Clinical Pharmacist in Salisbury

The post holder will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient-facing role. The post holder will take responsibility for and undertake clinical medication reviews and support patients to proactively manage long term conditions.

Main duties of the job

• The post holder will provide primary support to general practice staff with regards to prescription and medication queries.
• They will help support the repeat prescription system, deal with acute prescription requests, and 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 in the GP practice.
• If the post holder is not already a non-medical prescriber, they will be supported to develop their role to become a non-medical prescriber and develop an area of chronic disease management within the practice.
• The post holder will be required to enrol on the General Practice Pharmacist Training Pathway from CPPE (unless an equivalent qualification is already held, and exemption is agreed by CPPE).

About us

• Circa 17,000 patient practice in rural Wiltshire.
• Main surgery at Salisbury with branch surgeries at Larkhill, Sixpenny Handley and Broad Chalke.
• CQC rating Good.
• High QOF achievers due to our efficient admin support team.
• Part of the Salisbury Plain PCN with expanding team which includes for our practice Paramedic (Home Visiting Team), Clinical Pharmacist, Social Prescribers, First Contact Physiotherapist and a GPA.
• Workflow optimisation for data team, reduced admin for ANPs.
• On-site dispensary located at our branch site in Larkhill.
• SystmOne Web clinical system, also using Cinapsis, AccuRX, SystmConnect, T-Quest and TeamNet.
• Full complement administration team who oversees letter processing, insurance reports, solicitor reports and all other non-NHS works, safeguarding reports and referrals.
• Enhanced hours as part of our PCN network of practices.
• 1 intermediate care bed which we provide a weekly on-site clinic with a limited number of patients.
• Nurse-led chronic disease clinics.
• Comprehensive clinical pathways that are ever evolving.

Job responsibilities

• Undertake clinical medication reviews to review the ongoing need for each medicine, a review of monitoring needs and an opportunity to support patients with their medicines taking ensuring they get the best use of their medicines (i.e. medicines optimisation).
• Through structured medication reviews, proactively manage people with complex polypharmacy, especially the elderly, people in care homes, those with multiple co-morbidities.
• Communicate to a prescriber any recommendations for changes identified in the reviews to ensure patients get the best use of their medicines. Or as an independent prescriber, be responsible for adjusting medications and arranging monitoring when needed.
• Manage clinics for long term disease management within scope of practice e.g. hypertension, diabetes or asthma etc.
• Answer relevant medicine-related enquiries from GPs, other practice staff, other healthcare teams (e.g. community pharmacy) and patients with queries about medicines.
• Suggesting and recommending solutions. Providing follow up for patients to monitor the effect of any changes.
• Work with the reception and admin team to manage the repeat prescribing reauthorisation process by reviewing patient requests for repeat prescriptions and reviewing medicines reaching review dates and flagging up those needing a review.
• Ensure patients have appropriate monitoring tests in place when required.
• Identify cohorts of patients at high risk of harm from medicines through practice computer searches.
• Undertake clinical audits of prescribing, making suggestions for improvement.
• Implement changes to medicines that result from MHRA alerts, product withdrawal and other local and national guidance.
• Provide leadership on person-centred medicines optimisation (including ensuring prescribers in the practice conserve antibiotics in line with local antimicrobial stewardship guidance) and quality improvement, whilst contributing to the quality and outcomes framework and enhanced services.
• To 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 ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge.
• Report back to CCG/secondary care pharmacy teams queries around requests for inappropriate shared care prescribing requests or non-formulary items.
• Support the implementation of national prescribing policies and guidance within GP practices.
• Be a prescriber, or completing training to become prescribers, and work with and alongside the general practice team.
• Work to improve Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) either through reviewing clinical coding to improve disease registers or individual indicators, flag to prescribers (if not already one) appropriate medications to initiate or arranging appropriate monitoring.
• Work with practices to help with Care Quality Commission (CQC) requirements around medication related issues.
• Work with the practice and CCG to reduce the number of items prescribed that appear on the national list of items that should not routinely be prescribed in primary care either directly if the medication can be purchased over the counter or as an independent prescriber by initiating alternatives or to appropriately refer patients to a prescriber.
• Work with the practices to improve the indicators of the Investment and Impact Fund (IIF), either directly as an independent prescriber or to appropriately refer patients to a prescriber.
• 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.
• Develop relationships and work closely with other pharmacy professionals across PCNs and the wider health and social care system, including those in primary care, secondary care, community pharmacy, mental and social care teams.

Person Specification

• Registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
• Accredited Master of Pharmacy degree.
• Clinical Pharmacy Diploma or Completed Primary Care Pharmacy education pathway.
• 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.