guidance. Work to agreed standards and continuously monitor and maintain the standard of care offered. Prioritise, organise, and manage own workload to maintain and promote quality. Undertake necessary training needed to ensure competencies for delivering all responsibilities. Assess the effectiveness of care delivery through self and peer review, benchmarking, and formal evaluation. Initiate and participate in the maintenance of quality governance systems and processes across the organisation and its activities. Identify national and local policies and guidance that affect patient safety through the use of medicines, including MHRA alerts, product withdrawals, and emerging evidence form clinical trials. Utilise the audit cycle as a means of evaluating the quality of the work of yourself and the team, implementing improvements where required. In partnership with other clinical teams within the ICB, collaborate on improving the quality of healthcare, responding to local and national policies and initiatives as appropriate. Evaluate patients responses to health care provision and the effectiveness of care. Use a structured framework (e.g. root-cause analysis) to manage, review, and identify learning from patient complaints, clinical incidents, and near-miss events. Assess the impact of policy implementation on care delivery. Recognise and work within own competencies, referring to appropriate colleagues when necessary. Education and Training Attend development courses offered by the ICB MMT as part of own personal and professional development. Undertake necessary training needed to ensure competencies for delivering all responsibilities. Participate in the delivery of formal education programmes i.e. national CPPE pathway, Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway. Support the provision of education, training, and mentoring to the pharmacy team and pharmacy trainees. With agreement and when appropriate, provide education and training to the wider primary healthcare team on therapeutics, medicines optimisation, and quality improvement. Support and participate in shared learning across the PCN, GP practices and with other stakeholders. Key Relationships Internal PCN Executive Team, PCN Clinical Directors, PCN member practices, PCN workforce. External Community Pharmacies, Care Homes, Local Providers (C&I, CNWL, RFL, LBC, UCLH), NCL ICB, NCL Federations, NCL PCNs & GP Practices, NCL STP, NHSE, CQC, PPGs. Person Specification Skills / Abilities Essential Appreciation of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improvement of prescribing Ability to follow policy and procedure, and offer patient care and medication optimisation in line with relevant guidance Ability to liaise effectively with the wider healthcare community Excellent communication (both oral and written) and interpersonal skills Ability to handle confidential information and maintain confidentiality Ability to work as a member of a multidisciplinary team and autonomously Excellent IT skills including Microsoft Office Good organisational ability with the ability to re-prioritise as needed Ability to provide education, training and mentorship Ability to reflect and learn from situations Ability to engage and share learning with peers and other health professionals Ability to cope with unpredictable situations and change Effective time management Desirable Ability to analyse and interpret prescribing data Ability to develop and implement policy and procedure to sustain a quality service Ability to motivate and support the development of colleagues Strong leadership skills, with the ability to engage others and drive innovation Other Requirements Essential Ability to travel and work flexibly Attendance at annual updates and mandatory training as required Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check Knowledge Essential Knowledge of Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and General Practice In-depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence-based healthcare Knowledge and understanding of pharmacy law and ethics, and current legislation Understanding of current local and national policies, in particular those that impact on medicines management Awareness of clinical governance issues in primary care Desirable Understanding of local commissioning objectives and QOF/PCN DES/IIF Understanding of local culture between primary and secondary care Knowledge of audit principles, and evidence of participation in and completion of audit projects Awareness of local referral pathways Knowledge of local public health issues Qualifications Essential Masters degree in pharmacy (MPharm) (or equivalent) General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) Registration Clinical diploma Evidence of continuing professional development (CPD) Independent prescriber or working towards/intent of gaining independent prescribing qualification Desirable Specialist knowledge acquired through post- graduate diploma level or equivalent training/experience Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Experience Essential Minimum of 3 years post-registration experience working as a pharmacist in the UK Experience of working self-directed or as part of a team Evidence and experience of communicating effectively with patients, carers, families and other stakeholders Desirable Experience of working in a primary care environment Experience of managing acute and long-term conditions, and complex needs Experience of using EMIS Web, Docman, Accurx and different IT systems in the NHS Aptitudes Essential Enthusiastic, committed and able to use own initiative Professional, calm and efficient manner Awareness of when to refer for senior advice Polite, punctual, and cooperative Self-motivated and proactive Positive and flexible approach to work Effectively able to communicate and understand the needs of the patient Understands own scope of practice and how that relates to the wider team Open to innovation and new ways of working Able to work under pressure Attention to detail Person Specification Skills / Abilities Essential Appreciation of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improvement of prescribing Ability to follow policy and procedure, and offer patient care and medication optimisation in line with relevant guidance Ability to liaise effectively with the wider healthcare community Excellent communication (both oral and written) and interpersonal skills Ability to handle confidential information and maintain confidentiality Ability to work as a member of a multidisciplinary team and autonomously Excellent IT skills including Microsoft Office Good organisational ability with the ability to re-prioritise as needed Ability to provide education, training and mentorship Ability to reflect and learn from situations Ability to engage and share learning with peers and other health professionals Ability to cope with unpredictable situations and change Effective time management Desirable Ability to analyse and interpret prescribing data Ability to develop and implement policy and procedure to sustain a quality service Ability to motivate and support the development of colleagues Strong leadership skills, with the ability to engage others and drive innovation Other Requirements Essential Ability to travel and work flexibly Attendance at annual updates and mandatory training as required Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check Knowledge Essential Knowledge of Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and General Practice In-depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence-based healthcare Knowledge and understanding of pharmacy law and ethics, and current legislation Understanding of current local and national policies, in particular those that impact on medicines management Awareness of clinical governance issues in primary care Desirable Understanding of local commissioning objectives and QOF/PCN DES/IIF Understanding of local culture between primary and secondary care Knowledge of audit principles, and evidence of participation in and completion of audit projects Awareness of local referral pathways Knowledge of local public health issues Qualifications Essential Masters degree in pharmacy (MPharm) (or equivalent) General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) Registration Clinical diploma Evidence of continuing professional development (CPD) Independent prescriber or working towards/intent of gaining independent prescribing qualification Desirable Specialist knowledge acquired through post- graduate diploma level or equivalent training/experience Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Experience Essential Minimum of 3 years post-registration experience working as a pharmacist in the UK Experience of working self-directed or as part of a team Evidence and experience of communicating effectively with patients, carers, families and other stakeholders Desirable Experience of working in a primary care environment Experience of managing acute and long-term conditions, and complex needs Experience of using EMIS Web, Docman, Accurx and different IT systems in the NHS Aptitudes Essential Enthusiastic, committed and able to use own initiative Professional, calm and efficient manner Awareness of when to refer for senior advice Polite, punctual, and cooperative Self-motivated and proactive Positive and flexible approach to work Effectively able to communicate and understand the needs of the patient Understands own scope of practice and how that relates to the wider team Open to innovation and new ways of working Able to work under pressure Attention to detail Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions. UK Registration Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window). Additional information Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions. UK Registration Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window). Employer details Employer name Camden Health Evolution Ltd Address Ridgmount Practice 8 Ridgmount Street London WC1E 7AA Employer's website https://www.camdenhealthevolution.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)