About this role
Job summary
Are you an enthusiastic and patient-focused Clinical Pharmacist looking to make a real difference in primary care?
We have an exciting opportunity for a motivated Clinical Pharmacist to join Droitwich, Ombersley & the Rurals Primary Care Network, working across Spa Medical Practice and Chaddesley Corbett Surgery. As part of our established multidisciplinary team, you will play a key role in delivering high-quality, safe and evidence-based medicines optimisation services to our patient population.
You will work closely with GPs, nurses, community pharmacists and the wider multidisciplinary team to improve patient outcomes through structured medication reviews, optimisation of long-term condition management, reducing medicines-related harm, supporting safe prescribing, and delivering personalised care. The role offers a varied workload including medication reviews, medicines reconciliation following hospital discharge, prescribing quality improvement, clinical audit, and supporting patients with complex health needs.
This is an excellent opportunity to develop your clinical skills while contributing to innovative models of neighbourhood healthcare, helping to reduce health inequalities and improve the health and wellbeing of our local communities. You will be supported by an experienced Pharmacist Lead and have access to continuing professional development within a collaborative and forward-thinking Primary Care Network.
Main duties of the job
As a Clinical Pharmacist, you will work as part of a multidisciplinary team across Spa Medical Practice and Chaddesley Corbett Surgery, delivering high-quality, patient-centred medicines optimisation services. You will undertake structured medication reviews, support the safe and effective use of medicines, manage long-term conditions, reconcile medicines following hospital discharge, and provide expert prescribing advice to clinicians and patients. The role includes improving prescribing quality and safety through audit and quality improvement initiatives, supporting patients with complex health needs and polypharmacy, contributing to multidisciplinary care planning, and working collaboratively with community pharmacy, secondary care and wider health and care partners to improve patient outcomes and reduce health inequalities.
About us
About Vertis Health
We are a federation of GP surgeries and PCNs in Worcestershire, serving over 600,000 NHS patients through a variety of local services. Our community of GPs are our stakeholders, meaning we are powered by the community we have created - and our goal is to find ways to make it easier for them to spend less time and money on administrative workload, and more time with their patients.
Our GP surgeries remain independent while keeping the benefits of being part of a larger organisation - and we exist to protect the interests of our members through advocacy, business support, and revenue generation.
We are ambitious about growth in our network - and so, our diversified services help our PCNs to reinvest in vital local healthcare initiatives, providing a sustainable future for their communities in the long term.
About Droitwich Ombersley & the Rurals Primary Care Network
Droitwich, Ombersley & The Rurals PCN consists of 7 practices, based across South Worcestershire, serving 57,000 patients. We aim to offer and deliver excellent, safe, co-ordinated, high quality patient care. Continuously learning, evolving, and implementing new models of care, to create inclusion, reduce health inequalities and health improve outcomes.
We work hard to promote a culture where staff feel engaged, valued, and recognised by the organisation and the others they work with.
Job description Job responsibilities
KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Provide expertise in clinical medicines, review and address public health and social needs of patients in the Practice.
Reduce inappropriate polypharmacy and wasteful prescribing through clinical medication review.
Reconcile medicines following hospital discharge and work with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge.
Contribute to reductions in medicine related hospital admissions and readmissions by supporting patients to get the best outcomes from their medicines and identifying and addressing medicines related issues.
Interface with community and hospital pharmacy colleagues and develop referral processes between primary care professionals including the promotion of the repeat dispensing service.
Oversee and support the dispensary function of the Practice.
Oversee the repeat prescribing reauthorisation process, including reviewing requests for repeat prescriptions and medicines reaching review dates.
Manage patients and health care professionals medicine queries.
Increase quality and safety of prescribing through mechanisms such as audit and PDSA (PLAN DO STUDY ACT) cycles.
Manage practice formularies to improve the quality, safety, and cost effectiveness of prescribing.
Implement drug withdrawals and alerts e.g., MHRA, aimed at improving medicines safety.
Work with primary care professionals and patients to implement NICE and other evidence-based guidelines.
Work with Commissioning organisations and Vertis Health to comply with local medicines optimisation schemes and projects.
Support and hold clinics where medicines are the main interventions e.g., asthma clinics.
Contribute to multi-morbidity reviews and multidisciplinary reviews.
Provide medicines information and training to Practice healthcare professionals and admin staff.
Review daily Pathology results for patients on known medicines.
Act as a source of medicines information for all of the practice team and patients (e.g., around doses, side effects, adverse events, possible alternatives e.g., around out of stocks)
Ultimately to undertake minor ailments triage, deal with minor ailments and triaging patients appropriately.
Working within the practice-based team to undertake medication reviews particularly in high-risk groups such as:
- Frail elderly
- Polypharmacy
- Renal impairment
- Hepatic impairment
- Asthma, diabetes, hypertension and Rheumatoid and Dmard drug monitoring
- Substance misuse
- Patients on high-risk medicines
- STOPP/START identified patients.
- Revolving door Hospital admissions
Management support for the dispensary including profitability and stock control; negotiations with drug company representatives and wholesalers; and organisational management including review of SOPS (Standard Operating Procedures) and compliance issues.
Ensure the Practice continues to participate in, and meet the requirements of, the local DSQS (Dispensing Services Quality Scheme)
Improve prescribing practice through educational support for all prescribers within the practice.
Lead on where changes in evidence require changes in prescribing across the patient population, e.g., where a drug is withdrawn or indications change.
Liaise with colleagues in community pharmacy to align support for medicines adherence such as MUR (Medication Use Reviews) and NMS (New Medicine Service).
Support improvements in clinical care through practice-based audit and implementing change.
Prescribing advice to prescribers in practice e.g., temporary non-availability of drugs
Ensure patient safety when they are transferred between care providers through reconciliation of prescribed medicines.
Lead for medicines optimisation scheme compliance, including care home support; discharge reviews; medication reviews; and QIPP.
Please see attached for full job description
Person Specification
Experience Essential
Experience of medicines optimisation, medication reviews and managing long-term conditions Experience of working within a multidisciplinary team
Desirable
Experience of General Practice or Primary Care
Other Essential
Enhanced DBS Safeguarding adult and children level three Basic life support training Full UK Driving Licence and access to a vehicle (or ability to travel independently between practice sites).
Qualifications Essential
Masters degree in pharmacy (MPharm) (or equivalent) Independent prescriber qualification
Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details Employer name Vertis Health
Address 38 Kenilworth Close
Crabbs Cross
Redditch
B97 5JX
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.vertishealth.org.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)