Primary Care Clinical Pharmacist

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen formotivated and patient centred , senior orjunior clinical pharmacists to utilise their clinical skills in the primarycare setting working as part of multidisciplinary team to drive improvement and the quality of patient care through theprovision of efficient, safe and effective use of medicines.

Working within the PCN setting willinclude development of the PCN pharmacy service to integrate working strategiesto support effective delivery of activity and medicines work streams andpharmacy support across practices. This mayalso involve clinical supervision of pharmacy technician which providesopportunity to develop management and mentoring opportunities.

Main duties of the job

Responsibilities will include providingdirect patient care and undertaking full, patient centered structured medicationreviews to proactively manage people with complex polypharmacy and adherenceconcerns, particularly the elderly and those with multiple long termconditions. These post requires close partnership and team working toco-ordinate medicines related aspects of care across both health and socialcare interfaces.

The post holder will be employed by Sevenfields PCN and workwith our existing Pharmacy Team of Senior Clinical Pharmacist and PharmacyTechnician in our GP Practices. Our supervision framework will ensure you getthe support you need to develop and thrive with us.

The post holder will have the opportunity to undertake the Primary CarePharmacy Education Pathway delivered by the CPPE, unless already gained orequivalent qualification held already.

Whilst experience in primary care is not essential, lots of enthusiasmand a desire to use transferable clinical skills around medicines optimisationand holistic patient care in a primary care setting is the key.

About us

Sevenfields PCN is embedded into its community with activelink workers and a staff base at Goldsmiths Community Centre which also offersvaccinations and other services. We have a real passion for the health andwellbeing of our residents and have invested in four outdoor gyms for our localcommunities using surpluses generated by our vaccination work which was largelydelivered by our active volunteer team. Our local population is somewhat older thanother parts of Lewisham and contains several large care homes. It includesareas of extreme socioeconomic deprivation and the PCN is keen to findinnovative ways of addressing the health challenges that accompany this. All of the GP practices in Sevenfields areshareholders (members) of our PCN Company which has a Board that provides clearleadership through strong GP practice representation. As is the case elsewhere, Primary Care inLewisham is under pressure. The challenge for Sevenfields PCN is to work inpartnership with our local practices, GP Federation and Integrated Care Board(at South East London and Place levels) across our neighbourhood to help shapeand implement the transformation of Care in our locality ensuring that it canboth survive and thrive while still contributing to the delivery of new modelsof care that are self-sustaining financially.

Job description

Job responsibilities

1. To be responsible for themanagement of patients with long term conditions and undertake clinicalmedication reviews to proactively manage people with complex polypharmacy,especially the elderly and those with multiple co-morbidities (in particularfrailty, COPD, asthma, diabetes and cardiovascular disease) and people withlearning disabilities or autism (through STOMP Stop Over Medication Programme);

2. Provide specialistexpertise in the use of medicines whilst helping to address both the publichealth and social care needs of patients at the PCNs practice(s) and to help intackling inequalities;

3. Provide leadershipin the practice on medicines optimisation systems and processes and qualityimprovement

4. Contribute tomeeting the Quality and outcomes Framework (QoF) targets, enhanced services andthe Investment and Impact Fund (IIF) indicators

5. Through StructuredMedication Reviews (SMRs), support to improve the patients knowledge of theirconditions and associated treatments and therefore improve adherence tomedication, reduce waste and promote self-care.

6.The post holder will provide support to practice staff withregards to prescription and medication queries, ensuring integration withcommunity and hospital pharmacy to help utilise skill mix, improve patientoutcomes, ensure better access to healthcare and help manage GP workload.

7. Review discharge summaries and reconcilemedicines at transfer of care for identified and targeted patients.

8.Provide support to improve concordance and helpingpatients get the best from their medicines, reducing medicines relatedadmissions (including falls), and promoting appropriate evidence-based and costeffective prescribing. This will involve advice on de-prescribing whereappropriate.

9.To deliver quality improvement, whilecontributing to the delivery of the general practice quality and outcomesframework or other enhanced services or prescribing workstreams.

10. Contribute to the provision of education and training onmedicines optimisation and specific therapeutic areas to healthcare professionalswithin the PCN and to the wider ICB geography, including the PCN pharmacyprofessional network meetings.

11. Communicate, actionand support implementation of MHRA alerts, product withdrawals and other localand national guidelines and formulary recommendations.

12. Undertake clinicalaudits in priority areas identified by the Medicines Optimisation Team orwithin the PCN and feedback results to practices and the PCN and support themin implementing recommendations.

13. Support practicesand PCNs in identifying and reporting onto NRLS any incidents relating tomedicines. Be involved in investigating medicines incidents and identifying andimplementing any required system improvements.

14. Support setting upand implementation of shared care protocols in practice, including processes toimprove monitoring of high- risk drugs.

15. Review the use ofmedicines most commonly associated with unplanned hospital admissions andreadmissions through audit and individual patient reviews.

16. Identify and managecohorts of patients at high risk of harm from medicines through computersearches

17. To work with general practice colleagues, and CommunityPharmacy colleagues to support implementation of safe systems for repeatprescribing and reduction of waste across the healthcare environment

18. Review, implementand support adherence to the practice repeat prescribing policy.

19. Manage the repeatprescribing reauthorisation process by reviewing patient requests for repeatprescriptions, flagging up those patients needing a review.

20. Ensure patients onrepeat prescriptions have the required monitoring and assessments undertaken asappropriate to their condition(s) and medicines prescribed.

21. To provide supportwhen required for junior and pre-registration pharmacists and pharmacytechnicians including provision of information, informal teaching andassessment of pre-registration and diploma practitioners.

22. To support thedelivery of targets in the general practice setting in relation to medicinesoptimisation and service delivery within quality and outcomes framework areasand enhanced services as required.

23. To providepharmaceutical advice on the use of more cost effective drugs across theprimary and secondary care interface and within the general practice setting,including the provision of advice and implementation of formularyrecommendations and shared care guidance.

24. Undertake any other work supporting medicines optimisationin GP practices and the PCN commensurate with the banding of the post and whichis agreed between the post holder and the manager

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

B. Pharm / M. Pharm / BSc (Pharmacy) Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)

Desirable

Either has completed the CPPE Pathway, close to the completion or has the intention to complete this in the future Holds an independent prescribing qualification, is working towards a qualification or has the intention to complete this in the future. Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma in either Clinical Pharmacy or General Pharmacy Practice (or equivalent) Member of the RPS Faculty Other postgraduate qualifications relevant to pharmacy practice, such as management, leadership or education & training qualifications.

Experience

Essential

Minimum of 2 years post qualification experience in pharmacy, Demonstrates an understanding of the role of a clinical pharmacist within primary care and where it fits into and how it complements the practice team and the wider PCN team. Demonstrable experience of multidisciplinary working

Desirable

Previous experience of delivering formal education and training sessions. Demonstrable experience in supervising others. Demonstrable experience of co-ordinating and leading on clinical audit. Experience of working within GP practices &/ or primary care pharmacy setting. Development of evidence based guidelines

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