Clinical Prescribing Pharmacist in Lewes

The postholder will be a Clinical Prescribing Pharmacist working within their professional boundaries as part of a small, supportive, and multi-disciplinary team. This role involves both patient-facing and non-patient-facing functions. The post holder will be responsible for managing various areas of chronic disease, including heart failure reviews, structured medication reviews (SMRs), hypertension management, lipid management, and other conditions based on the needs of the practice. The role also includes conducting clinical medication reviews to proactively manage patients with complex polypharmacy, ensuring optimal therapeutic outcomes. In addition, the post holder will help support the Pharmacy Technicians with clinical queries and will be required to make prescribing decisions for them when necessary. As part of the team's focus on safer prescribing practices, the post holder will offer expert clinical medicines advice while addressing both public health and social care needs of patients. The postholder will also be required to complete the Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway (PCPEP), if not already completed. A dedicated Lead Partner provides clinical oversight, offering leadership, support, and opportunities for professional development in a positive learning environment.

Main duties of the job

• See patients with single or multiple medical problems where medicine optimisation is required.
• Review the ongoing need for each medicine including SMRs.
• Following discharge from hospitals to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge.
• Reading and analysing clinic letters from specialists to implement treatment plans.
• Ensure patients have appropriate monitoring tests in place when required.
• Support MOIS, LCS and AMS projects outlined annually by local ICB.
• Working at a strategic level across Foundry to optimise QOF and promote best practice and quality improvement.
• Identification of cohorts of patients at high risk of harm from medicines.
• Contribute pharmaceutical advice for the development and implementation of new services that have medicinal components.
• Analyse, interpret and present medicines data to highlight issues and risks to support decision making.
• Undertake clinical audits of prescribing in areas directed by the PCN, feedback the results and implement changes.
• Implement changes to medicines that result from MHRA alerts.
• Implementation of Local and National Guidelines and Formulary Recommendations.
• Monitor practice prescribing against the local health policies and guidance and make recommendations to GPs.
• Work with the general practice team to ensure the practice is compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved.

About us

Foundry is an innovative single Practice PCN serving a population of circa 28,500 patients from 4 sites across the Lewes and Ringer area of East Sussex. The Practice has received national acclaim for its population health management approach and our aim is to continuously improve the experience of care and outcomes for our local population.

Job responsibilities

• Undertake clinics, diagnose and treat patients (within scope). Also, deal with appropriate patient presentation.
• Provide pharmaceutical input for chronic disease management, ensuring to make every contact count public health education interventions with patients.
• Follow up identified patient groups, targeting better patient adherence with treatment to improve outcomes.
• Identify patients requiring a medication review and undertaking a medication review in order to optimise drug therapy, reduce polypharmacy and minimise unnecessary waste, communicating directly with patients as necessary (where appropriate, within scope of practice).
• Responsible for managing long-term conditions, through conducting structured Medicine Reviews and Chronic Disease Management clinics (within scope).
• Review and action incoming hospital correspondence, particularly where medicine reconciliation or initiation is required and managing medicines from transfer of care. This will include liaising with local pharmacies to improve patient outcomes.
• Provide advice on queries from other healthcare professionals.
• Advising patients of the adverse side effect of medication and potential interaction with other medication/treatments.
• Provide medicines and long term disease advice and support to GP practice staff, practice registered patients, and the wider practice team (within scope).
• To advise on risk management processes relating to the prescribing and monitoring of specialist drugs e.g. controlled drugs and those subject to shared care arrangements.
• Provide advice and support to improve the disease registers to ensure all suitable patients are identified and offered suitable treatment and monitoring for their condition (within scope).
• Depending on the needs of the practice, help GPs by managing the repeat prescribing reauthorisation process by reviewing patient requests for repeat prescriptions, issuing prescriptions and reviewing medicines reaching review dates and flagging up those needing a review.
• Ensure patients have appropriate monitoring tests in place when required.
• Facilitate and participate in multi-disciplinary meetings related to prescribing topics and to engage in the training of other healthcare professionals and practice staff on matters relating to medicines usage.
• Undertake clinical audits of prescribing in determined areas, feedback the results and implement changes in conjunction with the relevant practice team.
• To help with QOF, contributing to the achieving of Quality Outcome Frameworks objectives of Foundry Healthcare.
• Prepare evidence-based resources and information to support the Clinical Pharmacy Team and all other relevant health professionals in the implementation of rational cost-effective prescribing.
• Support MOIS, LCS and AMS projects outlined annually by local ICB, where appropriate.
• Complete the Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway (PCPEP).

Person Specification

• Mandatory registration with General Pharmaceutical Council.
• Knowledge of GPs and general practice services.
• Knowledge of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing.
• Excellent interpersonal, influencing and negotiating skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to communicate complex and sensitive information in an understandable form to a variety of audiences (e.g. patients).
• Ability to use work-based IT programs to deliver high quality care.
• Ability to obtain and analyse complex technical information.
• Able to prioritise when problem solving and identify deviations from the normal pattern.
• Able to recognise limitations and refer to seniors or GPs when appropriate.
• Able to work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Produce timely and informative reports.
• Work effectively independently and as a team member.
• Demonstrates accountability for delivering professional expertise and direct service provision.
• Self-motivated.
• Adaptable and flexible approach to delivering high quality patient care.
• Current DBS.
• Safeguarding adult and children level three.
• Full immunisation status.
• Professional indemnity insurance.
• Renewal of yearly mandatory revalidation.
• Basic life support training.
• Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
• A member of or working towards Faculty membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
• Specialist knowledge acquired through post-graduate diploma level or equivalent training/experience.
• PCPEP completed.
• Experience of working in a GP practice or Primary Care Network.
• In depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence-based healthcare.
• Ability to plan, manage, monitor, advise and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long term conditions.
• Able to gain acceptance for recommendations and influence/motivate/persuade the audience to comply with the recommendations/agreed course of action where there may be significant barriers.
• Experience of documenting patient care on SystmOne.
• Information Governance toolkit completion.

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.