Principal Pharmacist

We are recruiting for a **Principal Pharmacist**to join the progressive team with our client in Herefordshire

As the **Senior Pharmacist** you will be the lead for **Antimicrobial Stewardship (0.5WTE) and Infectious Disease** within the Trust, working closely with the Consultant microbiologists and designated clinicians to be a role modeland champion for Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS).

**Job Purpose**
- Provide a comprehensive clinical pharmacy and medicine management service.
- Provide expert advice, at a highly specialist level, on pharmaceutical matters.
- Responsible for coordinating AMS audits, reports, and maintaining and updating the Trust antibiotic guidelines and the Microguide app.
- Part of the MDTs for OPAT, and other complex infections using skills, knowledge, and experience to directly impact on patient care.
- Responsible for the implementation of clinical guidelines regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19) treatment and providing strategic pharmaceutical oversight to the Trust regarding staff vaccination programmes.

**Main Duties & Responsibilities (not limited to)**

**Antimicrobial Stewardship**
- Provide specialist advice of antimicrobials within a multi-disciplinary team.
- Maintain and update Trust antibiotic guidelines.
- Responsible for the development, monitoring and review of medicines related guidelines relating to antimicrobials.
- Be the lead on Trust activities and audits of AMS.
- Be an active member of the West Midlands Antimicrobial Pharmacist group.
- Maintain, update, and develop the Microguide app for Trust staff.

**Coronavirus (COVID-19)**
- Update and agree Trust treatment guidelines for in-patients in line with national policy for Coronavirus (COVID-19) and other emerging pathogens.
- Lead on the Covid Medicines Delivery Unit (CMDU) pharmacy process to support treatment of at-risk individuals in the community setting.
- Attend ICS and Regional COVID-19 treatment updates and operational meetings.

**General Clinical Responsibilities**
- Support 7-day clinical services to the Trust on a departmental rotational weekend and Bank Holiday rota basis (currently 1:6).
- Support the ward based and dispensary clinical pharmacy service through clinical checking of prescriptions.
- Liaise with primary care and social care colleagues to ensure transfer of information relating to patients’ medicines.
- Support the teams involved within the digital IT developments at the Trust for electronic patient records and the further development of EPMA.

**Managerial & Administrative Responsibilities**:

- Line manage the band 5 pharmacy technician (Antimicrobial Stewardship) and other junior pharmacists as required by the pharmacy service.
- Lead on the management of the medicines related budget for antimicrobials and advise Divisions on the budgetary impact of AMS
- Develop and deliver reports to Directorate leads to inform the value of the clinical, operational, and financial benefits of the Medical Specialities &Pharmacy Service. Attend monthly Directorate business and quality & safety meetings where these reportsare discussed.

**Research & Audit**:

- Lead on pharmacy audit, quality improvement and practice research in relation to pharmacy operational activity and medicines optimisation to improve quality, efficiency, and patient safety for antimicrobial stewardship.
- Contribute to regular pharmacy KPI data to record pharmacist activity for benchmarking.

**Training & Development**:

- Be the lead for and deliver training on AMS to nursing, medical, pharmacy and other healthcare professional.
- Support the formal development programmes within the Pharmacy department e.g., trainee foundation pharmacists, clinical diploma, independent prescribing, pharmacy university students.
- Deliver induction training for medical staff and medicines optimisation talks where directed from the Medicines Safety Officer.

**Knowledge & Skills required**
- BSc Pharm or MPHARM.
- Registered with the GPHC.
- Significant experience as a Clinical Pharmacist in a hospital/primary care setting.
- Evidence of CPD post registration.
- Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (desirable).
- Independent prescriber (or evidence of working towards this).
- Able to demonstrate a clear understanding of clinical pharmacy practice relating to Antimicrobial Stewardship.