An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our team as the Principal Pharmacist, Reablement and Frailty. The successful candidate will join a multi-disciplinary team, working on a new Reablement ward at St Helier Hospital. The Reablement ward aims to help medically optimised patients meet their reablement goals, promoting independence and avoiding hospital admission.
If you are a motivated, autonomous individual who enjoys direct working with patients and being part of an MDT then this is the role for you.
As the pharmacist in the team you will lead on medicines management on the ward. You will conduct in-depth, personalised and goal orientated medication reviews with patients to improve understanding of medicines, address adherence issues and reduce inappropriate polypharmacy. You will also lead on the implementation of self-administration of medicines for patients, including evaluating the impact of self-administration. Ensuring seamless transfer of pharmaceutical care across interfaces will also be a key part of the role.
St George’s, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group cares for a population of four million people in South West London and North East Surrey. Our sites include St George’s Hospital, one of 11 major trauma centres in the UK and the largest healthcare provider and major teaching hospital in the area; St Helier Hospital, home to the South West Thames Renal and Transplantation Unit and Queen Mary's Hospital for Children; and Epsom Hospital, home to the South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre (SWLEOC).
After years of collaboration, our two Trusts became a hospitals group in 2021. While remaining as two separate Trusts, being a hospitals group will help us to collaborate more closely on research, and the development, education, and training of our 17,000-strong workforce.
1. To provide, deliver and develop the pharmacy service to the Reablement ward, embedding safe medicines management systems
2. To complete patient-centred medicine reviews and liaise with a prescriber, or use the skills as a pharmacist prescriber, to alter prescribed medicines
3. To support patients to get the best outcomes from their medicines by identifying and addressing medicines related issues which are important to the individual
4. To optimise medicines to support individuals living with frailty to meet their rehabilitation goals
5. To reduce inappropriate polypharmacy
6. To improve adherence and patients’ understanding of medicines
7. To assess the appropriateness of monitored dosage systems, by carrying out individual assessments, and taking specific practical actions to address problems of medicines adherence
8. Communicate highly complex medicine related information with patients and/or their carers who may have language difficulties, physical or mental disabilities
9. To liaise with relevant health and social care professionals about the patient’s needs including ongoing monitoring requirements
10. Participate in daily multi-disciplinary bedside reviews, providing expert pharmaceutical advice to help create individualised plans for identified medication related issues
11. To support and provide medication advice to other members of the multi-disciplinary team
12. To develop and implement a self-administration policy which enables patients to independently and safely manage their medications on the Reablement ward
13. To provide in-reach to acute in-patient wards and post-discharge follow-up pharmaceutical reviews as needed
14. To support patient safety, service development and flow as patients transfer between care settings
15. To develop links and work collaboratively with pharmacists, other healthcare professionals and agencies to ensure optimum pharmaceutical care for patients during rehabilitation and on discharge to the community
16. To identify and highlight any medicines optimisation clinical governance issues, including liaising with relevant staff and monitoring any resulting action plans
17. To follow procedures to reduce medication harm and medicine waste
18. Toprovide expert advice to pharmacy staff and other healthcare professionals to encourage and ensure good prescribing practices, optimise outcomes and reduce individual patient and organisational risk.
19. To ensure services provided are in line with local and national policies, guidelines and frameworks e.g. NICE, Patient Safety Alerts.
20. To develop, implement, evaluate and monitor medicines management guidelines, policies and procedures to ensure the safe and effective use of medicines associated within the Reablement ward
21. To assist in the maintenance and development of clinical, medicines management and departmental procedures as requested.
22. To identify and address prescribing issues across the interface pertaining to the division and to ensure seamless transfer of pharmaceutical care for patients liaising with the other acute Trusts, GPs, Community and PCN pharmacists as appropriate.
23. To work in collaboration with the Lead Pharmacist for Sutton Virtual Ward to action plan for common issues related to the transfer of information related to medicines across the interface
24. To identify, report and where necessary, investigate issues relating to medicines risk management and incidents, working with senior colleagues to implement appropriate solutions to minimise or alleviate future risk.
25. To participate in clinical incident reporting, assisting in investigations and complaints that require paediatric expertise.
26. To promote safe, rational and cost-effective use of medicines in accordance with SWL Joint Formulary and the recommendations and other evidence based guidelines, particularly in relation to Frailty, Deprescribing and Medicines Optimisation
27. To write, monitor, review and update policies, guidelines and procedures designed to improve the pharmacy services to patients within the Reablement ward
28. To participate in the ward/clinical pharmacy service to monitor prescriptions and to provide pharmaceutical advice/drug information (on choice of medicines/dosage/side effects etc.) as appropriate, to health care professionals and patients/carers, to promote the safe, effective and economic use of medicines.
29. To undertake dispensing/checking of prescriptions for patients using the Pharmacy Computer System and in accordance with departmental policies and procedures, providing dispensary cover as required.
30. To participate in departmental meetings to maintain and develop the pharmaceutical service contributing to the development of new procedures as required.
31. To be an authorised signatoryfororders placed for pharmaceutical stock with wholesalers and other manufacturers.
This advert closes on Wednesday 16 Apr 2025