Job summary

We are seeking a Clinical Pharmacist to join our Solent PCN pharmacy team, working for Southampton (Central) Primary Care Network, whilst being part of a Community Health Trust, allowing you to develop your clinical skills in a supportive environment. You will undergo induction training, mentored by senior pharmacy colleagues and the prescribing lead.

This is a patient facing role with responsibility for a substantial clinical case load and delivery of medicines optimisation to all patients. The role requires a flexible approach, and involves assisting with quality improvement initiatives. You will provide prescribing support and advice to non-clinical PCN staff and ensure the ICB's prescribing strategies are implemented.

Your development will be mapped against individualised objectives harmonised with CPPE's Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway and RPS's Advanced Level Framework enabling faculty membership applications. We will support attainment of an independent pharmacist prescribing qualification. In addition, medicines advice and problem-solving skills training will be provided in partnership with the Southampton Medicines Advice Service.

Applications welcome from pharmacists with hospital experience, working towards a postgrad qualification, community pharmacists with equivalent development and those working in primary care. Cross-sector working split between Southampton Central PCN and the Trust's Pharmacy/Medicines Management Team based in Southampton will be considered.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will report to the Senior Clinical Pharmacist, Southampton Central Primary Care Network (PCN) and is expected to be:

an effective communicator able to communicate complex and sensitive information where there may be barriers to understanding Inquisitive and eager to learn, someone who asks questions and responds positively to change in practice/procedure. a methodical/systematic worker able to work on own initiative with a good attention to detail able to plan, manage, monitor, advise and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long term conditions

The role requires the post holder:

To assist with medicines optimisation and quality improvement initiatives as required To utilise clinical knowledge to aid optimisation of medicines and provide core pharmacy duties. To improve patient health and care through the execution and delivery of safe efficient and effective pharmacy services. To promote high quality cost effective and safe prescribing. To support the development of future services and pharmacy workforce. To build and develop relationships across the PCN and Trust's pharmacy and medicines management team to enhance awareness of pharmaceutical issues. To continually develop own scope of practice and career with support from Trust.

About us

At Solent, our teams mirror the communities we serve. The Equality, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging plan fosters authenticity, ensuring every Solent NHS Trust member feels visible, validated, and valued.

The Annual Staff survey positions us among top-performing Community and Mental Health trusts in 3 of 9 themes:

Compassion and inclusivity Each voice matters Staff Engagement

Our commitment to enhancing diversity, inclusion, and belonging fosters a strong sense of uniqueness, celebrated among colleagues, contributing to excellent patient outcomes.

We welcome applications from underrepresented communities, offering an informal chat for those uncertain about job fit. Our revamped recruitment process prioritizes inclusivity, aligned with Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant guaranteed interviews.

Join our 7 staff networks:

DisAbility

LGBTQ+Allies

Carers

50+

Multi Faith

Black, Asian, and minority ethnic

Veterans

Solent supports flexible working, providing a carer's passport. Our award-winning Health and Wellbeing service, including Employment Disability, Neurodivergent, and Menopause support, makes Solent NHS an inclusive workplace.

We promote staff vaccination as the primary defense against Flu and Covid-19. Join us in contributing to outstanding patient outcomes in a diverse and inclusive environment.

Job description

Job responsibilities

*Please Note : For a detailed job description for this vacancy, please see attached Job Description*

This is a patient facing role with a responsibility for the delivery of medicines optimisation to all patients. The role requires a flexible and adaptable approach and includes responsibility for a number of assigned activities.

*Manage own case load and run long-term condition clinics where responsible for prescribing as an independent prescriber for conditions where medicines have a large component (, medicine optimisation of new hypertensives and patients with stable angina).

*Review the on-going need for each medicine, a review of monitoring needs and an opportunity to support patients with their medicines taking ensuring they get the best use of their medicines (, medicines optimisation).

*Manage own caseload of vulnerable patients at risk of hospital admission and harm from poor use of medicines.

*Produce recommendations for clinical pharmacists, nurses or GPs on prescribing and monitoring.

*Implement practice searches to identify cohorts of at-risk patients , unplanned admission or readmissions from medicines. Work with case managers, multidisciplinary (health and social care) review teams, hospital colleagues and virtual ward teams to manage medicines-related risk.

*Reconcile medicines at transfer of care, including identifying and rectifying changes without referral to a GP. Perform a structured medication review, produce a post discharge medicines care plan including dose titration and booking of follow up tests and working with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge.

*Set up and manage systems to ensure continuity of medicines supply to high-risk groups of patients (, those with medicine compliance aids or those in care homes).

*Work in partnership with hospital colleagues to proactively manage patients at high risk of medicine related problems to ensure continuity of care.

*Work in partnership with community pharmacy colleagues to support medicines optimisation and patient safety.

*Ensure that patients are referred to the appropriate healthcare professional for , pathology test results, common/minor/low-acuity ailments, acute conditions, long term condition reviews etc.

*Recognise priorities and able to refer to seniors or GPs when appropriate.

*Provide clinical pharmacist services across sector in primary care and hospital service where required. Participation in the pharmacy on call rota, and provision of pharmacy support out of hours to the Dispensary at St Mary's Hospital in Portsmouth, only if required by the service in the event of emergencies.

The application of additional clinical duties may include:

*Regular monitoring all prescription charts to ensure safe, legal, and evidence-based prescribing takes place -- and safe accurate administration.

*Providing specialist and complex Medicines Information (legal or clinical) to healthcare staff (Clinical Commissioning Group, Community Trust and Primary Care Network) and other staff concerned with the care of patients, to patients themselves and their carers. This may include the provision of professional advice where opinion may differ, and advice may be challenged.

*Ensure accurate and timely transfer of care upon discharge -- identifying and following up complex and at-risk patients in the community. Provide clinical support and professional supervision to pharmacy technician workforce.

*Play an active part in the development and implementation of evidence-based policies and guidelines. Evidence based guidance development maximises the benefit of medicines to patients, controls cost and minimises risk.

*Independently and proactively provide support and advice to GPs on the analysis and monitoring of prescribing trends including the interpretation of PACT data.

Communication

*Liaise and work with the Integrated Care Board and Trust's Medicines Management Team in the creation of effective and seamless Community/Domiciliary patient care. Ensuring the proactive and reactive needs of patients and the health care system are met.

*Ensure dignity, privacy, and cultural and religious beliefs are respected at all times.

*Involve patients in decisions about prescribed medicines and support adherence.

*Undertake structured medication reviews (SMRs) with patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy and implement own (as an independent prescriber) or facilitated prescribing changes and order relevant tests.

*Consult with patients with single or multiple medical conditions where medicines optimisation is required.

*Attend and refer patients to multidisciplinary case conferences. Identifying key areas of need for vulnerable patients and formulating care plans.

*Provide patient facing clinics for those with questions, queries, and concerns about their medicines in the practice.

*Provide telephone consultations for patients with questions, queries, and concerns about their medicines.

*Answer medicine related enquiries from GPs, other network staff, other healthcare teams (, community pharmacy) and patients with queries about medicines. Suggesting and recommending solutions. Providing follow up for patients to monitor the effect of any changes.

*Present results and provide leadership on suggested changes.

*Contribute to national and local research initiatives.

Professional Responsibilities

*Continually monitor standards of care through quality markers, achievement of network targets, and benchmarking.

*Be aware of local quality data and use it to identify practice development required.

*Work proactively in managing change in own speciality to improve practice and health outcomes.

*Identify and provide leadership on areas of prescribing and medicines optimisation.

*Conduct clinical audits and improve projects or work with colleagues such as GP registrars, practice managers etc.

*Be accountable for the delivery of professional expertise and direct service provision.

*Complete the 18-month mandated CPPE Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway as part of the role as per the DES contract (unless a valid exemption is held).

*Keep up to date with relevant clinical practice and current educational policies relevant to their working areas of practice as part of continuing professional development.

*Adhere to the General Pharmaceutical Council's Standards for Pharmacy Professionals.

*Participate in the General Pharmaceutical Council's Revalidation programme, ensuring that professional registration is renewed on an annual basis and that continuous registration is maintained. Evidence of renewal should be provided on request.

*Follow legal, ethical, professional, and organisational policies/procedures and codes of conduct.

*Review yearly progress and develops clear plans to achieve results within priorities set by others.

Knowledge, Education and Training

*Provide education and training to primary healthcare team on therapeutics and medicines optimisation.

*Provide training to visiting medical, nursing, pharmacy, and other healthcare students where appropriate.

Responsibility for Research & Development

*Regularly undertake audit and service evaluation to inform service improvement using an evidence-based approach to draw on best practice.

*When necessary, support and facilitate colleagues in research and clinical audit in order to improve effectiveness and quality of patient care.

*Participate in surveys as required.

*Critically analyse research findings and their implications for practice.

*Identify where there is a gap in the evidence base to support practice.

*Understand and apply research evidence base into working place and disseminates evidence-based practice and audit findings at practice and local level.

*Understand principles of research governance.

Management and Leadership

*Act as a role model demonstrating effective clinical leadership on a daily basis.

*Assess and monitor risk in own and others' practice, acting on results, thereby ensuring safe delivery of care.

*Participate in maintaining systems for risk assessment and minimisation.

*Contribute to investigation of incidents and complaints when required; participate in identifying lessons learnt and the sharing of learning across the organisation.

*Supervise pharmacy technicians and pharmacy trainees to assist in the development of the pharmacy workforce. Training will be provided for this.

Responsibility for ensuring that:

*Informed consent is obtained where appropriate and documented in accordance with Trust procedures.

*New and replacement equipment is not used until it has been commissioned in accordance with Trust policy.

*Defective equipment is reported and made safe without delay in accordance with Trust procedures

*Equipment is maintained in accordance with Trust and PCN policy.

*Infection prevention and control procedures are followed by all staff within their area of responsibility.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Vocational Masters Degree in Pharmacy (4 years or equivalent) plus, one-year pre-registration training Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council Working towards/intent of gaining an independent prescribing qualification

Desirable

Postgraduate clinical pharmacy diploma or equivalent experience Significant post-qualification experience

Experience

Essential

Experience of working in a multidisciplinary team Experience of managing own priorities whilst working under pressure

Desirable

Experience of working in general practice or hospital or community setting Experience of co-ordinating complex activities / programmes of care with other professionals and agencies Track record of problem solving

Additional Criteria

Essential

Confident in the use of computer systems, spreadsheets, databases, data collection and coordination and word processingEffective communicator able to communicate complex and sensitive information where there may be barriers to understandingInquisitive and eager to learn, asks questions and responds positively to change in practice/procedure.Methodical/systematic worker able to work on own initiativeAccurate, good attention to detailIs able to plan, manage, monitor, advise and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long term conditions

Desirable

Produce timely and informative reports

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