Pharmacist in Hartlepool

This post will be based at Crossfell Health Centre, which is part of the Greater Middlesbrough Primary Care Network. Would you be interested in joining our friendly team of multidisciplinary healthcare professionals to deliver medicines optimisation services? Crossfell Health Centre is looking for a dynamic pharmacist to join our highly skilled and experienced team. An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our practice if you are interested in developing your skills in primary care.

Contracted hours of the role will be Monday-Wednesday 08:30-16:30.

The role offers a varied work agenda providing medicines optimisation support and expert pharmaceutical advice, including the implementation and delivery of prescribing initiatives, improving prescribing safety and provision of medication reviews, fully supported by an experienced network of colleagues. In return for your commitment, enthusiasm and professionalism, we can offer a friendly and supportive environment and actively encourage continuing professional development.

The successful applicant should be able to demonstrate excellent clinical and communication skills and have experience of implementing medicines optimisation, quality and patient safety initiatives and resolving prescribing issues. You will be a Registered Pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council, who is preferably an Independent Prescriber. You must also be computer literate, organised and be able to work independently as well as part of a team. The successful candidate will be able to prioritise workload, build key relationships and be confident interacting with a wide range of stakeholders such as GPs, Nurses, secondary care clinicians and patients.

Crossfell Health Centre has 9000 patients, 2 GP Partners, 5 salaried doctors, 3 nurses, 2 HCAs, General Practice Assistant and a team of Receptionists, Secretaries & Admin.

• Expected 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.
• Be a prescriber, and work with and alongside the general practice team.
• Be responsible for the care management of patients with chronic diseases and undertake clinical medication reviews to proactively manage people with complex polypharmacy, especially the elderly, people in care homes, those with multiple co-morbidities (in particular frailty, COPD and asthma) 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 practice and to help in tackling inequalities.
• Provide leadership on person-centred medicines optimisation and quality improvement, whilst contributing to the quality and outcomes framework and enhanced services.
• Deliver a programme of structured medication reviews to support patients to take their medications to get the best from them, reduce waste and promote self-care.
• Undertake a leadership role in supporting further integration of general practice with the wider healthcare teams to help improve patient outcomes, ensure better access to healthcare and help manage general practice workload.
• Develop relationships and work closely with other pharmacy professionals across the Primary Care Network and the wider health and social care system.
• Undertake a central role in the clinical aspects of shared care protocols, clinical research with medicines, liaison with specialist pharmacists, community pharmacists and anticoagulation services.
• Be part of a professional clinical network and undertake appropriate clinical supervision.

• Recognises the roles of other colleagues within the organisation and their role to patient care.
• Demonstrates use of appropriate communication to gain the co-operation of relevant stakeholders.
• Is able to recognise personal limitations and refer to more appropriate colleague(s) when necessary.
• Actively work toward developing and maintaining effective working relationships both within and outside the practice and locality.
• Foster and maintain strong links with services across locality.
• Explores the potential for collaborative working and takes opportunities to initiate and sustain such relationships.
• Liaises with ICB Medicines Optimisation Team on prescribing related matters to ensure consistency of patient care and benefit.
• Liaises with other stakeholders as needed for the collective benefit of patients.

• Has an experience/awareness of the breadth of common long-term conditions that are likely to be seen in a general medical practice.
• Minimum of 3 years post graduate experience in pharmacy.
• Holds or is working towards an independent prescribing qualification.
• Able to plan, manage, monitor, advise and review general pharmaceutical care programmes for patients across core areas, including disease states/long term conditions.
• Accountable for delivering professional expertise and direct service provision.
• Uses skills in a range of routine situations requiring analysis or comparison of a range of options.
• Recognises priorities when problem-solving and identifies deviations from normal pattern and is able to refer to GPs/ANPs when appropriate.
• Able to follow legal, ethical, professional and organisational policies/procedures and codes of conduct.
• Involves patients in decisions about prescribed medicines and supporting adherence as per NICE guidelines.

• 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.
• 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.

• Demonstrate understanding of the implications of national priorities for the team and/or service.
• Demonstrate understanding of the process for effective resource utilisation.
• Demonstrate understanding of, and conforms to, relevant standards of practice.
• Follows professional and organisational policies/procedures relating to performance management.

• Understands and demonstrates the characteristics of a role model to members in the team and/or service.
• Demonstrates self-development through continuous professional development activity.
• Keeps up to date with relevant clinical practice.
• Ensure there is appropriate clinical supervision in place.
• Engaged with the review and appraisal systems within the practice.

• Demonstrates ability to critically evaluate and review literature.
• Demonstrates ability to identify where there is a gap in the evidence base to support practice.
• Demonstrates ability to generate evidence suitable for presentations at practice and local level.
• Demonstrates ability to apply research evidence base into working place.
• Demonstrates understanding of principles of research governance.

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 Incident Reporting System. The post-holder will comply with the Data Protection Act and the Access to Health Records Act (1990).

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, sexual orientation, religion etc.

The post-holder should respect patient confidentiality at all times and not divulge patient information unless sanctioned by the requirements of the role.

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 to check for any previous criminal convictions. Applicants must have current UK professional registration.

Crossfell Health Centre, Berwick Hills, Crossfell Road, Middlesbrough, Cleveland, TS3 7RL.