Clinical Pharmacist in Haywards Heath

1. Job Summary

   You will work with a multi-disciplinary team including doctors, nurses, paramedics and other roles. Your role will be to lead on medication management including safe repeat prescribing for our patients. This includes overseeing Shared Care Agreements and High Risk Drug Monitoring, ensuring appropriate plans are in place for our patients and that they have access to the best possible care. You will also take a lead role in delivering CQC compliance and ensuring QOF achievement on specific indicators.

   You will provide expertise in clinical pharmacy, medicines optimisation and promote safer prescribing practices. You will be part of team working alongside a pharmacist and two pharmacy technicians and a pharmacy administrator.

   The main duties will include using your own clinical competencies as part of a multi-disciplinary team to provide face to face and remote medications reviews, support management of patients with long-term conditions and co-morbidities, undertake medicines reconciliation, reduce polypharmacy and conduct Structured Medication Reviews (SMR). You will work closely with the administration team on drug monitoring management and carry out clinical audits on behalf of the Clinical team.

   The role is pivotal to improving the quality of care and operational effectiveness within the practice so requires, motivation, passion and resilience to deliver an excellent service.

2. Key Responsibilities

   Long-Term Conditions

3. Contribute to improved health outcomes in long term conditions.
4. Support patients to manage their long-term conditions.
5. Carry out clinical medication reviews for patients on multiple medications for long term conditions.
6. Review if prescribing is appropriate in line with current guidance, cost-effective and safe; identify unmet need, stop unnecessary/ineffective medicines. Implement own prescribing changes as an independent prescriber.
7. Review of pathology results for patients under their care.
8. Contribute to achievement of QOF targets to improve health outcomes.
9. Make appropriate recommendations to the wider clinical team including medical and non-medical prescribers.

Clinical Medication Reviews

10. Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients.
11. To review medications for new patients, to ensure safe, cost-effective prescribing in line with practice/local prescribing policies.
12. Work with patients to educate about medication safety, storage and ordering within the home.
13. Review prescribing of acute medications.

Care Home Medication Reviews

14. Undertake clinical medication review with patients and staff within the care home.
15. Work with care home staff to improve safety of medication ordering and administration.

Risk Stratification

16. Carry out clinical audits as identified as being required by Clinical team for example as part of monthly clinical meetings
17. Identification of patients at high risk of harm from medicines through computerised searches.
18. Review all relevant safety alerts (e.g. MHRA) and ensure any action required is undertaken.
19. Conduct medication reviews for patients identified as above.

Unplanned Hospital Admissions

20. Review the use of medications most commonly associated with unplanned admissions and re-admission through audit and individual patient reviews.
21. Put protocol and policies in place to implement changes to reduce the prescribing of these medicines to high-risk patient groups.
22. Carry out medications management requirements of the Highest and Ongoing Needs LCS

Medicines Support and Information for practice staff and patients (patient facing or telephone)

23. Answer medical information queries from GPs, Nurses, practice staff, patients and third-party providers.
24. Provide education on medicines related topics to the clinical team.
25. Provide advice on suitable alternative medications in the event of a medicine being unavailable in conjunction with the pharmacy technicians.
26. Provide education for the clinical team on new medicines.
27. Provide specialist knowledge and advice on pharmaceutical matters.
28. Provide regular education sessions for clinicians to discuss audit results and agree action plans for improving standards within clinical areas.
29. To provide specialist knowledge on medication monitoring and ensure a system for implementation is in place.
30. To answer queries from administration staff regarding medication requests where appropriate.

Management of medicines at discharge from hospital

31. To work with the whole pharmacy team to reconcile medicines following discharge from hospital/intermediate care; identify and rectify unexplained changes; perform a clinical medication review; produce a post-discharge medicines care plan including dose titration and booking of follow-up test, and work with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge.
32. Set up and manage systems to ensure continuity of medicines supply to high-risk groups of patients (e.g. those with medicine compliance aids).
33. Reconcile medication from clinic appointment correspondence, identifying any unexplained changes and rectifying these by communication with the secondary care provider. Ensure patients are fully aware of any changes and that a plan for monitoring/dose titration is in place.

Repeat Prescribing

34. To re-authorise medication for future repeat prescribing within scope of competence if an independent prescriber.
35. Manage medication review dates and ensure that any clinical monitoring or reviews are actioned.
36. To ensure the practice repeat prescribing system is safe, efficient and helps minimise waste.

Service Development

37. Review NICE and other evidence-based guidance as it is issued, to evaluate any impact on medicines and prescribing.
38. Undertake regular clinical audit to support implementation of clinical guidance across the practice.
39. To take part in practice clinical meetings.
40. Encourage cost effective prescribing within the practice, including adherence to local formulary.
41. Build good working relationships with local Medicines Management Team members.
42. Improve communication about medication-related issues between the practice and both the patient and other care providers

Professional Development

43. Work with your line manager to undertake continual personal and professional development, taking an active part in reviewing and developing the role and responsibilities
44. Adhere to organisational policies and procedures including keeping up to date with mandatory training.
45. Attend formal clinical supervision sessions for further development, case reviews and dealing with difficult issues.
46. Attend annual appraisals
47. Participate in the delivery of formal educational programmes.
48. Demonstrate an understanding of current educational policies relevant to working areas of practice and keep up to date with relevant clinical practice.

Miscellaneous

49. Work as part of the team to seek feedback, continually improve the service and contribute to business planning.
50. Undertake any tasks consistent with the level of the post and the scope of practice, ensuring that work, tasks and results are processed within a timely manner.
51. Use effective communication skills to ensure appropriate and detailed information is effectively communicated whether that be a patient, member of the community, member of the multi-disciplinary team or a staff member.

Leadership and Management

52. Support new starters with induction, training and mentoring.
53. Liaise with clinicians, managers and team leads.
54. Deal with immediate responses to complaints relating to prescription requests, escalating as appropriate.
55. Implement changes as per management instruction.
56. Continually assess and evaluate the prescribing systems, recommend changes and improvements to the management team as appropriate.
57. Participate in clinical meetings and manage prescribing team meetings.
58. Identify team training needs.
59. Help the team prioritise workload.

Administration

60. Liaise with community pharmacists to ensure efficient and well managed repeat prescribing systems.
61. Liaise with other prescribing leads within the PCN and the ICB as needed.
62. Liaise with Care Home team ensuring they have a point of contact if they have any queries.

Policy and Service Development

63. Liaise with ICB regarding local prescribing policies.
64. Alongside others within the pharmacy and practice team, define and create protocols and formularies for consultation with ICB medicines managements team.
65. Work as prescribing clinical coordinator to ensure success of QOF and CQC inspections.

Personal Development

Personal development is a cornerstone of professional growth and is integral to expanding the scope of practice for healthcare professionals. The commitment to ongoing learning and skill enhancement is not only a personal journey but also a fundamental aspect of providing high-quality patient care.

Through continuous personal development, you will deepen your expertise, stay abreast of advancements in your field, and acquire new competencies. This commitment to growth is not only reflected in the pursuit of additional certifications and training but also in the cultivation of qualities such as adaptability, critical thinking, and effective communication. The results of personal development efforts are systematically documented in appraisals and clinical supervision sessions, to support the enhancement of your scope of practice.

66. Flexibility

a)This job description is intended to provide a broad outline of the role. You may be required to carry out other duties commensurate with their banding and competence.