Are you looking to contribute your skills in a dynamic and supportive environment? A fantastic opportunity to join the Business Support Unit team and be a part of the overall vision of Coventry & Rugby GP Alliance has become available, and we are currently seeking an experienced Clinical Pharmacist with primary care experience who has ideally already completed the CPPE primary care pharmacy education pathway and independent prescribing qualification.
Our Clinical Pharmacists play a vital role as part of a busy team. In this position, you will support us with achieving our goals, while also contributing to the overall success of our organisation. The post holder will provide primary support to general practice staff with regards to prescription and medication queries.
At Coventry and Rugby GP Alliance, we pride ourselves on fostering a culture of innovation, growth, and continuous learning. As a member of our team, you'll have the opportunity to work alongside talented professionals who are committed to delivering excellence and driving positive change within our industry.
If you're excited by the prospect of tackling new challenges, collaborating with a dynamic team, and helping shape the future of our organisation, we would love to hear from you! Apply today and take the first step toward an exciting new chapter in your career.
Main duties of the job
The post holder is an experienced pharmacist, who acts within their professional boundaries and is supported and mentored by a senior clinical pharmacist.
They will help support the repeat prescriptions system, deal with acute prescription requests, medicines reconciliation on transfer of care and systems for safer prescribing, providing expertise in clinical medicines advice while addressing both public and social care needs of patient in the GP practice(s).
The post holder will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient-facing role. They will take responsibility for areas of chronic disease management within the practice and undertake 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.
The post holder will work independently but closely with the lead clinical pharmacist, GP lead prescriber, CCGMO team, community and hospital pharmacy colleagues. They will assist their team by providing clinical leadership on medicines optimisation and quality improvement and manage some aspects of the quality and outcomes framework and enhanced services.
About us
Coventry and Rugby GP Alliance (CRGPA) formed as a brand new organisation in April 2015. The CRGPA is committed to supporting Primary Care in Coventry & Rugby and is involved in designing, and developing services and new ways of working. General practice is at the heart of all these decisions.
We take pride in offering a robust range of benefits to support our employees, including:
* Annual Leave: Enjoy 27 days of annual leave for full-time employees, in addition to bank holidays.
* Sick Pay: Our enhanced sick pay policy ensures you are supported during times of illness.
* Pension Scheme: Access to the NHS pension scheme to secure your financial future.
* Enhanced Maternity Leave: We provide generous maternity leave to support new parents.
* Paternity Leave: We also offer paternity leave to allow new fathers to bond with their newborns.
* Blue Light Discounts: Take advantage of exclusive discounts available for our staff. After probation you can make an expense claim for the price of your blue light discount card and receive full reimbursement!
* Employee Assistance Network: Access support through our employee advice network for personal and professional challenges 365 days a year 24/7!
* Internal Awards: We recognise and celebrate the achievements of our staff through internal awards.
* Exclusive Discounts: Benefit from a variety of discounts that enhance your overall employee experience.
We are committed to creating a supportive and rewarding work environment for all our employees.
Job responsibilities
Main Duties & Responsibilities
The post holder will ensure that the practice integrates with community and hospital pharmacy to help utilise skill mix, improve patient outcomes, ensure better access to healthcare and help manage workload.
Primary Duties and Areas of Responsibility
The following describes the primary areas of responsibility for this role. The clinical areas for delivery will be agreed after discussion with Primary Care Network (PCN) leads and in line with the individuals own scope of practice and experience.
Patient Facing structured Clinical Medication Review
Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients with multi morbidity and polypharmacy and order relevant monitoring tests according to protocols and policies. Focus will be on patient groups with a high risk of adverse medicines outcomes.
Review the on-going need for each medicine, review monitoring needs and support patients with their medicines taking ensuring they get the best use of their medicines. Make appropriate recommendations to the lead clinical pharmacist or lead GP. Patient facing long term condition clinics Differentiated and undifferentiated diagnosis.
Review patients with single or multiple medical problems where medicines optimisation is required and people with learning difficulties or autism.
Review the medicines management of those conditions and make recommendations and forward plans.
Manage a case load of patients and diagnosis of patients with long term conditions whilst working within scope of practice and competence.
Undertake clinical medication reviews in patients with frailty and multiple morbidities and produce recommendations.
Work with care home staff to raise awareness of medicines governance, safety and efficacy.
Unplanned hospital admissions
Review the use of medicines most associated with unplanned hospital admissions and readmissions.
Suggest and recommend medicines management solutions to reduce the risk to identified patients and follow outcomes.
Leadership on person centred medicines optimisation
This will include ensuring prescribers in the practice conserve antibiotics in line with local antimicrobial stewardship guidance and quality improvement while contributing to quality and outcomes framework and enhanced services.
Prescribe appropriately
Prescribe safely, appropriately and within limits of competence and independent prescribing qualification.
Clinical examination skills
Work within your scope of practice to undertake clinical examinations and reach a differential diagnosis under appropriate clinical supervision.
Develop effective working relationships
Develop and establish clinical support with the well-established medicines optimisation team.
Support for Self-Care
Support the NHS self-care agenda by referring appropriately to GPs, signposting to community pharmacy consultation service and other healthcare professionals/organisations.
Telephone Medicines Support
Provide a telephone help line for patients with questions, queries and concerns about their medicines with some bookable appointments.
Medicine Information to Practice Staff and Patients
Answer relevant medicine-related enquiries from GPs, other practice staff, other healthcare teams e.g. community pharmacy and patients with queries about medicines.
Suggest and recommend solutions.
Provide follow up for patients to monitor the effect of any changes.
Care co-ordination for frail patients
Work with case managers, multidisciplinary health and social care review teams and hospital colleagues to manage medicines related risk for readmission and patient harm.
Put in place changes to reduce the prescribing of these medicines to high-risk patient groups.
Management of Medicines at Admission and Discharge from Hospital
To reconcile medicines following discharge from hospitals, including identifying and rectifying unexplained changes.
Perform a clinical medication review, produce a post-discharge medicines care plan including dose titration and booking of follow up tests, and working with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post-discharge.
Liaise with community pharmacy. Support systems to ensure continuity of medicines supply for high risk patient groups.
To assist with medicines reconciliation following a patient admission in response to enquiries from secondary care.
Signposting
Ensure that patients are referred to the appropriate healthcare professional for the appropriate level of care within an appropriate period of time e.g. pathology results, common/minor ailments, acute conditions, long term condition reviews etc.
Repeat Prescribing and medicines re-authorisation.
Adhere to the repeat prescribing protocols, liaise with Prescription Ordering Direct POD as required, and support medicines re-authorisation process.
Working with identified groups of high-risk patients, as per CCG medicines optimisation team to minimise risks through medicines optimisation.
Medicines Quality Improvement Programme
Identify and provide leadership on areas of prescribing and medicines optimisation.
Conduct or work with other stakeholders on clinical audits and improve projects. Present results and provide leadership on suggested changes.
Information Management
Undertake clinical audits of prescribing in areas directed by the PCN, feedback the results and implement changes in conjunction with the practice team. Lead on evidence-based medicine and support CCG medicines strategies.
Adhere to 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.
Manage the process of implementing changes to medicines and guidance for practitioners and ensure compliance with medicines legislation.
Implementation of Local and National Guidelines and Formulary Recommendations
Ensure prescribing is in accordance with Area Prescribing Committee guidelines and monitor prescribing of shared care, Specialist only / initiated medicines. Support prescribers in the use of the formulary tools and local recommendations.
Education and Training
Provide education and training to primary healthcare team on therapeutics and medicines optimisation.
Provide training to visiting medical, nursing, pharmacy, and other healthcare students where appropriate.
Care Quality Commission
Provide support to the general practice team to ensure the practice is compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved.
Undertake risk assessment and management and ensure compliance with medicines legislation.
Public Health
To support public health campaigns.
To provide specialist knowledge on public health programmes available to the general public.
Collaborative Working Relationships
The post-holder will be required to work with a wide range of stakeholders. It is important that the post-holder demonstrates the ability to work well as part of a team and lead if requested to by the GP leads or pharmacy lead.
Recognises the roles of other colleagues to patient care and liaises with other stakeholders as needed for the collective benefit of patients including but not limited to:
* GP, nurses and other practice staff
* Other healthcare professionals including CCG pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, optometrists, dentists, health and social care teams, SALT and dieticians etc.
* Locality / GP prescribing lead Locality managers
* Community nurses and other allied health professionals
* Community and hospital pharmacy teams
* Hospital staff with responsibilities for prescribing and medicines optimisation
Demonstrates use of appropriate communication to gain the co-operation of relevant stakeholders within the local care network to build sustainable relationships that:
* Develop and maintain strong links with all services
* Explore potential for collaborative working
* Integrate general practice with community and hospital pharmacy teams
* Ensure consistency of patient care and benefit
Is able to recognise personal limitations and refer to more appropriate colleagues when necessary.
Liaises with CCG colleagues including CCG pharmacists and technicians on prescribing related matters to ensure consistency in Medicines Optimisation approach.
Liaises with CCG colleagues, the Head of Medicines Optimisation and the MO team to benefit from peer support and governance.
Professionalism
Demonstrate understanding of the pharmacy role in governance and is able to implement this appropriately within the workplace.
Demonstrate understanding of, and contributes to, the workplace vision.
Engages with Patient Participation Groups and involves PPGs in development of the role and practices.
Demonstrates ability to improve quality within limitations of service.
Reviews yearly progress and develops clear plans to achieve results within priorities set by others.
Demonstrate ability to motivate self to achieve goals.
Provides a leadership style which is underpinned by strongly held values of the organisation and around equality, diversity and openness; effectively builds and maintains relationships with direct reports and other key individuals across the organisation.
Promotes diversity and equality in people management techniques and leads by example.
Health and Safety/Risk Management
The post-holder must comply at all times with the Practices Health and Safety policies, in particular by following agreed safe working procedures and reporting incidents using the organisations.
The post-holder will comply with the Data Protection Act 1984 and the Access to Health Records Act 1990.
Equality and Diversity
The post-holder must co-operate with all policies and procedures designed to ensure equality of employment. Co-workers, patients and visitors must be treated equally irrespective of gender, ethnic origin, age, disability, etc.
Person Specification
Experience
* Minimum of 5 years post registration experience
* An understanding of the nature of general practices
* Work effectively independently and as a team member
* Experience in planning, managing, monitoring, advising and reviewing general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long term conditions
* Evidence of leadership experience and working within a team structure focused on leading clinical enhancements and quality improvements
* Leadership and effective partnership working across numerous interfaces
* Providing both one to one and group clinical supervision
Qualifications
* Registration with General Pharmaceutical Council
* Masters degree in pharmacy (MPharm) or equivalent
* Independent prescriber or working towards/intent of gaining independent prescribing qualification
* Completed, or currently undertaking, the NHSE/CPPE primary care pharmacy education pathway
* Full Driving license
* Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
* Working towards faculty membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
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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