Lead Pharmacist

Full-time; Part-time hours would be considered

As the Lead Pharmacist you would join the Emergency Admission and Acute Medicine Service. This includes the Emergency Department (including Resus, Paediatrics Resus, Ambulatory Decision Unit and Acute Medical Unit (including our Frailty Assessment/Admission). You will work directly with principal pharmacist, trust management, consultants and wider MDT to improve flow and capacity within high turnover and high pressured department. You will be looking at service development and improving patient experience.

As a forward thinking department we continually drive innovation and utilisation of digital solutions such as EPMA to support our workflows and allow more of time to support direct patient care. This is an exciting time to join the organisation as we are exploring new ways to deliver pharmacy services at ward level with input from all members of the team.

As an organisation, we recognise that our staff are our most valuable resource and we acknowledge the importance and benefits of a healthy workplace and workforce. With a dedicated Health and Wellbeing Team, we are able to offer a range of wellbeing support initiatives including 1-2-1 confidential psychological staff support and a dedicated health and wellbeing information pack, which signposts staff to a vast amount of resources across the region.

Applicants must be a registered Pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council

The post holders’ main base will be the Pharmacy Department of Warwick Hospital, the main base of the South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust (SWFT).

The primary role of this specialist post is to work closely with the ED Team to ensure patients receive a safe, cost effective high quality clinical service following medicines optimisation principles.

The post holder will be working independently with the A&E, A&E obs Ambulatory and inpatients. Ideally, the post holder will be independent prescriber with health assessment skills.

The post holder will be a specialist in acute medicine and the front door and will provide advice to Trust medical staff initiating and maintaining patients on relevant treatment. They will also work to ensure safe prescribing and practice is embedded within the Trust through developing and maintaining Policies and Guidelines, and auditing against these and national standards.

Work collaboratively with provider counterparts in the Coventry and Warwickshire locality and further afield with West Midlands Region.

Come and join a Trust rated Outstanding by the CQC. South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust have been rated as outstanding following our latest inspection by the CQC and we are recruiting new staff to come and help us improve even further.

We provide services across Warwickshire and beyond ranging from Hospitals in Warwick, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Royal Leamington Spa and Shipston-on Stour to Community Services across the county. We are a progressive, expanding organisation with great ambition around improving quality, integrating pathways and delivering high levels of productivity.

Our values can be summed up in one sentence. We are ‘Trusted to provide safe, effective and compassionate care’. Throughout the recruitment process you will be asked to think about how you demonstrate these values and how they impact on your work. It doesn’t matter what role you do, whether it is patient facing or not, we are all working in the same way with our values at the core.

Emergency Department and Front Door Services

Work with the lead consultants, Doctors, ACP and nursing teams ED, A&E obs, Ambulatory. To review, develop and maintain policies, guidelines and procedures to ensure safe and effective supply, storage, prescribing, administration and monitoring of medication. Ensure policies and procedures comply with existing legal requirements, best practice, national and local guidelines and Health Care Commission Requirements.

As an expert practitioner, provide support and advice trust-wide to medical staff initiating, maintaining and monitoring patients in ED, encouraging adherence to Trust acute medicine PGDs/guidelines/ policy.

Ensure accurate transfer of necessary information to GPs to enable continuation of treatment and prevent re-admission to hospital, including meeting all relevant requirements of the Area Prescribing Committee.

Proactively work with prescribers to ensure safe prescribing within the ED and practice is embedded across the Trust.

To the management of End of Life and Palliative patients which come through the ED to support the specialist palliative care team.

Lead, develop and deliver education and training to junior doctors, nurses and pharmacists regarding prescribing, administration and monitoring.

Audit and monitor practice against national standards and Trust guidance to provide assurance to the Medication Safety Committee with regards to safe use of medicine within ED setting across the Trust.

Educate and counsel