North Cotswold Primary Care Network has an exciting opportunity for talented, enthusiastic self-motivated clinical pharmacist to join our supportive multi-disciplinary team. Ideally, you will be an independent prescriber but if not, we will support you to become one. Do you seek to contribute to better management of patients so they can stay out of hospital and feel supported? Do you want to be a key member of our PCN in ensuring our prescribing is of the highest quality, safety, and value and that medicines use is optimised for and with our patients? Are you keen to build an innovative role within the primary care setting? Then join our North Cotswold Primary Care Network and support us in providing Primary Care of the highest quality, safety, and value.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will work within their clinical competencies as part of a multi-disciplinary team to provide expertise in medicines management, structured medication reviews, manage long-term conditions, proactive management of patients with complex polypharmacy, on transfer of care, systems for safer prescribing, manage repeat prescription authorisation and reauthorisation, acute prescription requests, while addressing both the public health and social needs of patients in the North Cotswold PCN. Clinical pharmacists will have a key role in supporting delivery of the new Care home DES. For the new Structured Medications Review and Optimisation requirements this will include tackling over-medication of patients, including inappropriate use of antibiotics, withdrawing medicines no longer needed through NHS-led programmes such as low priority prescribing and medicines optimisation more widely. For Enhanced Health in Care Homes, residents will benefit from regular clinical-pharmacy led medicines reviews.
About us
Our PCN is located in the beautiful rural setting of North Cotswolds and we have approximately 31,000 patients. We have a network of clinical pharmacists and pharmacy technicians and all new recruits will be welcomed as integral parts of this team. Together the team will develop medicines optimisation using a range of innovative methods including working with new consultation technologies. They will perform medication reviews of patients with polypharmacy especially older people, patients in care homes, and those with multiple co-morbidities. The candidate will have to undertake formal training on the Primary Care Pharmacy Education pathway (unless you have already completed this). We will support all successful candidates through this pathway. You will receive supervision, training, and mentoring from our fabulous Senior clinical pharmacist (where required) and benefit from direct mentoring with a GP based in your host Practice.
Job responsibilities
To work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient-facing role to clinically assess and treat patients using expert knowledge of medicines for specific disease areas.
1. Care Home Medication Reviews: Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and implement own prescribing changes (as an independent prescriber) and order relevant monitoring tests. (if not an independent prescriber; produce recommendations for the senior clinical pharmacist, nurses, or GPs on prescribing and monitoring). Work with care home staff to improve safety of medicines ordering and administration.
2. Undertake clinical medication reviews to proactively manage patients with complex polypharmacy, especially the elderly, patients who are housebound, patients in care homes, those with multiple long-term conditions (in particular frailty, COPD, and asthma) and patients with learning disabilities or autism (through STOMP - Stop Over Medication Programme).
3. Through structured medication reviews support patients with their medicine taking, ensuring they get the best use of their medicines (i.e. medicine optimisation) reduce waste and promote self-care. Make appropriate recommendations to Senior Pharmacists or GPs for medicine improvement.
4. Provide specialist expertise in the use of medicines while helping to address both the public health and social care needs of patients and help in tackling inequalities.
5. Provide leadership in person-centred medicines optimisation (including ensuring prescribers in the practice conserve antibiotics in line with local antimicrobial stewardship guidance) and quality improvement while contributing to the quality and outcomes framework and enhanced services.
6. Have a leadership role in supporting further integration of general practice with the wider healthcare teams (including community and hospital pharmacy) to help improve patient outcomes, ensure better access to healthcare and help manage general practice workload.
7. Recognise the roles of other colleagues within the organisation and their role to patient care.
8. Develop relationships and work closely with the pharmacist across networks and the wider health system.
9. Work closely with PCN practices, participating in practice meetings, patient participation groups and other meetings to improve engagement or the role of clinical pharmacist within the PCN model and to promote issues relevant to the role.
10. Take a central role in the clinical aspects of share care protocols, clinical research with medicines, liaison with specialist pharmacists (including mental health and reduction of inappropriate antipsychotic use in people with learning difficulties) liaison with community pharmacists and anticoagulation.
11. Communicate effectively with patients and carers, recognising the need for alternative methods of communication to overcome different levels of understanding, cultural background and preferred ways of communicating.
12. Adhere to quality governance systems and processes across the five PCN practices and their activities, managing data collection to support data requirements/claims, ensuring information governance standards are implemented and maintained.
13. To be responsible for the organisation and planning of own workload to meet set deadlines.
14. To utilise PCN practices clinical systems to conduct prescribing audits (EMIS/SystmOne).
15. To undertake, participate and share the outcomes of clinical audits to facilitate improvement and changes in practice.
16. Handle function specific information, which may be sensitive, complex or confidential and appropriately recording, transferring and/or coordinating such information in accordance with the Data Protection Act; Caldicott Guidelines and the Confidentiality Code of Conduct.
17. Ensure that all major MHRA drug alerts, where appropriate and within level of competence, are acted upon within practices over an appropriate time frame and to advise on any medication changes that occur as a result.
18. To undertake learning and development to ensure the required knowledge and skills for practice-based work.
19. Contribute to the achievement and maintenance of CQC registration status in the five PCN practices.
20. Provide leadership and contribute to training and support of PCN practice dispensers and pharmacy technicians.
21. Undertake any other additional duties appropriate to the skills and competencies of the post holder and grade of the post as new priorities come along in the changing NHS.
Person Specification
Qualifications
* Mandatory Professional registration with General Pharmaceutical Council An undergraduate Degree or equivalent in pharmacy and registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council Commitment towards continuing professional development in accordance with the requirements of the General Pharmaceutical Council.
* Membership Primary Care Pharmacy Associated (PCPA) A member or working towards Faculty membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Specialist knowledge acquired through Postgraduate or Diploma level or equivalent training/experience. Independent prescriber or working towards/intent of gaining prescribing qualification.
Experience
* Minimum of 2 years post-qualifying experience.
* In-depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence-based medicine and able to apply in practice Evidence of planning and delivering projects on time.
* A planned and organised approach with ability to work under pressure, manage and prioritise own workload effectively to meet strict deadlines. Experience of planning, organising and carrying out structured medication reviews.
* Good understanding of NHS and healthcare delivery within the Primary Care setting.
* Experience of working in general practice.
* Experience of working in PCN.
* Has appreciation of new NHS structure including the relationship between individual provider, PCN and commissioners.
Qualities and attitude
* Self-driven, adaptable and resilient with a positive outlook and clear focus on high-quality patient service.
* Reliable, honest, tolerant and determined.
* Excellent interpersonal influencing and negotiating skills.
* Able to get on with others and strong desire to be an integral team player in a multidisciplinary team.
* Empathetic communicator with ability to deliver key messages to a range of stakeholders.
* Adaptable and flexible willing to undertake a wide variety of tasks and able to provide cover for colleagues.
* Eager to be a key member of our PCN in ensuring our prescribing is of the highest quality, safety and value and that medicines use is optimised for and with our patients.
* Keen to build an innovative role within the primary care setting.
* Ability to remain calm and professional in an emergency situation.
* Have a Quality Improvement Approach to problem-solving.
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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