About this role
Job summary
Due to internal recruitment, we are seeking enthusiastic and clinically committed pharmacists to join our team providing clinical pharmacist services to ward, dispensary and cancer services teams. Through our structured Band 6-7 development programme, you will gain the skills and experience needed to progress into a Band 7 Specialist Rotational Pharmacist role via completion of our band 6-7 development pathway.
You will:
Gain experience across a range of specialist services through 4-month rotations. Work as the medicines expert within multidisciplinary teams. Support safe and timely patient discharge, including the Discharge Medicines Service. Develop clinical decision-making skills through medicines optimisation, medicines information and on-call services. Support and Development
We are committed to helping you achieve your career goals through:
A structured Band 6-7 development pathway with gateway assessments. Tailored rotational training and personalised learning objectives. Dedicated clinical supervision, coaching and mentoring. Regular development reviews. Opportunities to lead audits, contribute to guideline development and support incident reviews. Monthly education sessions and peer learning forums. Access to postgraduate qualifications, leadership programmes, independent prescribing and clinical diploma opportunities. Study leave and protected time for professional development.
Main duties of the job
Key Duties
Provide Medication History Taking, Medicines Reconciliation, provision of Patient Information and Counselling and ward-based discharge to an allocated clinical ward or area according to the rotation utilising the trusts electronic prescribing and notes system
Deliver pharmaceutical care to patients; recommend, substantiate and communicate best therapeutic options for patients and implement changes in prescribing practice to ensure evidence-based medicine is followed as appropriate.
Undertake clinical audit of medicine use and pharmacy services within WAHT
Provide the clinical professional check on prescriptions dispensed within the dispensary, ensuring that the Trust high cost drug procedure and Trust Formulary is adhered to.
Provide day to day clinical supervision for pre-registration pharmacy graduates, technical pharmacy staff and students as assigned.
Provide clinical pharmacy teaching to pharmacy, medical and nursing staff
Provide weekend pharmacy services including on call on rotation.
About us
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is a large acute and specialised hospital trust that provides a range of local acute services to the residents of Worcestershire and more specialised services to a larger population in Herefordshire and beyond.
The Trust operates hospital-based services from three sites in Kidderminster, Redditch and Worcester
Our workforce is more than 7,000 strong, and our caring staff are recognised as providing good and outstanding patient-centred care. You could be one of them.
We are committed to recruiting the best people to work with us. Our values, which we ask all staff to demonstrate, underpin our everyday work and remain firmly at the heart of all we do.
Being open and honest
Ensuring people feel cared for
Showing respect to everyone
We are committed to developing a culture of continuous improvement by embedding the principles of our Improvement System.
We are proud to have achieved Timewise accreditation - this means we are committed to embedding flexible working within our organisation as a flex positive employer.
DBS Checks and Costs
Any applicants who are offered posts requiring a DBS check as part of their employment check will have the cost of this check (at the current rate) deducted from their salary. Please see link in Supporting Information section for more details on DBS checks and costs.
Job description Job responsibilities
This is a development role and requires completion of activities and gateway assessment activities alongside the general duties to progress from a band 6 position to a band 7 position
Provide clinical pharmacy services on rotation to the acute medical, surgical, emergency, and critical care units WRH, under the clinical supervision of Lead Specialist Pharmacists.
Provide specialised pharmaceutical advice concerning the care of patients and undertake pharmaceutical risk management for the Units where duties are being carried out.
Ensure compliance with medicines legislation, the Trust Medicines Policy, and medicines related national and local guidelines within the Units where duties are being carried out.
Be accountable for his or her own professional actions guided by appropriate technical and professional SOPs and associated policies, national directives, standards, guidelines, senior pharmacist colleagues, and the post-holders own specialised knowledge.
Plan his or her duties and prioritise workload where duties are being carried out according to the needs of patients, medical and nursing staff in order to complete the following within the time available:
Analysing patients individual pharmaceutical care needs
Identifying and correcting prescribing errors/unclear prescriptions with medical staff.
Advising prescribers on doses, side effects, alternative treatments
Communicate complex pharmaceutical recommendations and advice concerning patients treatment effectively to medical and nursing staff and other health care professionals.
Interview newly admitted patients to construct an accurate medication history, assess compliance/concordance issues, and:
Review information against the admission details and prescription chart.
Identify to medical staff any potential or actual medicines-related hospital admissions or associated issues and outline any required action to resolve identified discrepancies.
Construct pharmaceutical care plans for patients, assess and monitor clinical progress and outcome with regard to their medication and actively intervene to ensure that patients receive optimal care with minimal side effects.
Monitor TPN on a daily basis against individual patients need and clinical condition.
Assess patients discharge information requirements as early as possible in the admission stay to be able to prepare information on medicines for them based on individual need.
Assist with the therapeutic blood monitoring of identified drugs within the post-holders clinical area including:
Initial patient assessment and initiation of appropriate loading or starting doses
Completion of digital request cards for level assaying
Interpretation of blood level results and subsequent adjustment of the patients dose of medicine and amendment of the patients prescription in order to optimise the beneficial results of therapy whilst minimising any potential toxicity.
Use MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint to produce patient information, information for medical and nursing staff, audits and project reports.
Provision of Information and Counselling:
The post holder will:
Advise medical, nursing and technical pharmacy staff on the safe and appropriate management of medicines together with the safe handling and disposal of medicines including those which are noxious or harmful.
Advise all health care professionals on storage, stability, compatibility and expiry issues regarding medicines.
On rotation, assist the Specialist Pharmacist for Medicines Information by providing information to consultants, General Practitioners, medical, nursing and pharmacy staff on all aspects of medicines and therapy with medicines for individual patients and patient groups.
Counsel and provide information about their medicines to patients with complex needs such as a physical disability which may affect information requirements or language difficulties.
Provision of Professional Dispensary Services:
The post holder will be responsible for:
Providing on a rotational basis the clinical pharmacist check on all prescriptions dispensed by the Dispensary. This will require the scrutiny of prescriptions from medical and other practitioners to ensure they are accurate, appropriate for the patients needs, legal and cost-effective with respect to:
o Appropriate therapeutic selection of medicines
o Appropriate dose, frequency and quantity
o Avoidance of potentially harmful drug-drug interactions or side effects
o Adherence to the Trust Formulary, unlicensed medicines policy and high cost drug procedures.
Questioning and challenging the prescriptions of prescribers whenever the post holder perceives it to be professionally appropriate and in the best interests of the patient.
Ensuring the accurate dispensing and documentation of clinical trial material as requested.
Use the Pharmacy Computer System to query the availability, location and cost of medicines, and to dispense and supply medicines.
Use the Electronic Discharge System for processing discharge prescriptions
Provision of cancer services:
Provide on a rotational basis the professional checking of chemotherapy prescriptions for patients. This will require the scrutiny of prescriptions from oncologists and haematologists to ensure they are
accurate, appropriate for the patients needs and supplied within appropriate commissioning frameworks with respect to:
Appropriate therapeutic selection of medicines
Appropriate dose, frequency and quantity
Avoidance of potentially harmful drug-drug interactions or side effects
Adherence to the Trust Formulary, unlicensed medicines policy and high cost drug procedures.
Questioning and challenging the prescriptions of prescribers whenever the post holder perceives it to be professionally appropriate and in the best interests of the patient.
Pre-check and release chemotherapy in the aseptic units of the trust ensuring compliance with GMP.
Use the Electronic prescribing system as required to facilitate management of chemotherapy patients.
Managerial responsibilities:
The post holder will:
Provide day to day clinical supervision for pre-registration pharmacy graduates, pharmacy technicians, assistant pharmacy technicians, and students within the WRH dispensary and other pharmacy services.
Financial Responsibilities:
The post-holder will:
Help to maintain the security of medicines and supplies within the Pharmacy Departments.
Undertake regular statutory checks of Controlled Drugs on hospital wards.
Provide advice and support to their allocated wards in relation to the Safe and Secure Handling of medicines
Provision of Education, Training and CPD:
The post holder will be responsible for:
Participating in the Trust personal development review, agreeing service and personal objectives with the Clinical Pharmacy Team Leader and being responsible for self audit to demonstrate both achievement of objectives and evidence of value to the Directorate and Trust.
Identify personal training and development required to ensure the quality of the service.
Agreeing and completing a yearly training plan with the in line with PDR objectives
Other Operational Responsibilities:
The post holder will:
Assist in the delivery of the pharmacy departments dispensing and other operational, and clinical, services as required to meet the needs of the service:
Accurately, with no margin for error, dispense, prepare medicines ensuring doses are correct and accurately weighed, measured and or counted.
Enter patient details on the Pharmacy Computer System from prescriptions of doctors and other practitioners and produce medicine labels.
Check medicines that other pharmacy staff have dispensed and prepared to ensure they have been dispensed correctly.
Participate in the Weekend service and additionally in the Bank Holiday rota.
Undertake emergency duties of a pharmaceutical nature integral to fulfilling an Emergency Duty Commitment, on a rota with other pharmacists at WRH.
Person Specification
Qualifications Essential
Professional knowledge acquired through a vocational degree in pharmacy Currently Registered as member of the GPhC Currently meeting the GPhC standard for continuing professional development.
Experience Essential
Current experience of successfully delivering NHS pharmacy services in a secondary care environment to a range of general and specialist areas.
Personal Qualities Essential
Can demonstrate commitment to delivering the best possible services to patients and the trust. Able to meet deadlines and manage time effectively Able to work well on own initiative and effectively within a team to deliver best possible care Able to communicate information about medicines when there are barriers to understanding
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 Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Address Charles Hastings Way
Worcester
Worcestershire
WR5 1DD
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.worcsacute.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)