Clinical Pharmacist

Nettlebed Surgery is seeking an experienced Clinical Pharmacist to join our team 3 days per week.

The successful candidate will support the clinical team in medicines optimisation and will also help in our dispensary, as we are a dispensing practice.

Main duties of the job

• Undertake medication reviews and medicines optimisation
• Manage repeat prescriptions and medication queries
• Support safe prescribing and medicines management
• Help in the dispensary with dispensing and medication management
• Provide advice on prescribing and cost-effective prescribing
• Support audits and medicines safety initiatives
• Dispense prescribed medications accurately and efficiently, ensuring compliance with all safety protocols.
• Collaborate closely with medical professionals to optimise medication therapy plans tailored to individual patient needs.
• Maintain comprehensive and accurate documentation of all medication-related activities.
• Educate patients on proper medication use, storage, and disposal to promote adherence and safety.

Nettlebed Surgery is a well-established, purpose-built practice serving approximately 4,000 patients within a five-mile radius. We pride ourselves on maintaining a traditional, patient-centred approach while adapting to the evolving needs of general practice.

We are committed to:

• Delivering safe, high-quality care
• Promoting equality and inclusivity
• Maintaining strong governance and safeguarding standards

What We Offer

• Supportive and friendly team environment
• Flexible working (3 days per week)
• Opportunity to work in a well-established village practice
• Competitive sessional rate (depending on experience)

Job responsibilities

Responsible for supporting the partners in implementing effective medicine management within the practices, identifying areas for improvement, and initiating and managing change.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop and manage a medicines management plan and deliver patient services as determined by practice policy and local and national guidance.
• Lead the prescribing teams in best prescribing practice for long term condition management with a view to improving the quality of patient care with cost effective solutions.
• Provide medication review services to patients via clinics in the practice, domiciliary visits and in residential and nursing homes, and to deliver pharmaceutical care plans that maximise cost-effective prescribing and improve the quality of patient care.
• Provide long term condition management services to patients via clinics in the practice, domiciliary visits and in residential and nursing homes, in line with care and support planning principles.
• Assist partners with the appropriate monitoring and management of their prescribing budgets.
• Help plan, develop and support the introduction of new working processes within the practice to optimise the quality of prescribing.

Responsibility for administration

• To provide regular support and feedback to practice on prescribing action plans
• To produce quarterly reports on practice progress to the lead GP for medicines management
• To update and maintain accurate patient medication records on the practices clinical computer systems, including advice given and action taken.
• To advise the primary health care team on the safe and secure handling of controlled drugs and other medicines, ensuring compliance with medicines legislation.

Communication

The post-holder should recognize the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:

• Communicate effectively with other team members
• Communicate effectively with patients and carers
• Recognise peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly.

Confidentiality

In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately.

In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential.

Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.

Health & safety

The post-holder will implement and lead on a full range of promotion and management their own and others health and safety and infection control as defined in the practice Health & Safety policy, the practice Health & Safety manual, and the practice Infection Control policy and published procedures.

• Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines
• Awareness of national standards of infection control and cleanliness and regulatory / contractual / professional requirements, and good practice guidelines
• Correct use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Use and monitoring of the correct use of Standard Operating Procedures for cleaning and infection control
• Responsible for correct hand hygiene of self and others
• Ownership of infection control and clinically based patient care protocols, and implementation of those protocols within the team
• Active observation of current working practices across the team in relation to infection control, cleanliness and related activities, ensuring that procedures are followed and weaknesses / training needs are identified, escalating issues as appropriate
• Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks across clinical and patient process
• Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills, and initiate and manage the training of others across the full range of infection control and patient processes
• Monitoring practice facilities and equipment in relation to infection control, ensuring that provision of hand-cleansing facilities, wipes etc. are sufficient to ensure a good clinical working environment. Lack of facilities to be escalated as appropriate
• Safe management of sharps procedures, including training, use, storage and disposal
• Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy, clean and sterile, and safe way, free from hazards.
• Initiation of remedial / corrective action where needed or escalation to responsible management
• Actively identifying, reporting, and correcting health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
• Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas generally clean, sterile, identifying issues and hazards / risks in relation to other work areas within the business, and assuming responsibility in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness across the business in consultation (where appropriate) with other sector managers
• Undertaking periodic infection control training (minimum twice annually)
• Routine management of own team / team areas, and maintenance of work space standards
• Waste management, including collection, handling, segregation, container management, storage and collection
• Spillage control procedures, management and training
• Decontamination control procedures, management and training, and equipment maintenance
• Maintenance of sterile environments
• Correct cleaning of equipment used for near patient testing, such as blood glucose monitoring equipment and smokelysers, using the manufacturers instructions as appropriate

Demonstrate due regard for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.Equality and diversity

The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:

• Acting in a way that recognizes the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current legislation
• Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues
• Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.

Personal/Professional development

The post-holder will have a named mentor at each practice. The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, with such training to include:

• Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development
• Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work

Quality

The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will:

• Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk
• Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision
• Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance
• Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs
• Effectively manage own time, workload and resources

Contribution to the Implementation of Services

The post-holder will:

• Apply practice policies, standards and guidance.
• Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work.
• Participate in audit where appropriate.

Person SpecificationQualifications

Essential Qualified Clinical Pharmacist registered with the GPhC

Experience working in primary care or general practice

Dispensing experience and willingness to support dispensary operations

Strong communication and teamwork skills

Ability to work independently and prioritise workload

Experience using EMIS clinical system

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.

Applicants must have current UK professional registration.