The role of the Virtual Ward Pharmacist sits within the Calderdale Urgent Community Response Service. This service provides urgent assessment, care and intervention to support people to remain at home, avoid hospital admissions and to step down from hospital to community sooner. The Urgent Community Response Service works as a multi-disciplinary team with Allied Health Professionals, Nurses, Rehabilitation Assistants and Independent Living Officers - providing anything from a 0-2hr urgent assessment at home, to supporting individuals with domiciliary care for up to a week. The service accepts anyone over the age of 18 therefore a very varied caseload of people to support, all with different needs.
Main duties of the job
The post holder is responsible for providing a specialist clinical pharmacy service to patients in their own homes or care homes in the Calderdale and Huddersfield area. This may be as part of the Virtual Ward (VW)/ Urgent Community Response Team (UCR) or the wider Community Division. The post holder will be an integral part of the virtual ward team and work seamlessly between primary and secondary care and link with a range of healthcare professionals to optimise concordance and compliance with prescribed medication.
For the purpose of this post, all patients who are accepted to the Community caseload and are registered with a GP in Calderdale or Huddersfield may be reviewed, and they may also be referred directly from CHFT staff or Gateway to Care when concerns about medication that might increase chances of admission or readmission are identified. Patients may be on high-risk medication or complex regimes.
Job responsibilities
1. Patients will be reviewed in a home setting as soon as possible after acceptance on the Community Team caseload.
2. Review medication and work closely with Community Teams which includes consultants, advanced clinical practitioners, physiotherapists, OTs, nurses, GPs and community pharmacists to ensure patients are able to derive the maximum benefit from prescribed medication.
3. Participate in MDT meetings via Teams or Face to Face as per frequency and need of the service.
4. Assess compliance with medication and any other factors related to medication which may lead to hospital admission or deterioration in condition.
5. Work closely with patients to implement medicines management and optimisation.
6. Liaise with GPs and community pharmacists to ensure that medicines are reconciled following transfer to primary care. Identify and follow up any discrepancies.
7. Communicate with GPs, community pharmacists and hospital consultants any recommendations in respect to individual patient medication changes, requirements or concerns as appropriate to the needs of the patient.
8. Provide skilled pharmaceutical counselling to patients in the domiciliary care setting in order to improve concordance and compliance with medicines and to reduce risks from medication-related events.
9. Work in an independent manner to explore all ways of supporting patients with complex medication issues.
10. Work in partnership with the patient, carers and relatives to reflect patient choice, to support self-care.
11. Further develop and feedback on key performance indicators.
12. Work closely with virtual ward teams within CHFT and key personnel in the community in Calderdale and Huddersfield.
13. Develop and maintain excellent working relationships with the appropriate healthcare professionals and other agencies in primary and secondary care.
14. Work with the CHFT Community teams to develop the service and provide training to staff.
15. Visit patients in their own homes or care homes within the Community setting.
16. Participate in weekend, public holiday, out of hours and extended hours provision of pharmacy services.
17. Comply with Trust policies relating to security and patient confidentiality and to ensure that procedures are undertaken within safe systems of work and legislation.
18. Assist the community directorate pharmacist in controlling drug expenditure.
19. Ensure the appropriate stock control and storage of materials and safe maintenance of equipment used in the provision of the community directorate Pharmacy services.
20. Contribute to the service development and maintenance of policies, procedures and records for the community directorate Pharmacy Service and medicines management.
Person Specification
QUALIFICATIONS / TRAINING
Essential
* MPharm or equivalent Degree in Pharmacy approved by RPSGB.
Desirable
* Registered Pharmacist with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
* Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy (or equivalent qualification)
* Independent Pharmacist Prescriber
KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE & EXPERTISE
Essential
* Evidence of practical experience of medication review in a hospital or community setting
* Recent relevant pre-registration training and experience in a hospital
* Good knowledge of Clinical Pharmacy, Medicines Management and Pharmacy Practice acquired through training and experience
* Evidence of Pharmacy Practice Research and Clinical Audit
* Ability to prioritise workload and meet deadlines whilst paying attention to detail.
* Ability to work under pressure.
* Ability to work on own initiative and as part of a team
* Problem solving and analytical skills
* Demonstrate commitment to CPD
* Education & Training skills
* Able to fulfil all physical requirements of the post with Occupational Health clearance
Desirable
* Knowledge of drug budgets
COMMUNICATION AND RELATIONSHIPS (INCLUDING MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES)
Essential
* Computer literate
* Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
* Self-motivating and the ability to influence others
* Experience of managing staff
Employer details
Employer name
Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Community
Allan House
HALIFAX
HX6 3AD
#J-18808-Ljbffr