Senior Clinical Pharmacist

Job Summary

Band 7 Pharmacist - Clinical & Technical Services

The post-holder is responsible for delivering and helping the Principal Pharmacists to develop a high-quality pharmacy service across a variety of different specialties on a rotational basis, in accordance with objectives set by section leads. This will include providing clinical pharmacy services to cancer services, clinical nutrition, and pediatric specialties, and managing the day-to-day running of aseptic services, including cytotoxic and central intravenous additive services (CIVAS) and dispensary services for cancer patients.

The post-holder must always carry out their role in line with the Trust World Class values.

Main Duties of the Job

We are looking for highly motivated and enthusiastic pharmacists who are looking for the next challenge. You will ideally have completed or nearly completed your FS1 (or equivalent) and want to further develop clinical skills and obtain further exposure to technical services. Training and support will be given in all rotations to ensure you meet the requirements for FS2.

The post holder will work approximately 9 months blocks in the following rotations:

Block A - Cancer services dispensary service with cancer services clinical pharmacy Block B - CIVAS with pediatric clinical pharmacy

Block C - Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) Service and production

Block D - Cancer Serviced Clinical Pharmacy

You will also be expected to participate in the weekend and bank holiday service, including responsibility for the securing of the department. Outside of working hours, the on-call pharmacist is solely responsible for providing a pharmacy service to the hospital, including advice on medicines and emergency supply.

About Us

Our trust has around 10,000 staff serving millions of patients. It comprises Barnet, Chase Farm, and Royal Free Hospitals and more than 30 services in the community. Our mission is to deliver world-class care and expertise in our clinical services, underpinned by world-class teaching and research, and we continue to measure our progress against our five governing objectives: excellent outcomes, excellent patient and staff experience, excellent value for taxpayers' money, being safe and meeting our external duties, and building a strong organization.

The Trust takes pride as one of the major specialist centers for infectious diseases, liver and renal transplants, breast and plastic surgery, myeloma, and neuroendocrine tumors. Working in one of the main specialty centers brings exciting opportunities to see a range of patients at different levels of complexities. Everyone is welcome at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. We're proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME, gender equality, staff carers, and people with disabilities and lived experiences to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.

The Pharmacy department is a friendly, progressive, and expanding unit dedicated to providing the highest standards of pharmaceutical care and service in this internationally renowned teaching hospital.

Job Responsibilities

Please refer to the attached JD for a full list of roles and responsibilities that come with the role.

CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES

To clinically verify prescriptions for chemotherapy and CIVAS products when required.

To assist in the provision of a high-quality clinical pharmacy service as part of the multidisciplinary team, to the Cancer Services specialties to ensure maximum efficacy, safety, and economic drug use, and to demonstrate professional accountability to enhance patient care. This will include being present from time to time in various Cancer Services out-patient clinics and in the chemotherapy administration suite, to verify prescriptions, advise doctors and other healthcare professionals, and to counsel patients.

To assist in the provision of a high-quality clinical pharmacy service as part of the multidisciplinary team to the Women and Children's Division, including the Neo-natal Unit.

To assist in the provision of the service to patients requiring Total Parenteral Nutrition as part of their care. To attend ward rounds, assess patients, and order the most appropriate formulation for the patient on the day.

Responsibilities include:

Demonstration of a comprehensive level of knowledge within the specialties.

Delivery of a high-quality, specialist ward-based pharmacy service, including drug supply, review of highly complex medication regimens, medicines reconciliation, drug interaction monitoring, adverse drug reaction monitoring, and verification of chemotherapy regimens and discharge planning.

Communication of highly complex pharmaceutical information, according to the level of understanding, direct to patients/carers and healthcare professionals.

Empathizing with and counseling patients/carers who may be distressed on all aspects of their medication to aid compliance and understanding.

Provision of prescribing advice in specialist areas, including drug selection, management of adverse events, and dosage adjustment where limited/conflicting information is available.

Analysis and interpretation of specialist medicines information to provide advice to clinicians and healthcare professionals and ensure that this information is utilized in a systematic and appropriate way to optimize patient care.

Making evidence-based decisions, in partnership with patients and other professionals within the specialist areas.

Assisting with the implementation of relevant local, network, and national guidelines within the specialist areas.

Undertaking drug usage reviews and clinical audits.

Provision of support on concordance-related issues to patients.

Liaising with primary care healthcare professionals to provide seamless care for patients.

Identifying the risks of medicines use within the specialties and assisting in implementing strategies to minimize them.

Making decisions with limited information in complex or clinically sensitive situations and demonstrating an advanced level of reasoning and judgment.

Promoting and adhering to infection control policies and guidelines.

To liaise and work with other specialist pharmacists to share best practice and develop patient-focused pharmaceutical care.

To be aware of ethical dilemmas that may present in patient care and provide support and guidance to colleagues in any decision-making process.

To support the development of clinical pharmacy services in line with local and national objectives.

2. TECHNICAL SERVICES RESPONSIBILITIES

To receive cytotoxic prescriptions from the Royal Free Hospital, or outside customers, and check that the dose(s) prescribed is/are appropriate for the particular patient, based on the specified drug protocol, patient's weight, and liver and renal function.

To produce individual patient worksheets and labels for cytotoxic doses, PN, and Central Intravenous Additive Services (CIVAS) doses when required, calculating quantities required and determining the correct expiry and storage conditions.

To be responsible for ensuring that written and computerized records relating to the manufacture and supply of cytotoxics and CIVAS products prepared by other staff are accurate and well maintained, particularly those involving clinical trials.

To be accountable for reviewing all relevant safety parameters prior to authorizing manufacture and release of chemotherapy and provide specialist advice to prescribers regarding dosage modifications where necessary.

To be accredited to prepare, final check, and release cytotoxic doses and CIVAS doses prepared under the Manufacturers (Specials) Licence. To ensure accurate preparation, documentation, and labeling of the product. To final check products prepared under the Manufacturers Specials Licence.

To prepare cytotoxics him/herself, if necessary, to final check and release the product for use in a patient, when on-call.

To assist in the liaison with other members of the Cancer Services team, including doctors, ward and clinic nurses, pharmacists, research nurses, and the pharmaceutical industry over any problems with cytotoxics, new protocols, supplies, special requests, etc.

To final check batches and patient-specific products prepared in the CIVAS, Sterile, Non-sterile, and Pre-packing units and other products prepared in production to be administered to patients within the confines and outside the Royal Free Hospital.

To final check terminally sterilized products prior to bonding and transfer to Quality Assurance testing.

To ensure that activities carried out in the cytotoxic and CIVAS manufacturing units are following the Rules and Guidance for Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, local standard operating procedures, and all relevant medicines legislation.

To be responsible for running the dose-banded Infliximab service, once this starts, either at The Royal Free Hospital and/or Finchley Memorial Hospital. This will include liaison with the appropriate clinic nurses to obtain clinic lists for the following week, checking any remaining stock, or stock returned, unused from the clinic(s), calculating how many of each strength need to be made, and making suitable arrangements for them to be made, probably out of normal working hours.

To ensure compliance with current legislation and guidance relating to the waste disposal of pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutically contaminated sharps, and, where appropriate, cytotoxic waste.

To initiate incident forms, Unusual Event, and Change Control forms when required and to ensure that the reasons for the forms being required are investigated, risk assessed, and appropriate changes made to paperwork/new paperwork written, training given to staff to prevent a similar occurrence in future, as appropriate. To ensure all documentation is closed out at the end of the process.