PCN Clinical Pharmacist in Dover

The Clinical Pharmacist will be an integral part of the general practice team as well as part of a wider pharmacist network and multidisciplinary PCN team. They will act within their professional boundaries to improve patient health outcomes and the efficiency of the primary care team by providing direct, accessible and timely medicines expertise; including face to face contact with patients and embracing new ways of working including telephone and video consultations.

Main duties of the job

• Undertake medication reviews to include proactively managing patients within risk-stratified groups.
• Support the practices in chronic disease management and be actively involved in the management of patients with long term conditions.
• Work directly with patients to assess, treat and promote self-care.
• Support repeat prescribing processes across the network practices.
• Assist patients with queries and concerns regarding their medication or prescriptions.
• Undertake activities in medicines optimisation, quality improvement and aid achievement of some aspects of the quality and outcomes framework and enhanced services.

About us

Dover Town PCN is aligned with three practices within Dover, providing health care to our patient population of almost 40,000 people. Our three practices are:

• High Street Surgery 100 High St Dover CT16 1EQ. High Street Surgery also have a branch site in Whitfield (Whitfield Surgery), that dispense to certain patients within the village.
• Peter Street Surgery 108 Peter St Dover CT16 1EF. Comprises of three surgeries: Buckland Medical Centre Brookfield Place, Dover and Tara Surgery The Droveway, St Margarets which is a dispensing surgery.
• St James Surgery 2 Harold St Dover CT16 1SF. Is one of 32 practices within Invicta Health across East Kent & Sussex.

Now is an exciting time to join Dover Town PCN, as we move at pace to expand our services to meet our patient population needs.

Job responsibilities

• The post holder will 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 for specific disease areas.
• They will be responsible for the care management of patients with chronic diseases and undertake clinical medication reviews to proactively manage patients 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).
• The post holder will manage their own case load and operate long-term condition clinics and medication reviews to implement improvements to patients' medicines, including reviewing the ongoing need for each medicine, implementing own prescribing changes (as an independent prescriber), ordering relevant monitoring tests and supporting patients with their medicines taking, ensuring they get the best use of their medicines, reduce waste and promote self-care.
• The post holder will provide primary support to patients and general practice staff with regards to prescription and medication queries. Duties may include providing patient facing clinics and telephone support for patients with questions, queries and concerns about their medicines, providing follow up for patients to monitor the effect of any changes, supporting repeat prescription systems, dealing 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 patients.
• The post holder will ensure 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. This will include signposting to other services and/or healthcare professionals where appropriate, while working within a scope of practice and limits of competency.
• The role is pivotal to improving the quality of care and operational efficiencies so requires motivation and passion to deliver excellent service within general practice.
• The post holder will improve the quality and effectiveness of prescribing through clinical audit and education to improve performance against NICE standards, and clinical and prescribing guidance. The post holder will undertake activities in medicines optimisation, quality improvement and aid achievement of some aspects of the quality and outcomes framework and enhanced services. This will include conducting clinical audits, participating in improvement projects, analysing, interpreting and presenting medicines data to highlight issues and risks to support decision-making, providing leadership on suggested changes and contributing to national and local research initiatives.
• Utilise and demonstrate sensitive communication styles, to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment.
• Recognise the need for alternative methods of communication to overcome different levels of understanding, cultural background and preferred ways of communicating.
• Prioritise, organise and manage own workload in a manner that maintains and promotes quality, including participating in shared learning across the practice, PCN and wider organisation.
• Use technology, read codes and appropriate software as an aid to planning, implementing and monitoring care, communicating information and reviewing and processing data for audit purposes.
• Take responsibility for own learning and performance through continuous professional development, including participating in clinical supervision, acting as a positive role model and assessing own learning needs.
• Actively promote the workplace as a learning environment, encouraging everyone to learn from each other and from external good practice.
• Support the equality and diversity of patients, carers and colleagues by recognising the importance of people's rights and interpreting them in a way that is consistent with policy, procedures and current legislation.
• Participate in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own professional development.
• Work as an effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploring the mechanisms to develop new ways of working.
• Work with your line manager to undertake continual personal and professional development, access regular supervision and take an active part in reviewing and developing the roles and responsibilities of the post.
• Post holder must be available to work weekends on a rota basis and be committed to working across multi sites.

We reserve the right to close this advert early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.

Person Specification

• At least two years post registration working in primary care, community or hospital pharmacy.
• Experience/awareness of the breadth of common acute and long-term conditions that are likely to be seen in a general medical practice.
• Able to plan, manage, monitor, advise and review general pharmaceutical care programmes for patients across core areas, including disease states/long term conditions.
• Understands and acts in line with GPhC professional standards for practice.
• Good IT skills including ability to record accurate clinical notes.
• Ability to communicate effectively (written, verbal and non-verbal communication) with patients, relatives/carers and all members of the multi-disciplinary team.
• Experience of working under own direction in a patient focused environment.
• 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 seniors or GPs when appropriate.
• Involves patients in decisions about prescribed medicines and supporting adherence as per NICE guidelines.
• Ability to develop effective and appropriate relationships with people, their families, carers and colleagues.
• Excellent interpersonal, influencing and negotiating skills.
• Able to work under pressure and to meet deadlines.
• Experience of working within a primary care environment.
• Experience of EMIS.
• Knowledge of primary care networks and collaborative ways of working.

Qualifications

• Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
• Undertaking/qualified from/intention of achieving an approved training pathway, e.g. CPPE Clinical Pharmacist training pathway.
• Independent prescriber.
• Specialist knowledge acquired through post-graduate diploma level or equivalent training/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.