Advanced Clinical Pharmacist for Virtual Wards

Job Summary

Frailty Virtual Ward - Band 8a Pharmacist

There are 3 WTE positions (hours per week) available. Applications for full and part-time working will be considered.

We are committed to revolutionising healthcare delivery for frail and elderly patients by launching a Community Frailty Virtual Ward. Our aim is to provide high-quality, patient-centred care in the comfort of their own homes, reducing hospital admissions and length of stay in hospital and enhancing overall well-being through enhanced care coordination.

The Role

As an Advanced Clinical Pharmacist, you will play a critical role in our new multidisciplinary team, covering two of the 6 new frailty virtual wards that we have planned for our locality. The post holder will work closely with consultants, advanced clinical practitioners, dietitians, and other healthcare professionals to ensure seamless, integrated care on the virtual ward, by providing specialist medicine assessments and interventions for those admitted to the Frailty Virtual Ward.

Main Duties of the Job

Key Responsibilities

Leadership within the Frailty Virtual ward regarding medicines and medicines governance

Medicine reconciliation

Structured medication reviews including complex polypharmacy and deprescribing

Prescribing and accurate record keeping regarding medications

Answering medication queries raised by the multidisciplinary team

Discharge facilitation

Our Approach to Recruitment

For an informal discussion about the role, please email Nicola Diffey

Interviews will take place between 7-11th of October at the Beauchamp Centre, Mount Gould Hospital. Successful candidates will be asked to bring in their documentation to enable the start of the pre-employment check phase as soon as they can post interview. If you are happy for this process to start prior to receiving the outcome of the interview, please bring with you:

Copies of any qualifications relevant to the role

Copies of training certificates digital copies are acceptable

2 forms of photographic identification & an original address document dated within the last 3 months such as a bank statement, utility bill etc, online statements are not admissible. Or your latest council tax bill or mortgage statement.

All Livewell Southwest staff are expected to be able and willing to work across a 7-day service.

Job Share(s) Considered

Please note that this role may not be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route, please refer to the Direct Gov website for more information with regards to eligibility.

About us

Livewell Southwest is an independent, award-winning social enterprise providing integrated health & social care services for people across Plymouth, South Hams & West Devon, as well as some specialist services for people living in parts of Devon & Cornwall. With teams in community hospitals, GP practices, sports centres, health & wellbeing hubs.

As an organisation with a strong social conscience, we always value being kind, respectful, inclusive, ambitious, responsible and collaborative. Transforming services to make them sustainable, ensuring that we value, support & empower each other.

We are committed to involving the people we care for, families & carers in everything that we do, working towards co-production where we can. Helping us to deliver the right care for people, in the right place & at the right time. By putting people at the centre of what we do, we ensure to support people to lead healthy independent lives & be the very best at helping people to live well.

Valuing our employees making an investment in their development a priority. We offer:

Protected CPD time for registered staff

Various development pathways and ongoing regular training packages for all staff

Leadership & mentoring programmes

Access & funding for training including Care Certificate, Assistant Practitioners Course & Scholarship Into Nurse Training

A Robust Preceptorship

A bespoke induction programme

Existing members of the NHS Pension Scheme can continue their membership when they join the organisation.

Job Responsibilities

The Advanced Clinical Pharmacist for Virtual Ward is a new role within Livewell SW and the Pharmacy Team. The post holder with the support of the Lead Pharmacist for Virtual Wards will be leading and delivering a high-quality, clinical pharmacy service to Virtual Ward areas, and working in partnership with our System partners to maximise seamless transfers of care and maximise best outcomes for the patients. The post holder will be responsible for the coordination of clinical pharmacy services to the Virtual Wards, utilising a holistic approach to support medicines optimisation in a variety of settings. They will lead on and develop clinical audits and quality improvement within Virtual Wards and have the opportunity be involved in research and further develop their career.

As the Advanced Clinical Pharmacist for Virtual Wards, you will have input into the strategic development of Medicines Optimisation in Virtual Ward Services and hold a highly visible role within the organisation. You will be a pharmacist with a passion and commitment in this area who wants to help develop the service whilst ensuring medicine-related governance is in place, bringing the additional skills of an experienced pharmacist to the team. You will support and help develop the Virtual Ward pharmacy team and a range of other healthcare professionals within Virtual Wards, including NMPs in medicines optimisation and related initiatives to the highest clinical pharmacy standards.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Masters Degree or equivalent in Pharmacy
• Registered Practising Member of the General Pharmaceutical Council
• Specialist knowledge acquired by postgraduate diploma or equivalent evidence of specialist knowledge, competence and achievements in practice in pharmacy
• Evidence of Continuing Professional Development and revalidation

Desirable

• Postgraduate qualification in clinical pharmacy
• Member of specialist interest groups
• Working towards membership of the RPS Faculty
• Independent prescriber or willingness to work towards

Knowledge

Essential

• Excellent knowledge of clinical pharmacy as it relates to frailty and general medicine
• Knowledge and understanding of antimicrobial stewardship
• Understanding of non-medical prescribing, patient group directions and other alternatives to medical prescribing
• Aware of current healthcare targets, NICE guidance and other national directives and the implications for implementation in primary and secondary care

Desirable

• Highly specialised knowledge of drug use in frailty or general medicine
• Broad knowledge of the structure, organisation and priorities of the NHS and other healthcare services at a national and local level

Experience

Essential

• Experience as a practising pharmacist, including experience of working as a member of a Multidisciplinary Team
• Experience of networking with other healthcare professionals across the full range of disciplines at all levels
• Experience of review and development of medication-related policies, procedures and PGDs
• Experience of audit work
• Experience of delivering education to healthcare staff and patients or carers via workshops, informal discussion or formal lectures

Desirable

• Experience of working in different sectors of Pharmacy across the system
• Experience of preparing documents for clinical governance groups and presenting these to a committee
• Experience of leading on audit and producing reports
• Experience of mentoring, supervision and line management
• Experience of influencing, negotiating and implementing change in practice

Specific Skills

Essential

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills including verbal, written and formal presentation skills for a wide variety of audiences
• Computer literate including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Email and Internet
• Excellent critical appraisal and analytical skills, with a sound understanding of evidence-based medicine
• Good listening skills & excellent networking / negotiating skills
• Can work with and influence managers, nursing and medical staff
• Leadership and team working skills
• Ability to act as an excellent role model and mentor
• Self-motivated and able to motivate others with enthusiasm
• Able to reflect on and appraise own performance and that of others
• Ability to plan and prioritise own work and that of others with good organisational and time-management skills
• Able to work under pressure and to tight deadlines
• Ability to travel across the LSW area

Desirable

• Ability to influence and negotiate with a range of stakeholders to implement change in practice
• Able to resolve conflict and disagreement
• Ability to manage change
• Access to own transport