Clinical Pharmacist

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our growing multidisciplinary team as a Primary Care Network Clinical Pharmacist. At Hartlepool Network, we pride ourselves on teamwork, flexibility and enthusiasm and are committed to the ongoing development of our team, which includes mandatory and developmental training for all our staff. Team members are encouraged to highlight any training they feel would benefit them in the achievement of their role.

Main duties of the job:

• The post holder will work within their clinical competencies to provide specialist pharmaceutical support to all practices of the PCN including working with members of the wider healthcare team to improve care and support safe and effective prescribing.
• Moving between practices, the role will have a patient facing element - either face to face or telephone - including chronic disease management, repeat prescription management and structured medication reviews.
• This will also include the management and review of patients with polypharmacy.
• The post holder will need to be proactively involved in quality improvement and audit as well as managing some aspects of the Quality and Outcomes Framework.
• The post holder will be supported to help develop the role and work to improve the care and outcomes for the patients across Hartlepool PCN.

About us:

Hartlepool Network are a team of 5 practices consisting of Seaton Surgery, West View Millennium Surgery, West Quay, Gladstone House Practice and Hart Medical. Together we have approximately 35,000 patients spread across our locality of Hartlepool. Our Clinical Director and wider teams of Nurse Practitioners, Practice Nurses and administrators, along with our Additional Reimbursable Role (ARRS) staff of Social Prescribers, Care Co-ordinators, First Contact Physio, Mental Health team and our Pharmacist and Pharmacy technicians team work in harmony to deliver outstanding medical services to our patient population.

Job responsibilities:

• Clinical medication reviews for patients with single or multiple long-term conditions where medicines optimisation is required.
• To reconcile medicines following discharge from hospitals or intermediate care and working with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post-discharge and to reduce risk of readmission.
• To be involved in multidisciplinary clinical meetings within the PCN where appropriate.
• Contribute to the provision of out of hours/on call/extended services for the practice and the patients if required.
• These can include patient facing and telephone consultations, signposting to other services and/or healthcare professionals where appropriate, while working within scope of practice and limits of competency.
• To manage repeat prescription requests, resolving queries where possible within scope of practice.
• To ensure patients have appropriate monitoring tests in place when required.
• Implement changes to medicines in line with MHRA alerts, product withdrawal or shortage and other local or national guidance.
• To maintain full and complete records of all patient contacts using appropriate clinical templates and coding.
• To undertake a proactive role in audit and quality improvement implementing recommendations where appropriate.
• Provide independent information to patients with regard to medicines and prescribing changes, initiating further support from other healthcare professionals where appropriate.
• Participate in review and setting of policies relating to medicines management and prescribing and help ensure practices prescribe in accordance with local guidelines and formulary.
• To identify areas of clinical risk at network level and make recommendations to support the introduction of new working practices that will optimise the quality of prescribing and make more efficient use of network resources.
• To monitor network practices' prescribing against the local health economy and make recommendations for GPs or amend within scope of practice, based on findings.
• To maintain own clinical and professional competence and be responsible for own continuous professional development.
• Work with practices to ensure full compliance with Care Quality Commission standards for safe and effective care.

Person Specification:

• Mandatory registration with General Pharmaceutical Council.
• Masters degree in Pharmacy (MPharm) or equivalent.
• Independent prescriber or working towards/intent of gaining independent prescribing qualification.
• CPPE primary care pathway training course or working towards/intent of completing.
• Minimum of two years post-qualification experience.
• An appreciation of the nature of PCNs, GPs and General Practice.
• Excellent interpersonal, influencing and negotiating skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrate the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information in an understandable form.
• Ability to work under pressure and to meet deadlines.
• Work effectively and independently and as a team member.
• Self-motivation.
• Adaptable.
• Able and willing to travel between PCN practices.
• Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
• Member of, or working towards, Faculty membership of Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
• Specialist knowledge acquired through postgraduate diploma level or equivalent training and experience.
• Experience with GP clinical systems/SystmOne.
• Safeguarding adult and children level three.

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.