PCN Clinical Pharmacist- Hackney Downs PCN in London

The Hackney Downs PCN in City and Hackney is seeking to recruit an experienced PCN Clinical Pharmacist to develop and support medicines optimisation work within the GP practices in the PCN covering a population of approximately 40,000. The post holder will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient-facing role. The PCN Clinical Pharmacist will take responsibility for areas of chronic disease management and work proactively with other healthcare professionals as part of a multidisciplinary team across the PCN.

Main duties of the job:

• The successful candidate will join a core Pharmacy Team and will be supported by a Senior Clinical Pharmacist and a GP Supervisor.
• Will have another pharmacist with experience already working in practice to support.
• Will have support via monthly group meetings with senior pharmacist.

The PCN Clinical Pharmacist will need to be committed to improving health and putting patients first. Key qualities will be the ability to build relationships and work collaboratively with the practice team and build rapport with patients. Demonstrable general pharmaceutical skills and knowledge in core areas, including long term conditions, together with a good understanding of general practice are essential.

Job responsibilities:

• Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient-facing role to clinically assess and treat patients using their expert knowledge of medicines to support the management of acute and long-term conditions.
• Be a prescriber, or completing training to become a prescriber, and work with and alongside the general practice team.
• Be responsible for the management of patients with long term conditions and undertake clinical medication reviews to proactively manage people with complex polypharmacy, especially the elderly and those with multiple co-morbidities (in particular frailty, COPD, asthma, diabetes and cardiovascular disease) and people with learning disabilities or autism (through STOMP Stop Over Medication Programme).
• Provide specialist expertise in the use of medicines whilst helping to address both the public health and social care needs of patients at the PCN's practice(s) and to help in tackling inequalities.
• Provide leadership in the practice on medicines optimisation systems and processes and quality improvement.
• Contribute to meeting the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QoF) targets, enhanced services and the Investment and Impact Fund (IIF) indicators through Structured Medication Reviews (SMRs), support to improve the patients' knowledge of their conditions and associated treatments and therefore improve adherence to medication, reduce waste and promote self-care.
• Have a lead role in supporting integration of general practice with the wider healthcare teams (including community and hospital pharmacy) as part of the pharmacy integration agenda to help improve patient outcomes, ensure better access to healthcare and help manage general practice workload.
• Build relationships and work closely with other pharmacy professionals across PCNs and the wider health and social care system.
• Take a central role in the clinical aspects of shared care protocols, clinical research with medicines, liaison with specialist pharmacists (including mental health and reduction of inappropriate antipsychotic use in people with learning disabilities).

Key aspects of PCN pharmacist role:

• Patient facing role undertaking face-to-face medications reviews for patients with long term conditions on polypharmacy, housebound patients, and chronic disease management areas identified as a priority area within the PCN.
• Review patients with single or multiple medical problems where medicine optimisation is required.
• Review ongoing need for each medicine, assess monitoring requirements and support patients to ensure treatment is safe, appropriate and optimised for maximum clinical benefit.
• Discuss recommendations and outcomes with relevant members of the PCN team and provide appropriate and timely follow up.
• Support patients to optimise medicines by providing additional written patient information leaflets, and liaise with community pharmacists about the need for special requirements to aid adherence.
• Support practices in improving patient access for minor ailments and acute presentations.
• Promote the importance of self-care and signpost patients to community pharmacy led services e.g. hypertension case finding, new medicines service etc.

Medicines Information to Practice Staff and Patients:

• Support resolution of medicines queries from the practice team, PCN team, community pharmacists and patients.
• Provide medicines optimisation updates at clinical meetings to inform and improve prescribing within the practice.
• Analyse, interpret and present relevant prescribing data, including audit findings, to practice staff regularly to highlight prescribing issues.
• Communicate recommended actions relating to medication and medical device safety alerts.
• Reconcile medicines following discharge from hospitals, intermediate care and into care homes, including identifying and rectifying unexplained changes and working with patients and community pharmacists to resolve medication issues upon discharge to ensure a seamless transition.