To work across both sites ensuring that medicines management processes within the practices are optimised to achieve highly effective, safe and patient centred prescribing.
To work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient facing role, taking responsibility for areas of chronic disease prescribing management within the practice and undertaking clinical medication reviews to proactively manage patients with complex polypharmacy, especially for older people, people in residential care homes and those with multiple co-morbidities.
Undertake patient consultations as appropriate including a focus on groups of patients who would benefit from targeted prescribing support and intervention (e.g. patients on medications with risk of dependency, medications with high risk of harm and/or frailty as this falls more within the IIF).
Main duties of the job
To work as a member of the wider PCN Pharmacy Team and to develop positive relationships within that team.
To develop and facilitate a good working relationship of practice with community pharmacists and other local providers of healthcare.
To establish and maintain strong and effective mechanisms for providing pharmacy advice and guidance to GPs and other clinical staff in their management of patients and promotion of medicines optimisation.
To identify national and local policy and guidance that affects patient safety through the use of medicines, including MHRA alerts, product withdrawals and emerging evidence from clinical trials.
To manage the process of implementing changes to medicines and guidance for practitioners.
To plan and organise own workload, including audit and project work, and training sessions for practice team when necessary.
To record personally generated information and maintain a database of information relating to the work done in the practice. Personally generated information includes information and records relating to audit and clinical work undertaken by the post holder, reference notes relating to clinical/technical information, etc. The database includes maintaining up-to-date, detailed records of all work done in the practice for which the post holder is accountable (done by the post holder or others).
Provide advice regarding off licence products including liquid medications for patients with swallowing difficulties.
About us
Leek and Biddulph PCN are a group of five GP practices working together to focus on local patient care. We are a multi-disciplinary team, covering Leek and Biddulph, responsible for the healthcare of just over 50,000 patients. We are led by Dr Neil Briscoe our PCN Clinical Director and a supportive management team.
We are a very forward thinking and innovative PCN who were the first PCN in North Staffordshire to convert to a Limited Company. We utilise to the full, the skills and experience of our team members which includes Clinical Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Social Prescribers and Mental Health Team. We have a flexible approach to working patterns and generous terms and conditions including the NHS Pension.
We are supportive of professional development and pride ourselves on developing new roles in a collaborative and friendly environment.
Job responsibilities
To work as a member of the wider PCN Pharmacy Team and to develop positive relationships within that team.
To develop and facilitate a good working relationship of practice with community pharmacists and other local providers of healthcare.
To establish and maintain strong and effective mechanisms for providing pharmacy advice and guidance to GPs and other clinical staff in their management of patients and promotion of medicines optimisation.
To identify national and local policy and guidance that affects patient safety through the use of medicines, including MHRA alerts, product withdrawals and emerging evidence from clinical trials.
To manage the process of implementing changes to medicines and guidance for practitioners.
To plan and organise own workload, including audit and project work, and training sessions for practice team when necessary.
To record personally generated information and maintain a database of information relating to the work done in the practice. Personally generated information includes information and records relating to audit and clinical work undertaken by the post holder, reference notes relating to clinical/technical information, etc. The database includes maintaining up-to-date, detailed records of all work done in the practice for which the post holder is accountable (done by the post holder or others).
Provide advice regarding off licence products including liquid medications for patients with swallowing difficulties.
Engage with community and hospital pharmacy colleagues and develop referral processes between primary care professionals including the promotion of the repeat dispensing service.
Manage practice formularies to improve the quality, safety and cost effectiveness of prescribing.
To maintain registration as a pharmacist and comply with appropriate professional codes.
Maintain effective mentorship support from the lead practice GP in order to ensure ongoing clinical and personal development.
As appropriate to the post, to maintain and develop professional competence and expertise, keep up to date with medical/therapeutic evidence and opinion, and local and national service, legislation and policy developments, agree objectives and a personal development plan and participate in the appraisal process.
Attend practice meetings and Patient Participation Group meetings as appropriate.
Attend meetings with other practice-based pharmacists and or CCG pharmacists to share best practice.
To undertake any other duties commensurate with the post holders grade as agreed with the practice lead GPs.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
Management of medicines at discharge from hospital
To reconcile medicines following discharge from hospitals, intermediate care and into care homes; identify and rectify unexplained changes; manage these changes with minimal referral to the GP; perform clinical medication reviews as appropriate; work with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge. Set up and manage systems to ensure continuity of medicines supply to high-risk groups of patients (e.g. those with medicine compliance aids or those in care homes). Work in partnership with hospital colleagues (e.g. care of the elderly doctors and clinical pharmacists) to proactively manage patients at high risk of medicine-related problems before they are discharged to ensure continuity of care.
Work with patients and the primary care team to minimise risks of unplanned admissions through medicines optimisation.
Repeat prescribing
Assist with the repeat prescribing reauthorisation process by reviewing medicines reaching review dates; make necessary changes as an independent prescriber, and ensure patients are booked in for necessary monitoring tests where required.
Telephone and patient facing medicines support
Provide telephone helpline support for patients with questions, queries and concerns about their medicines. Hold clinics for patients requiring face-to-face clinical medication reviews (CMRs) i.e. a review of the ongoing need for each medicine, a review of monitoring needs and an opportunity to support patients with their medicine taking. As part of the Primary Care Navigation team the post-holder will be available to advise patients with common minor or self-limiting ailments whilst working with the scope of practice and limits of competence; signposting to community pharmacists and referring to GPs or other healthcare professionals where appropriate.
Medication review
Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy and implement own prescribing changes within areas of competence (as an independent prescriber) and order relevant monitoring tests.
Care home medication reviews
Manage own caseload of care home residents. Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy and implement own prescribing changes (as an independent prescriber) and order relevant monitoring tests. Work with care home staff to improve safety of medicines ordering and administration and promotion of waste reduction.
Domiciliary clinical medication review
Support Practices with vulnerable housebound patients at risk of hospital admission and harm from poor use of medicines. Implement own prescribing changes (as an independent prescriber) and ordering of monitoring tests. Attend and refer patients to multidisciplinary case conferences as appropriate.
Long term conditions
See patients in multi-morbidity clinics and in partnership with primary healthcare colleagues and implement improvements to patients medicines, including de-prescribing. Support long-term condition clinics where required, responsible for prescribing as an independent prescriber for conditions where medicines have a large component (e.g. medicine optimisation for stable angina symptom control, warfarin monitoring and dose adjustment for patients requiring long-term anticoagulants).
Develop and manage new services that are built around new medicines or NICE guidance, where new medicine/recommendations support the development of a new care pathway (e.g. new oral anticoagulants for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation).
Cost saving programmes
Make recommendations for, implement and, if relevant, manage practice pharmacy technicians, to make changes to medicines designed to save on medicine costs where a medicine or product with lower acquisition cost is now available and clinically indicated.
Medicine information to practice staff and patients
Answer medicine-related enquiries from GPs, other practice staff and patients with queries about medicines. Suggesting and recommending solutions as appropriate. Providing follow up for patients to monitor the effect of any changes as indicated.
Information management
Analyse, interpret and present medicines data to highlight issues and risks to support decision making across the wider primary care team.
Identify and provide leadership on areas of prescribing requiring improvement for example in the conduct of own audits and improvement projects or work with colleagues such as GP registrars. Present results and provide leadership on suggested change. Contribute to national and local research initiatives as agreed with the practice.
Care Quality Commission
Provide leadership to the general practice team to ensure the practice is compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved. Undertake risk assessments and management and ensure compliance with medicines legislation.
Training & Shared Learning
Provide education and training to primary healthcare team on therapeutics and medicines optimisation. Provide training to visiting medical students. Facilitate shared learning across clinicians within the practice on medication related issues.
Offer professional support, leadership and formal mentorship with other clinical pharmacists working in associated local practices, especially with those developing this role within a practice.
Public Health
To support Public Health campaigns, proving specialist knowledge on all Public Health programmes available to the general public.
This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of responsibilities, and it is expected that the post-holder will participate in a wide range of activities.
Person Specification
Qualifications
* Professional registration with the general Pharmaceutical Council
* Evidence of Continued Professional Development
* Full Driving Licence
* Qualified from, enrolled or intention to enrol in an approved 18-month training pathway (eg CPPE)
* Post-graduate Clinical Diploma
* Be a prescriber, working towards or intending to become one within 2 years of start date
* Minimum 2 years relevant pharmacist experience post-registration
* Previous experience of working in primary care, within a GP practice
Skills and Abilities
* Able to manage allocated resources (time, equipment, base location)
* Able to obtain and analyse complex technical information and data
* Demonstrate excellent written and verbal communication skills
* Excellent understanding of data protection and confidentiality principles
* Able to plan, manage, monitor and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas
* Able to obtain and analyse complex technical information and prescribing data
Personal Qualities and Attributes
* Works effectively, flexibly and enthusiastically within a team or independently
* Able to gain acceptance for recommendations and influence/motivate/persuade the audience to comply with the recommendations/ agreed course of action where they may be significant barriers
* Demonstrates accountability for delivering professional expertise and direct service provision
* Able to provide leadership and to finish work tasks
* Ability to maintain effective working relationships and to promote collaborative practice with all colleagues
* Independently mobile to be able to work across the PCN geographical area
* Demonstrate ability to work in busy environments, dealing with both urgent and important tasks, prioritising effectively while supporting others
* Ability to organise, plan and prioritise on own initiative, including when under pressure and meeting deadlines
* Demonstrates use of appropriate communication to gain the cooperation of relevant stakeholders (including patients, senior and peer colleagues, and other professionals, other NHS/private organisations, eg CCGs)
Knowledge
* Ability to recognise personal limitations and work with professional competencies
* In depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence-based healthcare
* Provide specialist expertise in the use of medicines
* Knowledge and understanding of pharmacy law and ethics, and current legislation surrounding medication use
* Accept and receive support and supervision from a senior Clinical Pharmacist and/or GP to allow the post holder to develop and do the job safely and confidently
* Awareness of systems to support management of patients in primary care
* Understanding of the wider determinations of health, including social, economic and environmental factors and their impact on communities
* An appreciation of concepts associated with primary care prescribing including rational, cost-effective and quality improvement
Experience
* Good IT skills and literacy
* Experience of partnership/collaborative working and of building relationships across a variety of organisations
* Experience of working with GP prescribing systems, other clinical systems, and Microsoft office
* Evidence of conducting medication reviews
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.
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