Practice Support Pharmacist in Stockport

We are looking for two proactive and skilled Practice Support Pharmacists to join our PCN teams, providing expert medicines optimisation, conducting structured medication reviews, supporting safe and evidence-based prescribing, and collaborating with GPs, community pharmacies, and other healthcare teams across Stockport to improve patient outcomes. We support patients and care settings to make best use of medicines, ensuring safe and effective repeat prescribing. Our service operates between 8am and 6.30pm with flexible shifts available, and occasional requirements to support GP extended access working up to 8pm. Weekend work may be required on occasion.

We have the following positions available:

• 1 x Permanent position in the Stockport South and East (SES) PCN Team.
• 1 x 12 month fixed term position in the Bramhall PCN Team.

Both positions are full time (37.5 hours) and are available at (equivalent to) AFC Band 7. Salary is usually at minimum scale but may be higher dependent on primary care experience. Interviews are planned for Wednesday 14th January 2026, with some flexibility if this date is unsuitable. Please note that previous applicants need not apply.

Main duties of the job

As a Practice Support Pharmacist, you will support your PCN Team in delivering good quality medicine optimisation and cost-effective quality prescribing to patients under both the National PCN DES and our local contract for locality Medicines Optimisation. The role includes offering specialist advice, managing medication queries, ensuring policy compliance, leading quality improvement initiatives, and, where qualified, prescribing as an Independent Prescriber.

About us

Viaduct Care CIC is the company structure for Stockport's GP Federation and represents all of its local GP Practices. Covering a patient population of circa 300,000 practices are split into 6 PCNs with each serving a population of around 30,000-50,000 patients. Viaduct Care represents the collective voice and interests of its member practices and as a key stakeholder in Stockport Together aims to influence and support the design and delivery of major service and system changes by being a strong and effective partner with other major service providers. One of our priorities at Viaduct Care is to ensure that wellbeing and development of our team is at the forefront of everything we do. We have recently launched our new employee assistance programme, assisting our team to get access to a range of advice 24 hours a day. Our benefits brochure attached gives details of other support and benefits to our staff.

Job responsibilities

Key Roles and Responsibilities

• Support Primary Care Networks in the delivery of the National Directed Enhanced Service framework.
• Provide specialist knowledge, advice, and guidance on prescribing and pharmaceutical matters to patients, practices, and other prescribers.
• Respond to medication queries and support practices as needed.
• Take part in and assist others with clinical audit work on prescribing standards, activity, and practice.
• Participate in teaching sessions to ensure that pharmaceutical care problems are identified and communicated.
• Assist in coordinating solutions to supply problems with medicines used within the specialty.
• Work across traditional boundaries of tertiary/secondary/primary care, such as coordinating with GP surgeries and community pharmacies to ensure seamless discharges.
• Ensure good quality patient care.
• Demonstrate clinical reasoning and judgement.
• Ensure consistent compliance with the local antimicrobial policy.
• Ensure consistent compliance with the local GMMMG policy for management of medicines in GP practices.
• Ensure the delivery of cost-effective prescribing advice within specified contracts & an overall quality and clinical effectiveness framework.
• Conduct clinical structured medication reviews.
• Support and influence prescribers.
• Work with the wider prescribing/medicines management system to influence change by liaising with hospital and community staff as necessary.
• Work as an autonomous clinician.
• Where qualified, prescribe medicines for agreed patients within their capacity of an Independent Prescriber in line with current legislation, local policies and best practice guide, and within their own level of experience and competence.

Responsibility for Patient Care

• Provide and be accountable for holistic, clinical, structured medication reviews and lifestyle advice for identified patients using all levels of medication review with a patient-centred approach.
• Ensure patients are provided with cost and clinically effective medication regimens that meet their individual needs.
• Ensure patients receive appropriate monitoring to ensure good clinical care and safe use of medicines.
• Support patient adherence with medication through a variety of processes.
• Maintain patient confidentiality and confidence in our service and general practice.
• Ensure accurate and appropriate record keeping on all work undertaken.
• Undertake basic clinical monitoring of patients which may include venepuncture.
• Where qualified, actively use Independent Prescribing qualification for patients within the legal framework, personal competence, and local and personal prescribing formulary.

Responsibilities for Physical and Financial Resources

• Support and audit delivery of agreed targets relevant to service contracts.
• Provide regular reports on a range of activities, guidance or individual groups of medicines as required.
• Provide evidence-based advice on the cost and clinical effectiveness of medicines.
• Protect all physical assets of Viaduct care and ensure safe and effective use of such assets.

Communications and Leadership

• Build strong relationships with clinicians, practice staff and other prescribers to facilitate delivery of prescribing priorities.
• Continue to develop and support practice prescribing leads as conduits for influencing prescribing behaviour in practices.
• Undertake a programme of visits to practices/prescribers as defined by line management.
• Support Networks and practices to achieve agreed targets.
• Agree key messages and initiatives for practices with line manager/locality leads.
• Act as a conduit for dissemination and sharing of best practice between prescribers and practices within and across Networks.
• Disseminate and support the implementation of system-wide prescribing and therapeutic policy into practices and to other prescribers.
• Work collaboratively across other multi-disciplinary Teams and Networks within the organisation and the locality to progress the prescribing agenda as directed.
• Work with colleagues in hospital and community pharmacy to facilitate change and deliver safe and effective care, particularly at the interfaces.
• Respond to patients, clinicians and other agencies on matters relating to prescribing, medication, and medicine use.
• Demonstrate the ability to negotiate, persuade, influence, motivate and reassure all groups of stakeholders with empathy.
• Lead on the delivery of allocated projects within their area of work.

Policy and Service Development

• Support policy implementation within the terms of service in all relevant contracts.
• Proactively research and disseminate to practices and other prescribers, opportunities to improve patient care or prescribing patterns.
• Identify opportunities for efficiencies and savings in relation to medicines management activity in practices.
• In discussion with Line Manager/Service Lead Pharmacist arrange appropriate additional specialist pharmacy support into practices in support of the overall prescribing agenda.

Planning and organising

• Demonstrate well-developed organisational and planning skills to provide safe and effective support to prescribers.
• Utilise project management skills as appropriate, particularly when working collaboratively with others to achieve a specific outcome.
• Facilitate collaborative working both within the PCN and between PCNs, and between Viaduct services.
• Deliver change in prescriber behaviours and practice.

Analysis and data management

• The role will involve both undertaking and supporting others in prescribing related audits within practices to encourage clinicians to critically appraise their current practice.
• Use data management information systems, including information technology and be willing to undertake or deliver appropriate training.
• Undertake appropriate analysis of prescribing data to inform discussions with individual practices/prescribers.
• Ensure that effective and relevant analytical information is provided regularly to prescribers to support quality and cost-effective prescribing decisions.
• Ensure that information is presented in a format which is easy to understand and accessible.
• Work with the Network Lead Pharmacist to provide regular performance and reporting information on practice prescribing trends line management as required.
• Maintain suitable information resources relating to practice prescribing performance to be able to respond to ad hoc queries and to feed into the financial management process.
• Support prescribing related audit work with practices in line with service agreements.
• Provide specialist support to practices to improve quality standards and to support them in delivering cost-effective and clinically effective prescribing.

Clinical Governance, Safety and Controls Assurance

• Promote and be able to demonstrate compliance with local and national guidance such as NICE guidance and quality standards, GMMMG policy and guidance, relevant collegiate guidance and the professional standards set for Pharmacists.
• Maintain an overview of medicines management arrangements in practices and ensure that appropriate risk management and delegated responsibility arrangements are in place.
• Ensure compliance with local protocols, policies, operating procedures, and best practice guidance.
• Support or complete incident reporting and learning as per policy and professional requirements, to continually improve patient care, safety, and experience.

Special Conditions

• Responsibility for keeping professionally and clinically up to date, demonstrating awareness of both policy and practice changes.
• Attend meetings out of office hours as required.
• Be flexible in working arrangements in terms of hours and location to meet service needs.
• Undertake other responsibilities as may be assigned from time to time by the line manager commensurate with the post's grade.

Responsibilities for Human Resources

• Support our Foundation Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians & Medicines Co-ordinators to deliver the work required.
• Act as a role model for others in the Team and provide support and mentorship for line reports and other Team members in line with service priorities.
• Take line management responsibility for designated Team members and ensure they operate within Viaduct policies in delivering their contract and service responsibilities. This may include providing training, directing or reviewing work undertaken, undertaking assessments, providing feedback, evaluating and managing performance and monitoring work habits and productivity.
• Participate in education and training activities relevant to both the role and project delivery. This may include cascade of training received as well as development and delivery of bespoke training to meet the service needs.

Person Specification

Personal Qualities

• Team Player.
• Proactive and constructive outlook.
• Self-motivated.
• Flexible and adaptable approach to working.
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Willing to work across multiple practices.

Experience

• 2 years post registration experience or equivalent primary care experience.
• Experience of working in general practice or secondary care clinical services.
• Experience in the use of information and IT to support decision making.
• Experience of delivering projects or change.
• Experience of working in primary care.

Other job requirements

• Flexibility in working hours to meet deadlines and service needs.
• Be an active prescriber making autonomous prescribing decisions in your routine practice.
• Ability to travel within and around the Stockport area during the working day.

Qualifications

• Professional knowledge acquired through vocational masters degree in pharmacy or equivalent.
• 1 year UK pre-registration training.
• Registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council.
• Evidence of a high standard of relevant and varied continuing professional development.
• Completion of the CPPE pathway or demonstrated equivalence for ARRS funded pharmacists in primary care.
• Qualification and GPhC registration as an independent prescriber.

Knowledge and skills

• Knowledge and ability to manage common clinical conditions e.g., diabetes, cardiovascular disease.
• Good communication skills, both written and verbal, including presentation skills.
• Ability to work at an advanced level as identified in the Competency Framework.
• Ability to interpret numerical information and data and use effectively.
• Good interpersonal skills.
• Good influencing and negotiating skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team.
• Ability to develop effective working relationships with all levels of people.
• An understanding of prescribing policy and issues, particularly in relation to general practice.
• Awareness of change management techniques, particularly in relation to changing individual behaviour.
• Good IT skills using Microsoft software.
• Well-developed organisational and time management skills.
• Ability to work unsupervised and plan own or others time effectively.
• Demonstrable Audit skills and quality improvement work.
• Good Problem-solving skills.
• Experience of using GP clinical systems e.g., EMIS.
• Well-developed performance management skills.
• Research or critical analysis skills.
• Evidence of competency in basic health monitoring, monitoring tests and venepuncture.
• Incident reporting and management skills.
• Wider knowledge of the NHS system, strategic aims, and policy.
• Awareness of the role of GP Federations in the commissioning or provision of health care.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

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.

£47,810 to £54,710 a year