Clinical Pharmacist in Croydon

An exciting opportunity for a motivated pharmacist to join our team for approximately 30 hours weekly. Ideal Working Pattern: Wednesday: 9:30 am - 5:00 pm, Thursday: 11:00 am - 5:00 pm (plus 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm telephone clinic). Some flexibility can be considered.

The post holder will play an integral part in the Pharmacy team at the practice.

• The post holder is a Clinical Pharmacist and is an integral part of the general practice team, working within their professional boundaries as part of the pharmacy team.
• Undertaking medication reviews, liaising with primary, secondary and community care colleagues to ensure medicines follow-up on transfer of care.
• Reconciling medicines on hospital discharges, dealing with prescription queries, undertaking quality audits, reviewing existing prescribing at the practice and making recommendations to prescribers.
• Undertaking chronic disease management.

• Resolve day-to-day medicines and prescription issues with healthcare professionals.
• Liaise with primary, secondary and community care colleagues to ensure medicines follow-up on transfer of care.
• Respond to patient discharge from hospital, liaising with local pharmacies to improve patient outcomes and ensure prescribing is in line with the latest evidence and prescribing guidelines.
• Reconcile medicines following hospital discharge and work with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge.
• Work with General Practice to provide clinical medicines advice to care homes and domiciliary care teams with a focus on evidence-based treatment and/or prescribing.
• Perform medication reviews to optimise patients' drug management directly, organising blood tests and/or follow-up where appropriate.
• Detect early deterioration in patients and act proactively to help manage the condition where appropriate.
• Support practice repeat prescription services and deal with queries from reception staff and patients.
• Rationalise repeat prescriptions lists to avoid waste and duplication.
• Follow up identified patient groups, targeting better patient adherence with treatment to improve outcomes.
• 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.
• Provide practice and/or home-based review clinics to those with long-term conditions or complex health needs including vulnerable people in the future.
• Advise patients of the adverse side effects of medication and potential interaction with other medication/treatments.
• Complement and co-ordinate practice-based public health campaigns with the local community pharmacy public health campaigns e.g. flu vaccinations.
• Present to patient groups any changes to prescribing in line with NICE, best practice or in response to prescribing alerts.
• Manage a caseload of patients with common/minor/self-limiting ailments while working within a scope of practice and limits of competence, in the future.

• Review existing prescribing practice and make recommendations to the prescribers and the practices and/or the PCN.
• Develop new prescribing policies in line with best practice and local care pathways.
• Contribute to policies on storage, preparation and ordering of practice stock and control systems.
• Ensure the practices are compliant with NICE, MHRA, NHSE and local prescribing guidelines and practices.
• Provide a link function between the hospital and the local community pharmacy in the use of Medicine Use Reviews and New Medicine Service.
• Support the development of practice services that reduce the workload within the practice.
• Review and make recommendations to GPs of patients' medication who have long-term conditions as part of the patients' care plan.
• Engage with the Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) agenda and support the Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF).
• Provide updates to the Partners on clinical pathways, new medicines and NICE recommendations and guidelines.
• Help practices prepare for CQC visits.
• Develop systems and processes which reduce drug wastage and expenditure.
• Review and report on the usage of Electronic Prescription Service.
• Engage with the STOPP (screening tool for older people's potentially inappropriate prescriptions)/START (screening tool to alert doctors to right/appropriate treatments) identified patients' recurrent hospital admissions.

• Lead on the management of prescribing risk.
• Undertake risk assessments in line with practice or clinical priorities.
• Be responsible for ensuring that all patients' medications are reviewed systematically, with a focus on medicines optimisation.
• Lead on high-risk prescribing to ensure safety e.g. patients on methotrexate, NOAC and warfarin.
• Review, maintain and update clinical records, as required.
• Provide timely review of patients' discharge medication where there had been an unplanned hospital admission.
• Lead on medicine safety and ensure compliance with National Patient Safety Agency requirements.
• Action patient safety alerts and report to the GP Partners.
• Agree clinical audit of prescribed drugs with GP Partners.
• Contribute to Significant Event investigations and lead where these are drug-related.
• Advise on the management of drugs purchase and storage to ensure there are processes in place to minimise errors or omissions, which could compromise Care Quality Commission Standards.
• Regularly audit against QOF domains, improve risk stratification of patients and improve service targeting and delivery.
• Develop cycle for prescribing audits, monitor and ensure change to practice where this is indicated.
• Ensure that the practice has robust governance in respect of prescribing all drugs on prescription.
• Develop relevant prescribing skills and qualifications as requested by the practice.
• Attend and refer patients to multidisciplinary case conferences.
• Where required, take part in safeguarding training and updates and be aware of and act on such issues when dealing with all patients.

• Provide medicines information to ensure all practice staff have access to up-to-date medicines information in a format that supports patient engagement and education.
• Provide regular updating on clinical pathways, new medicines and NICE recommendations and guidelines.
• Ensure clear record keeping and communications within the practice IT systems.
• Provide a telephone help line for patients with questions, queries and concerns about their medicines.

• Engage directly with local community-based pharmacists.
• Work with both the CCG and the Local Authorities and Public Health to develop and support the delivery of services that improve the health of the local community.
• Engage directly with Acute and other care providers.

• Registration with General Pharmaceutical Council.
• A member of or working towards Faculty membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
• Minimum of 5 years post-qualification experience.
• Independent prescriber.

• In-depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence-based healthcare.
• An appreciation of the nature of GPs and general practices.
• An appreciation of the nature 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.
• Experience of motivational interviewing and able to train other staff.
• Demonstrate the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information in an understandable form to a variety of audiences.
• Able to plan, manage, monitor, advise and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long-term conditions.
• Familiarity with GP systems.
• Able to obtain and analyse complex technical information.
• Recognises priorities when problem solving and identifies deviations from the normal pattern and is able to refer to seniors or GPs when appropriate.
• Demonstrates accountability for delivering professional expertise and direct service provision.
• Reliable, self-motivated, and able to work under pressure to meet deadlines, whilst maintaining accuracy and attention to detail.
• Able to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
• Commitment to CPD.
• Experience of Emis Clinical System.
• Experience of DOCMAN.

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.