Job summary
We have a great opportunity for a 15 month maternity leave cover for our key position of Deputy Chief Pharmacist and Medication Safety Officer for the Trust. The role is a key senior leader in the organisation leading medicines optimisation, clinical service development and medication safety with the Chief Pharmacist. This is a great career development opportunity for current senior leaders in pharmacy giving the opportunity to inspire teams, promote the pharmacy profession internally and external to the trust and lead change across an organisation.
Main duties of the job
* To lead the development, transformation and delivery of clinical pharmacy provision across the Trust as part of the patient focused pharmacy service.
* To support the Chief Pharmacist in the delivery of the Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation strategy.
* To undertake the role of Medication Safety Officer for the organisation.
* To provide professional leadership for pharmacy as the deputy for the Chief Pharmacist.
* To be responsible for managing senior pharmacists and services within the pharmacy team.
* To deputise for the Chief Pharmacist and Accountable Officer for Controlled Drugs including attendance and active participation in internal meetings.
* To represent the Chief Pharmacist and Pennine Care NHSFT at external meetings providing mental health medicines optimisation expertise and advocacy.
* To support the Chief Pharmacist in managing the pharmacy and medicines budget.
* To support the Chief Pharmacist in managing the pharmacy workload.
About us
The pharmacy team is a well respected clinical team consisting of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, nurses and administrative staff. The team are co-located with clinical services across the Pennine Care footprint with pharmacy services to in-patients, home treatment, community, CAMHS and Learning Disability services. A central medicines governance team includes a medicines information service, research and development pharmacist, digital pharmacy team, medicines management and NMP lead nurse and technical services leadership. All are welcoming, supportive and open to new ideas and change.
All staff are offered development opportunities suited to their roles such as Quality Improvement or research projects, psychiatric certificate and clinical diplomas, management and leadership qualifications and pharmacists encouraged to become NMPs.
You will be supported to develop through internal and external opportunities and training with regular management and clinical supervision provided to support your needs. CMHP credentialing is encouraged.
Date posted: 04 April 2025
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 8c
Salary: £74,290 to £85,601 a year per annum
Contract: Fixed term
Duration: 15 months
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 311-H778-25
Job responsibilities
Leadership, Strategy and Policy
* To lead, develop, implement and evaluate specialist clinical pharmacy services across all trust sites.
* To lead, develop, implement and evaluate trust wide policies and procedures relating to prescribing, drug administration and other aspects of medicines management.
* To ensure that medicines management policies and practices across the trust comply with legal, national and local guidelines.
* To line manage senior clinical pharmacy staff across the Trust.
* To be the training lead for the pharmacy service ensuring the delivery and monitoring the uptake of training as per annual training needs analysis via either e-learning technology or face to face delivery.
* To ensure mechanisms are in place to obtain feedback, implement lessons learnt, and share good practice across the Trust.
* To provide professional advice to Serious Untoward case reviews when required to do so, and ensures that learning is embedded to avoid future untoward/death situations.
* To ensure that prescribing of consultants, junior medical staff and non-medical prescribers complies with national and local guidelines and polices e.g. NICE and take appropriate action when necessary using professional judgement.
* To ensure that drug administration and other aspects of nursing practice comply with trust policies, current legislation and other relevant national standards e.g. NMC code.
* To ensure that the supply of medication complies with legislation e.g. Misuse of Drugs Act, national guidance and local procedures. To recommend and implement changes in local procedure as necessary.
Clinical Care
* To develop a strategic vision for clinical pharmacy services across the trust. To communicate the vision to senior trust managers, senior clinical staff within the Trust, SLA sites and ICB.
* To identify and manage risks and changes inherent in the current and proposed models of service provision.
* To assist the Chief Pharmacist in undertaking an option appraisal of different models and developing business cases for funding.
* To assess and review clinical pharmacy input into all teams to ensure services are safe, equitable and appropriate.
* To develop and monitor standards of practice across all sites.
* To continually review clinical pharmacy services to ensure priorities concur with local and national initiatives. To identify resources required to deliver local and national agendas.
* To act as a role model for expert specialist mental health pharmacy practice. To be recognised as an innovative, national expert within the field. To pro-actively seek to improve the standards of practice within the trust and at national level. To expand the boundaries of the profession and be comfortable dealing with risk and uncertainty.
* To lead the pharmacist prescribing agenda and manage the change, conflict, risks and resources necessary to drive forward the national initiative at local level.
* To act as lead specialist pharmacist for clinical pharmacy practice to designated teams/services. To attend Consultant ward rounds on a regular basis.
* To act as an expert source of pharmaceutical advice for health and social care staff, patients and carers. To provide a clinical pharmaceutical opinion when medical information is conflicting.
* To recommend, substantiate and communicate pharmacological treatment options to consultant medical staff, GPs and junior medical staff within and beyond the trust.
* To devise individualised, complex care-plans encompassing all relevant mental, physical and social care needs. To liaise with GPs and community pharmacists on admission and discharge to ensure continuity of pharmaceutical care. To encourage self-medication where appropriate and ensure that practice conforms to the trust policy.
* To liaise with relevant national sources of expertise e.g. national teratology centre, UK Medicines Information centres to provide up to date, expert advice on medicines to medical and other health and social care staff. To receive, interpret and act on highly complex clinical information from a wide variety of conflicting sources.
* On occasions, to handle difficult, ambiguous and sensitive situations including complex clinical queries referred by junior and senior pharmacists when information is scarce and conflicting. To demonstrate advanced level of clinical reasoning and judgement.
* To counsel patients and carers regarding choice of medication, likely benefits and side effects on an individual basis.
* To demonstrate accurate use of medical devices e.g. glucometers and drug administration equipment e.g. intravenous injections, inhaler devices to patients, medical and nursing staff to ensure that drugs are administered and monitored correctly.
* To act as an expert second opinion under the Mental Health Act.
* To be responsible for ensuring all pharmacy professionals have access to clinical supervision in accordance with Trust policy.
* To practice in accordance with Code of Ethics of Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.
* To utilise the Independent Prescribing qualification where appropriate, in line with Trust and national guidance.
Medication Safety Officer
* To undertake the required role of Medication Safety Officer as per MHRA alert.
* To ensure that medication errors are reported in accordance with trust policy.
* To investigate errors in prescribing, dispensing or drug administration. To inform consultants if dispensing errors have resulted in incorrect drugs being administered to patients.
* To counsel staff involved in errors. To review procedures and practice if necessary.
* To ensure learning from internal errors as well as from regional and national medication safety networks.
* To attend medication safety officer network meetings representing the trust.
* To investigate sensitive, complex incidents or potential incidents including inappropriate prescribing and misappropriation of drugs on behalf of the Chief Pharmacist.
* To investigate sensitive, complex incidents or potential incidents on behalf of the Medical Director or Chief Executive in the absence of the Chief Pharmacist.
* To attend Serious Incident Reviews relating to medicines management within any network as MSO.
* To provide expert reports and attend external reviews e.g. CQC, coroners court, Independent Reviews as expert clinical mental health pharmacy lead for the trust.
* To identify potential risks in prescribing, dispensing or drug administration and recommend appropriate changes in policy, procedure or practice.
* To deputise for the Chief Pharmacist at trust wide governance committees and equivalent groups within CCGs, local acute trusts and other relevant fora.
* To chair medicines safety group.
* To establish and lead trust wide sub-groups of the Drugs and Therapeutics Committee e.g. clozapine steering groups, medicines management operations group and other task & Finish groups such as Valproate.
Person Specification
Essential
* Current member of the General Pharmaceutical Council.
* Masters degree in Pharmacy (or pre-2000 equivalent).
* Relevant post graduate qualification, i.e. Diploma/MSc in Clinical Pharmacy/Pharmacy Practice.
* Relevant management qualification or equivalent experience.
* Evidence of MDT working.
Desirable
* Developing policies and strategies.
* Independent prescriber.
* CMHP credentialed.
* Flexibility to attend evening meetings.
* Willing to provide input to patient/carer events which may be outside of the Trust.
* Audit and QI experience.
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: Pennine Care NHS FT
Address: Trust wide, Old street, Ashton under Lyne, OL6 7SR
Employer's website: https://www.penninecare.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)
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