Job summary Are you someone looking for a career in one of the UK's most respected mental health and learning disability trusts? Would you like to be part of a dedicated team committed to making a difference to peoples lives to enjoy a better future? An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the team at the new Regional Learning Disability and Autism Unit in Dawlish (The Brook). The job offers a challenging yet rewarding environment with opportunities to consistently learn. The Brook is a new regional service which will provide high quality care and treatment for people who have learning disabilities and complex mental health needs. You will work as part of a multidisciplinary team to support the assessment and treatment of adults with a learning disability or autism on the unit. We are committed to the ongoing training and development of all our staff and offer a range of opportunities for career progression. The building and environment will be state of the art and the service aims to become a centre of excellence. Interviews will take place on Friday 21st Feb 2025 Main duties of the job The principal purpose of the job is to ensure excellence in medicines optimisation for people with learning disabilities or autistic people as part of their inpatient journey and beyond. You will work as part of a team of a large multidisciplinary team offering local clinical expertise and leadership within your area of specialism. You will be expected to demonstrate advanced levels of pharmacy practice including contributing to training and research within the service. About us About Devon Partnership Trust We provide mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity services, as well as a range of specialist & secure services for the wider south west region & nationally. We are passionate about promoting good mental health & wellbeing. We strive to use the expertise & resources within our organisation, and through our partnerships, to deliver high quality services that are safe & focused on people's recovery. We are committed to developing a culture of coproduction, involving patients, families & carers in everything we do Our values We not only recruit based on qualifications & experience - we recruit individuals who possess & demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. These include such attributes as showing a commitment to quality of care, improving lives of others, giving respect, dignity & compassion. We can bring those values to life in our everyday tasks by giving a smile; making time for people; challenging ourselves & others, & being open to new ideas. We are committed to being an inclusive employer & applications are encouraged & welcomed from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics as governed by the Equality Act 2010. Part time & flexible working applications will be considered & supported, where possible. We particularly encourage applicants with lived experience of mental health conditions, neurodiversity or learning disabilities. We are a Disability Confident Leader. Date posted 22 January 2025 Pay scheme Agenda for change Band Band 8a Salary £53,755 to £60,504 a year Contract Permanent Working pattern Flexible working Reference number C9369-25-0024 Job locations The Brook Exeter Rd Dawlish Devon EX7 0NR Job description Job responsibilities Duties and Responsibilities Communication and Working Relationship Skills Communicate highly complex drug or medicines related information in an understandable format to people who use our services so that they can make informed contributions to treatment decisions and are able to use their medication safely and effectively. This information may be provided through face to face conversations, via a central medicines information telephone service, via tailored patient information leaflets or as face to face or group presentations for service users and carer groups. It may involve tactfully conveying sensitive or contentious information to people with mental health issues or learning disabilities, including those with challenging behavioural issues. Communicate highly complex information about medicines to prescribers and other health care professionals. This will involve attending multi-disciplinary team meetings, delivering presentations, answering queries via a central medicines helpline telephone service and providing written guidance and briefings. It will sometimes involve challenging the decisions already made by the MDT. Document medication reviews and drug histories accurately and concisely to support care planning for individual patients Document all interventions you make in a persons care in their electronic patient record and highlight these interventions to prescribers via phone or email if necessary Document information provided through the Medicines Helpline service according to the relevant procedure. Maintain and develop communication links with local Trusts and Commissioners to improve systems and processes within the Trust. Maintain and develop communication links with other Mental Health Trusts and special interest groups by participating in benchmarking exercises, meetings and participating in the College of Mental Health Pharmacists Forum Analytical and Judgemental Skills Review prescriptions for appropriateness in light of indication, individual presentation and concomitant medical conditions paying particular attention to specialist, complex regimens. Provide advice on treatment choices, dosages, legality of prescriptions e.g. in relation to the mental health act. Ensure all complex medication regimes are evidence-based and challenge prescribers when prescribing is outside current guidelines/best practice Advise prescribers on next steps to take when treating individuals with treatment-resistant presentations Discuss medication regimes with individuals paying particular attention to their understanding of their medicines and using language/leaflets appropriate to the individuals level of understanding Work with the data analyst to analyse local prescribing data to highlight any practice that needs investigating and act accordingly. Planning and Organisational Skills You will work independently to provide advice and support to the learning disability service and to The Brook inpatient services you will need to plan and organise your work commitments to balance the requirements of this alongside the requirements of the wider MO team e.g. central medicines helpline phone service, development of procedures, carrying out audits, attending governance meetings Ensure that all staff in The Brook and wider learning disability service, know how to contact you and who to contact in your absence for advice Prioritise actions to ensure that relevant medicines optimisation performance KPIs are met Be responsible for own professional development by maintaining GPhC Continuing Professional Development records to professional standards supporting revalidation, and actively progressing DPT Personal Development Plans Responsibility for Patient/Client Care, Treatment and Therapy Provide a highly specialist, clinical pharmacy service to The Brook, the wider learning disability service and primary care by; o Identifying and minimising risks associated with the use of medicines. o Contributing to medication care plans and working as an integral member of the multi-professional team o Reviewing medication charts and prescription records to ensure that each prescription is appropriate for that person, legal, legible, safe and effective. o Identifying drug interactions and adverse effects and addressing issues as appropriate. o Advising on the monitoring of medication regarding efficacy, safety and side effects and interpreting physical health monitoring and blood test results. o Undertaking medication reviews and drug history reports as required o Ensuring that all your interventions are documented in the electronic patient record and communicated according to Trust and/or PCN policy. o Educating people who use our services and their carers about medication. o Developing, implementing and supporting schemes which promote medicines adherence o Promoting seamless care by liaising with GPs, nurses, other specialties and community pharmacists to ensure clear treatment plans, safe and effective prescribing, continued prescribing/ supply arrangements, support with medicines adherence and medicines reconciliation. o Providing a medicines information service for community staff (LD, Autism, CMHT and PCN) o Supporting PCNs with safe practice (e.g. through SOPs) for managing mental health medicines (e.g. depots, clozapine) Once qualified, practice as an independent pharmacist prescriber to provide timely access to treatment in accordance with Trust non-medical prescribing policies Responsibility for Policy and Service Development Implementation Recommends and contributes towards the development, implementation and review of medicines-related policies, clinical protocols, standard operating procedures, prescribing guidelines, practice standards and safety briefings. Ensure adherence to the standards of the Medicines Policy and other MO documentation and report any deviations to unit managers and Deputy Chief Pharmacists and report via the Trust Risk Management System where appropriate. Review all medicines incidents reported via the Trust Risk Management System for your locality each month and contribute to incident reviews and root cause analyses where necessary. Exercise vigilance in the timely identification of risks relating to any aspect of medicine usage. Attend governance meetings (locality meetings and the MOSG) to ensure that risk areas related to medicines are addressed and implement changes to practice where necessary The post holder will support the Trust Medicines Safety Officer in their roles and ensure that specific medicines safety considerations are identified and addressed through the employing organisations medicine safety structure. Responsibility for Finance, Equipment and Other Resources Responsible for ensuring medicines are stored and used in accordance with trust medicines policy. Assist the Medicines Optimisation Prescribing Analyst with the provision of timely and accessible prescribing reports detailing clinical and financial medicines information for clinicians and Trust managers. Advise on measures to improve cost effectiveness within your locality and contribute to Medicines Optimisation cost-improvement initiatives where relevant Provide support to Deputy Chief Pharmacists to present and interpret budgetary information to locality teams to ensure that significant trends and variances are highlighted together with proposals for remedial action Promote cost effective prescribing at an individual level by pointing out cost implications of prescribing decisions at MDTs and ensuring that their own prescribing practice meets these same standards Responsibility for Human Resources, e.g. Supervision, Training, HR Advice and Management They will be managed by the Deputy Chief Pharmacist Clinical Services, but will also report to the Deputy Chief Pharmacist Medicines Safety and Governance, the accountable officer for controlled drugs and the PCN lead for some of their wider team tasks They will deputise for the Deputy Chief Pharmacist where appropriate and attend locality meetings to ensure pharmaceutical issues are considered. They will provide line management for technicians (when delegated by Chief Pharmacy Technician) and pharmacists working within their workstream They will provide clinical supervision for technicians and pharmacists working within their workstream They will be expected to work autonomously with access to support when required. They will delegate tasks to pharmacists, MO technicians, link practitioners and ward staff as appropriate, providing assistance to the technicians where required. They will assist in the development, delivery and audit of medicines related education and training programmes for healthcare staff, including inductions for new staff They will help supervise technicians, pre-registration and diploma pharmacists from acute trust hospitals who come to DPT for experience of working in mental health. Job description Job responsibilities Duties and Responsibilities Communication and Working Relationship Skills Communicate highly complex drug or medicines related information in an understandable format to people who use our services so that they can make informed contributions to treatment decisions and are able to use their medication safely and effectively. This information may be provided through face to face conversations, via a central medicines information telephone service, via tailored patient information leaflets or as face to face or group presentations for service users and carer groups. It may involve tactfully conveying sensitive or contentious information to people with mental health issues or learning disabilities, including those with challenging behavioural issues. Communicate highly complex information about medicines to prescribers and other health care professionals. This will involve attending multi-disciplinary team meetings, delivering presentations, answering queries via a central medicines helpline telephone service and providing written guidance and briefings. It will sometimes involve challenging the decisions already made by the MDT. Document medication reviews and drug histories accurately and concisely to support care planning for individual patients Document all interventions you make in a persons care in their electronic patient record and highlight these interventions to prescribers via phone or email if necessary Document information provided through the Medicines Helpline service according to the relevant procedure. Maintain and develop communication links with local Trusts and Commissioners to improve systems and processes within the Trust. Maintain and develop communication links with other Mental Health Trusts and special interest groups by participating in benchmarking exercises, meetings and participating in the College of Mental Health Pharmacists Forum Analytical and Judgemental Skills Review prescriptions for appropriateness in light of indication, individual presentation and concomitant medical conditions paying particular attention to specialist, complex regimens. Provide advice on treatment choices, dosages, legality of prescriptions e.g. in relation to the mental health act. Ensure all complex medication regimes are evidence-based and challenge prescribers when prescribing is outside current guidelines/best practice Advise prescribers on next steps to take when treating individuals with treatment-resistant presentations Discuss medication regimes with individuals paying particular attention to their understanding of their medicines and using language/leaflets appropriate to the individuals level of understanding Work with the data analyst to analyse local prescribing data to highlight any practice that needs investigating and act accordingly. Planning and Organisational Skills You will work independently to provide advice and support to the learning disability service and to The Brook inpatient services you will need to plan and organise your work commitments to balance the requirements of this alongside the requirements of the wider MO team e.g. central medicines helpline phone service, development of procedures, carrying out audits, attending governance meetings Ensure that all staff in The Brook and wider learning disability service, know how to contact you and who to contact in your absence for advice Prioritise actions to ensure that relevant medicines optimisation performance KPIs are met Be responsible for own professional development by maintaining GPhC Continuing Professional Development records to professional standards supporting revalidation, and actively progressing DPT Personal Development Plans Responsibility for Patient/Client Care, Treatment and Therapy Provide a highly specialist, clinical pharmacy service to The Brook, the wider learning disability service and primary care by; o Identifying and minimising risks associated with the use of medicines. o Contributing to medication care plans and working as an integral member of the multi-professional team o Reviewing medication charts and prescription records to ensure that each prescription is appropriate for that person, legal, legible, safe and effective. o Identifying drug interactions and adverse effects and addressing issues as appropriate. o Advising on the monitoring of medication regarding efficacy, safety and side effects and interpreting physical health monitoring and blood test results. o Undertaking medication reviews and drug history reports as required o Ensuring that all your interventions are documented in the electronic patient record and communicated according to Trust and/or PCN policy. o Educating people who use our services and their carers about medication. o Developing, implementing and supporting schemes which promote medicines adherence o Promoting seamless care by liaising with GPs, nurses, other specialties and community pharmacists to ensure clear treatment plans, safe and effective prescribing, continued prescribing/ supply arrangements, support with medicines adherence and medicines reconciliation. o Providing a medicines information service for community staff (LD, Autism, CMHT and PCN) o Supporting PCNs with safe practice (e.g. through SOPs) for managing mental health medicines (e.g. depots, clozapine) Once qualified, practice as an independent pharmacist prescriber to provide timely access to treatment in accordance with Trust non-medical prescribing policies Responsibility for Policy and Service Development Implementation Recommends and contributes towards the development, implementation and review of medicines-related policies, clinical protocols, standard operating procedures, prescribing guidelines, practice standards and safety briefings. Ensure adherence to the standards of the Medicines Policy and other MO documentation and report any deviations to unit managers and Deputy Chief Pharmacists and report via the Trust Risk Management System where appropriate. Review all medicines incidents reported via the Trust Risk Management System for your locality each month and contribute to incident reviews and root cause analyses where necessary. Exercise vigilance in the timely identification of risks relating to any aspect of medicine usage. Attend governance meetings (locality meetings and the MOSG) to ensure that risk areas related to medicines are addressed and implement changes to practice where necessary The post holder will support the Trust Medicines Safety Officer in their roles and ensure that specific medicines safety considerations are identified and addressed through the employing organisations medicine safety structure. Responsibility for Finance, Equipment and Other Resources Responsible for ensuring medicines are stored and used in accordance with trust medicines policy. Assist the Medicines Optimisation Prescribing Analyst with the provision of timely and accessible prescribing reports detailing clinical and financial medicines information for clinicians and Trust managers. Advise on measures to improve cost effectiveness within your locality and contribute to Medicines Optimisation cost-improvement initiatives where relevant Provide support to Deputy Chief Pharmacists to present and interpret budgetary information to locality teams to ensure that significant trends and variances are highlighted together with proposals for remedial action Promote cost effective prescribing at an individual level by pointing out cost implications of prescribing decisions at MDTs and ensuring that their own prescribing practice meets these same standards Responsibility for Human Resources, e.g. Supervision, Training, HR Advice and Management They will be managed by the Deputy Chief Pharmacist Clinical Services, but will also report to the Deputy Chief Pharmacist Medicines Safety and Governance, the accountable officer for controlled drugs and the PCN lead for some of their wider team tasks They will deputise for the Deputy Chief Pharmacist where appropriate and attend locality meetings to ensure pharmaceutical issues are considered. They will provide line management for technicians (when delegated by Chief Pharmacy Technician) and pharmacists working within their workstream They will provide clinical supervision for technicians and pharmacists working within their workstream They will be expected to work autonomously with access to support when required. They will delegate tasks to pharmacists, MO technicians, link practitioners and ward staff as appropriate, providing assistance to the technicians where required. They will assist in the development, delivery and audit of medicines related education and training programmes for healthcare staff, including inductions for new staff They will help supervise technicians, pre-registration and diploma pharmacists from acute trust hospitals who come to DPT for experience of working in mental health. Person Specification Experience Essential Experience of working within a multidisciplinary healthcare team / environment. Ability to supervise activities of pharmacy technicians and assistants. Managing change in a complex environment and evidence of having successfully implemented change. The ability to work under pressure, to deadlines where there are conflicting priorities. Desirable Evidence of involvement in change management and/or clinical service improvement. Experience of undertaking clinical audit. Experience of delivering training programmes Knowldege Essential Advanced theoretical and practical knowledge acquired through vocational master's degree in pharmacy (4 years) plus 1 year pre-registration training plus specialist knowledge acquired through diploma level experience Broad clinical and pharmaceutical knowledge, with an understanding of national policies and issues impacting on prescribing and medicines optimisation services. Demonstrate an up to date and detailed knowledge of relevant guidelines and clinical practice in speciality. Desirable Willingness to obtain further qualifications in mental health or pharmacy practice if not already held as identified through the post holders personal development plan. Knowledge of relevant health legislation and awareness of current issues in mental health and learning disability services Qualifications Essential Current registration as a Pharmacist General Pharmacy Council (GPhC). Evidence of Continuing Professional Development. Postgraduate diploma in clinical pharmacy / therapeutics or equivalent clinical experience Certificate/Diploma or Masters in Psychiatric Pharmacy practice or equivalent clinical experience Independent Prescribing Qualification (or be working towards completion) Desirable Member of the College of Mental Health Pharmacy RPS Advanced Practice Framework completed Person Specification Experience Essential Experience of working within a multidisciplinary healthcare team / environment. Ability to supervise activities of pharmacy technicians and assistants. Managing change in a complex environment and evidence of having successfully implemented change. The ability to work under pressure, to deadlines where there are conflicting priorities. Desirable Evidence of involvement in change management and/or clinical service improvement. Experience of undertaking clinical audit. Experience of delivering training programmes Knowldege Essential Advanced theoretical and practical knowledge acquired through vocational master's degree in pharmacy (4 years) plus 1 year pre-registration training plus specialist knowledge acquired through diploma level experience Broad clinical and pharmaceutical knowledge, with an understanding of national policies and issues impacting on prescribing and medicines optimisation services. Demonstrate an up to date and detailed knowledge of relevant guidelines and clinical practice in speciality. Desirable Willingness to obtain further qualifications in mental health or pharmacy practice if not already held as identified through the post holders personal development plan. Knowledge of relevant health legislation and awareness of current issues in mental health and learning disability services Qualifications Essential Current registration as a Pharmacist General Pharmacy Council (GPhC). Evidence of Continuing Professional Development. Postgraduate diploma in clinical pharmacy / therapeutics or equivalent clinical experience Certificate/Diploma or Masters in Psychiatric Pharmacy practice or equivalent clinical experience Independent Prescribing Qualification (or be working towards completion) Desirable Member of the College of Mental Health Pharmacy RPS Advanced Practice Framework completed 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. Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab). From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab). 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. Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab). From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab). 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 Devon Partnership NHS Trust Address The Brook Exeter Rd Dawlish Devon EX7 0NR Employer's website https://www.dpt.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)