Clinical Pharmacist in Letchworth

We are seeking an experienced, motivated, and patient-centered Clinical Pharmacist to join our growing and ambitious GP Practice. This is an excellent opportunity to become part of a supportive multidisciplinary team that is committed to delivering outstanding care to its patient population.

You will play a key role in the delivery of safe, effective and evidence-based prescribing, supporting both patients and clinicians. You will contribute to medicines optimisation, management of long-term conditions and the continuous improvement of prescribing quality across the practice. You will be proactive, collaborative, and committed to developing pharmacy services within primary care. The role offers a varied workload with a balance of direct patient care, clinical leadership, and practice-based medicines management activities.

Main duties of the job:

• Care management of patients with chronic diseases, undertaking clinical medication reviews to proactively manage people with complex polypharmacy, with multiple co-morbidities and people with learning disabilities or autism.
• Provide specialist expertise in the use of medicines, and provide leadership on person-centred medicines optimisation and quality improvement, whilst contributing to the QOF and enhanced services.
• Undertake structured medication reviews, support patients to take their medications to get the best from them, reduce waste and promote self-care.
• Take a central role in the clinical aspects of shared care protocols, liaising with specialist pharmacists, community pharmacists, and anticoagulation.
• Act as the point of contact for all medicine-related matters.
• Ensure timely changes are made to medication from clinical correspondence.
• Manage a caseload of complex patients and provide advice for the GP management of more complex patients or areas such as addictive behaviours, severe mental illness or end of life care.
• Alongside our PCN team, manage a therapeutic drug monitoring system and the recall of patients taking high-risk drugs.
• Maintain accurate clinical records in conjunction with extant legislation.
• Implement and embed a robust repeat prescribing system.
• Improve the quality and effectiveness of prescribing through clinical audit and education.

About us:

The Birchwood and Sollershott Surgery is one practice based over two sites. We are an accredited education practice, which supports ST2/ST3s. With a patient list of approx 18,500 and growing, we are a busy and lively practice. We operate a Total Triage model of working, with a clinical triage team supporting the triage for patient enquiries. Our GPs have 15-minute per patient appointments, with admin and catch-up slots during the day. Our multi-disciplinary clinical team is made up of GPs, Paramedic, ANPs, prescribing nurses, Practice Nurses and Health Care Assistants. We operate in a supportive PCN area, with support from Clinical Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians, First Contact Physio, Midwifery, Phlebotomy, Mental Health Nurse, Social Prescribers and Enhanced Access Service.

Person Specification:

Experience:

• Essential: An appreciation of the nature of general practice and the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing.
• Minimum of two years working as a pharmacist demonstrated within a practice portfolio.
• An appreciation of the new NHS landscape, including the relationships between individual practices, PCNs and the commissioners.
• Desirable: Experience in managing pharmacy services in primary care.
• In-depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence-based healthcare.
• Experience of working autonomously.

Clinical Knowledge:

• Essential: Ability to communicate complex and sensitive information effectively with people at all levels by telephone, email and face to face.
• Excellent interpersonal, influencing, negotiation and organisational skills with the ability to constructively challenge the views and practices of managers and clinicians.
• Understanding of safeguarding adults and children.
• Ability to promote best practice regarding all pharmaceutical matters.
• Ability to work within own scope of practice and understand when to refer to GPs.
• Ability to record accurate clinical notes.
• Desirable: Plan, manage, monitor, advise and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long-term conditions.
• Broad knowledge of clinical governance.
• Ability to use SystmOne.

Qualifications:

• Essential: Hold or be working towards a GPhC independent prescribing qualification. GPC registered Pharmacist.
• To be enrolled in, or have qualified from, an approved 18-month training pathway or equivalent that equips you to be able to practice and prescribe safely and effectively in a primary care setting (for example, the CPPE clinical pharmacist training pathways).
• Proof of relevant professional and educational qualifications, coupled with details of any training.
• Desirable: Working towards faculty membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Medicines management qualification, Minor ailments certification, MUR and repeat dispensing certification.

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.