Band 8a Senior Pharmacist

We are recruiting for a **Band 8a**(or Band 7 to 8a progression, if Year 1 Diploma Certificate completed only**) Senior Pharmacist**for**Surgical Specialities** to join our client's progressive team in Herefordshire

As the Senior Pharmacist you will be responsible for leading the support of the Pharmacy Service provided to the Surgical Directorate. This includes responsibility for General, Colorectal, Urological and Breast Surgery Services. You will also have responsibilityfor medicines safety and financial governance associated with medicines use.

Our client is a progressive and forward-looking trust with ambitious plans to improve quality and integrate patient pathways. Having already successfully implemented the ePMA system to streamline prescribing and medicines administration.

**Job Purpose**
- Provide a comprehensive clinical pharmacy and medicine management service to Surgical Specialities.
- Provide expert advice, at a highly specialist level, on pharmaceutical matters.
- Responsible for the development, monitoring and review of medicines related guidelines to the SurgicalSpecialities Directorate.
- Managerial responsibilities to include budget management, reviews, and supervision of junior staff.

**Main Duties & Responsibilities (not limited to)**
- Clinical checking and validation of prescriptions.
- Lead on medicines reconciliation for the Surgical Specialities Directorate to ensure patients receive the correct medication as early as possible into their admission.
- Use specialist knowledge of medicines to provide advice within a multi-disciplinary team of doctors, nurses, patients, carers, and pharmacy staff on all pharmaceutical aspects of care.
- Liaise with primary care and social care colleagues to ensure transfer of information relating to patients’ medicines is timely and accurate.
- Liaise with medical, nursing and pharmacy colleagues to ensure Surgical Specialities Directorate activities are integrated into the wider pharmacy service.
- Responsibility for supervision of junior pharmacy staff (including trainee foundation pharmacists).
- Meet Trust targets for self and managed staff in relation to mandatory and role specific training compliance.
- Ensure adequate operational pharmacy cover for the Surgical Wards and liaise with the Lead Pharmacist for the Surgical Division to mitigate risks when staffing levels are lower than planned.
- Develop and deliver reports to Directorate leads to inform the value of the clinical, operational, and financial benefits of the Surgical Specialities Directorate Pharmacy Service. Attend monthly Directorate business and quality & safety meetings wherethese reports are discussed.
- 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 across the Surgical Specialities Directorate.
- Contribute to regular pharmacy KPI data to record pharmacist activity for benchmarking.
- Support the formal development programmes within the Pharmacy department e.g., trainee foundation pharmacists, clinical diploma, independent prescribing, pharmacy university students.
- Be the lead for and deliver training on medicines optimisation for nursing, medical and other healthcare professionals within the Directorate.
- Support 7-day clinical services to the Trust on a departmental rotational weekend and Bank Holiday rota basis (currently 1:6).

**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).