Job Description
Job Title: PCN Clinical Pharmacist
Accountable to: PCN practices and North Norfolk Primary Care
Place of work: Practices in NN1, a PCN in North Norfolk – Main place of work Holt Medical Practice.
Principle Liaisons: Holt Medical Practice Management, Primary Care Network Clinical Director, Practices in NN1, North Norfolk Primary Care
Salary Range: Up to £47,000 Negotiable (Depending on qualifications and
experience)
Hours of work: Full time 37.5hrs per week working Monday to Friday across 4 or 5 days
Job Purpose:
The post holder is a pharmacist, who acts within their professional boundaries, working alongside pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in Holt Medical Practice and within the NN1 Primary Care Network. They will improve patient’s health outcomes and the efficiency of the Primary Care team by providing direct, accessible, and timely medicines expertise including face to face contact with patients. They will work to optimise medication issues to improve patient care, safety and support clinical staff in the management of patients.
The post holder will be an integral part of the General Practice team, working in Holt Medical Practice and across the Primary Care Network, as well as part of a wider pharmacist network and multidisciplinary team. This includes being a conduit of patient medicines information into and out of Acute General Hospitals.
As part of their employment, the post holder will achieve qualification from an accredited training pathway, including independent prescribing, equipping the clinical pharmacist to be able to practice and prescribe safely and effectively in a primary care setting. The supervision and mentorship network will be provided to support the Clinical Pharmacist.
The practice has the benefit of an on-site community pharmacy and as part of an interesting and diverse role, the post holder will work 1 day per week as the responsible pharmacist.
Key Responsibilities:
- Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient facing role to clinically assess and treat patients using expert knowledge of medicines for specific disease areas.
- Provide pharmaceutical consultations to patients with long term conditions as an integral part of the multidisciplinary team.
- Provide proactive leadership on medicines and prescribing systems to the PCN multidisciplinary team, patients, and their carers
- Improve patient and carer understanding of, confidence in and compliance with their medication.
- Provide advice and answer medication related queries from patients and staff
- Organise and oversee the PCN’s medicines optimisation systems including the repeat prescribing and medication review systems.
- Working in partnership with pharmacists and clinicians in Acute General Hospital Hospitals, to improve the safety and quality of prescribing after discharge from hospital admissions and attendance.
- Improve the quality and effectiveness of prescribing through clinical audit and education to improve performance against NICE standards, and clinical and prescribing guidance.
- Develop yourself and the role through participation in clinical supervision, training and service redesign activities.
- Contribute to a patient safety culture through reporting and investigation of medicines incidents and undertaking proactive measures to improve patient safety.
- Work with community pharmacists, hospital pharmacists, and other stakeholders in the medicines supply chain to improve patient experience and manage incidents.
- Deliver training, mentoring and guidance to other clinicians and staff on medicine issues.
- Provide leadership within the pharmacy team and offer supervision to pharmacy technicians within the team if appropriate.
- Responsible pharmacist duties 1 day per week working in practice community pharmacy.
Core competencies
1. Patient facing clinical services and care
- Manage a caseload of complex patients and potential care institutions
- Provide advice for the GP management of more complex patients or areas such as addictive behaviours, severe mental illness or end of life care
- Develop a specialist area of interest
- Conduct medication reviews and agree medicines care plans in agreement with patients and carers
- Delivering long term conditions clinics and home visits particularly for patients with complicated medication regimes and prescribe accordingly
- Consult patients for acute illnesses within defined levels of competence and independently prescribe medication
- Prescribe acute and repeat medication for patient need within areas of competency
- Receive referrals and directed patients from triage services and other clinicians
- Provide targeted support and pro-active review for vulnerable, complex patients and those at risk of admission and re-admission to secondary care
- Receive and resolve medicines queries from patients and other staff
- Contribute to public health campaigns (e.g. flu clinics) through advice or direct care
- Provide specific advice and support to patients in care homes and support staff
- Provide help and advice on medicines use to patients and their carers
- Promote self-management and develop patient support systems
- Manage therapeutic drug monitoring system and recall of patients taking high risk drugs i.e. anticoagulants, anticonvulsants and DMARDs etc
- Support virtual and remote models of consultation and support including e-consultations, remote medication review and telehealth and telemedicine.
2. Medicines optimisation Systems
- Investigate and feedback on examples of best practice and formulate how to apply these
- Review overall efficiency of PCN arrangements; reduce duplication and suggest improvements in use of skills
- Organise and oversee repeat prescribing, repeat dispensing, electronic prescribing and medication review systems
- Provide leadership and support to prescription administrative/dispensary staff
- Handle prescription queries and requests directly
- Oversee system for reconciliation of medicines from outpatient and discharge letters and support safe transfer of care through liaison with hospital and community colleagues
- Liaise with other stakeholders in the supply chain such as community pharmacists and appliance contractors to handle queries and manage supply problems
- Support delivery of QOF, incentive schemes, QIPP and other quality or cost effectiveness initiatives
- Agree and review Prescribing Formularies and Protocols and monitor compliance levels
- Improve the data quality of medicines records and linking to conditions.
3. Safety
- Report medicines related incidents, contribute to investigations and root cause analyses
- Participate in serious incident investigations and multidisciplinary case reviews
- Report Adverse Drug Reactions and promote reporting by MDT
- Oversee use and monitoring of high-risk drugs and drugs of abuse
- Action and response to Drug Safety Alerts and other safety cascades.
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NNPC Generic Job Description areas:Communication
- Utilise and demonstrate sensitive communication styles, to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment
- Communicate effectively with patients and carers, recognising the need for alternative methods of communication to overcome different levels of understanding, cultural background and preferred ways of communicating
- Anticipate barriers to communication and take action to improve communication
- Maintain effective communication within the organisational environment and with external stakeholders
- Act as an advocate for patients and colleagues
- Ensure awareness of sources of support and guidance (eg PALS) and provide information in an acceptable format to all patients, recognising any difficulties and referring where appropriate
- Delivering a quality service
- Prioritise, organise and manage own workload in a manner that maintains and promotes quality
- Participate in quality assurance and safety processes across the organisation and its activities
- Participate in shared learning across NNPC and the wider organisational environment
- Use a structured framework (e.g. root-cause analysis) to manage, review and identify learning from patient complaints, clinical incidents and near-miss events
- Assess the impact of policy implementation on care delivery
- Understand and apply legal issues that support the identification of vulnerable and abused children and adults, and be aware of statutory child/vulnerable patients health procedures and local guidance
- Leadership – personal and people development
- Take responsibility for own learning and performance including participating in coaching/supervision and acting as a positive role mode
- Support staff development in order to maximise potential
- Actively promote the workplace as a learning environment, encouraging everyone to learn from each other and from external good practice
- Encourage others to make realistic self-assessment of their application of knowledge and skills, challenging any complacency or actions that are not in the interest of the public and/or users of services
- Critically evaluate and review innovations and developments that are relevant to the area of work
- Enlist support and influence stakeholders and decision-makers in order to bring about new developments in the provision of services
- Contribute to planning and implementing changes within the area of care and responsibility
- Contribute to the development of local guidelines, protocols and standards
Team working
- Understand own role and scope and identify how this may develop over time
- Work as an effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploring the mechanisms to develop new ways of working
- Delegate clearly and appropriately, adopting the principles of safe practice and assessment of competence
- Create clear referral mechanisms to meet patient need
- Prioritise own workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are embedded within the culture of the team
- Work effectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon care delivery
- Discuss, highlight and work with the team to create opportunities to improve patient care
- Manage and lead on the delivery of specifically identified services or projects as agreed with the practice management team
- Agree plans and outcomes by which to measure success
- Management of risk
- Manage and assess risk within the areas of responsibility, ensuring adequate measures are in place to protect staff and patients
- Monitor work areas and practices to ensure they are safe and free from hazards and conform to health, safety and security legislation, policies, procedures and guidelines
- Ensure appropriate supervision of safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs.
- Participate in mandatory and statutory training requirements
- Apply infection-control measures within the practice according to local and national guidelines
- Interpret national strategies and policies into local implementation strategies that are aligned to the values and culture of general practice
Managing information
- Use technology and appropriate software as an aid to management in planning, implementation and monitoring of care, presenting and communicating information
- Review and process data using accurate Read codes in order to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes
- Manage information searches using the internet and local library databases
- Monitor and confirm that the nursing team are receiving and processing data and information in an agreed format
- Collate, analyse and present clinical data and information to the team
Learning and development
- Undertake mentorship for team members
- Disseminate learning and information gained to other team members in order to share good practice and inform others about current and future developments (eg courses and conferences)
- Assess own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate
- Provide an educational role to patients, carers, families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning
Equality and diversity
- Identify patterns of discrimination and take action to overcome this and promote diversity and equality of opportunity
- Enable others to promote equality and diversity in a non-discriminatory culture
- Support people who need assistance in exercising their rights
- Monitor and evaluate adherence to local chaperoning policies
- Act as a role model in the observance of equality and diversity good practice
- Accept the rights of individuals to choose their care providers, participate in care and refuse care
- Assist patients from marginalised groups to access quality care
Clinical Pharmacist – Person Specification
Qualifications and training
Essential
- Completion of an undergraduate degree in pharmacy and registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council
- Hold or be working towards an independent prescribing qualification
- Self-development through continuous professional development activity
Desirable
- Participation in the delivery of a formal education programme
- Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
- A Member of or working towards Faculty membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
Experience and Knowledge
Essential
- Minimum of a 2 years’ experience as a pharmacist, demonstrated within a practice portfolio
- An appreciation of the nature of GPs and general practice. An appreciation of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing
- Experience and an awareness of common acute and long-term condition s that are likely to be seen in general practice
- An appreciation of the new NHS landscape including the relationship between individual providers, PCNs and commissioners
Desirable
- Understanding of the implications of national priorities for the team and service
- In-depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence-based healthcare
- Understanding of the mentorship process
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Ability to communicate complex and sensitive information effectively with people at all levels by telephone, email and face to face
- Ability to follow legal, ethical, professional and organisational policies/procedures and codes of conduct
- Excellent interpersonal, influencing and negotiation skills organisation skills with the ability to constructively challenge the view and practices of managers and clinicians
- Ability to work under pressure and to meet deadlines
- Good IT skills
- Ability to maintain confidentiality
- Ability to use own initiative, discretion and sensitivity
Desirable
- Ability to plan, manage, monitor, advise and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long term conditions
- Full driving license
Job Types: Full-time, Part-time, Permanent
Salary: Up to £47,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Flexitime
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Schedule:
Work Location: One location
Application deadline: 15/03/2023
Reference ID: Clinical Pharmacist NN1