About this role
Job summary
The post holder is an experienced pharmacist, who acts within their professional boundaries, to develop, lead, manage and mentor a team of clinical pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians within Keynsham PCN. This will include clinical supervision sessions on a regular basis.
The post holder will provide clinical leadership to the Pharmacy team, Practices and PCN. This may entail:
Leading on medicines optimisation and quality improvement initiatives
Identifying and implementing opportunities for improvement in prescribing practice
Overseeing clinical policy, protocol, and SOP development
Line managing and conducting probation and annual appraisals for Clinical Pharmacist and Pharmacy Technicians within the PCN
Advising and agreeing Clinical Pharmacists learning and development needs
Leading on management of the quality and outcomes framework and enhanced services.
Main duties of the job
As the Senior Clinical Pharmacist, your key responsibilities are:
To reduce the medicines related workload on doctors
Increase safety and quality of prescribed medicines
Provide support on medicines related issues to the whole practice team
Provide leadership and line management to the PCN pharmacy team
Be a point of contact for patients regarding medicines queries
About us
Keynsham Primary Care Network PCNis a highly collaborative and supportive two-practice network, bringing together St Augustines Medical Practice and West View Surgery to provide exceptional care for a population of approximately 28,000 patients.
With a long-standing history of working closely together, our practices have built a strong reputation for delivering approachable, patient-centred care while fostering a positive and inclusive working environment for our teams. We pride ourselves on our collaborative culture, where innovation, teamwork and professional development are actively encouraged.
Our multidisciplinary workforce includes experienced Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs) and Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACPs), creating excellent opportunities for shared learning, mentorship and career progression. Staff are supported by an experienced Clinical Director and PCN Manager, ensuring strong leadership and a clear commitment to staff wellbeing and development.
Situated in the vibrant town of Keynsham, ideally located between Bath and Bristol, our PCN benefits from excellent transport links, free staff parking and access to the amenities of two thriving cities, offering an outstanding work-life balance.
Join us and become part of a forward-thinking, supportive team dedicated to delivering high-quality care and improving the health and wellbeing of our local community.
Job description Job responsibilities
Key Responsibilities
As the Senior Clinical Pharmacist, your key responsibilities are:
To reduce the medicines related workload on doctors
Increase safety and quality of prescribed medicines
Provide support on medicines related issues to the whole practice team
Provide leadership and line management to the PCN pharmacy team
Be a point of contact for patients regarding medicines queries
You should support the following clinical work:
Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy and implement own prescribing changes (as an independent prescriber) and order relevant monitoring tests
Help with Chronic Disease Management which may include, depending on clinical interest, managing hypertension/Type 2 Diabetes/Heart Failure/Asthma/COPD patients, polypharmacy review) and ADHD
Medicines reconciliation on transfer between care providers
Care home/Frailty medication reviews
Managing caseload of patients with common/minor/self-limiting ailments while working within scope of practice and limits of competence. Signposting to community pharmacy and referring to GPs or other healthcare professionals where appropriate.
You should also support the following practice development work:
Focusing on QOF Domains, improving disease registers
Act as a source of medicines information for all the practice team and patients, (such as around doses, side effects, adverse events, possible alternatives, i.e. around out of stocks). Suggesting and recommending solutions.
Prescribing Safety audits, Clinical audit, Local Enhanced Services support
Lead on prescription management (systems and processes, ensuring monitoring is being done, support clerical staff)
Actioning of MHRA safety alerts
Responsibilities underpinning the role:
To develop and facilitate a good working relationship with community pharmacists and other local providers of healthcare.
To plan and organise own workload, including audit and project work, and training sessions for members of the practice team, patients, and carers.
To maintain registration as a pharmacist and comply with appropriate professional codes.
As appropriate to the post, to maintain and develop professional competence and expertise, keep up to date with medical/therapeutic evidence and opinion, and local and national service, legislation and policy developments, agree objectives and a personal development plan and participate in the appraisal process.
To attend local, regional and national meetings of relevance as agreed with the post holders line manager.
To undertake any other duties commensurate with the post holders grade as agreed with the post holders line manager.
Leadership:
Act as Line Manager for the Pharmacy team to include managing day to day operations to achieve departmental objectives and engaging team members in the purpose and direction of the pharmacy team and :
Agree with Clinical Director, PCN Manager, Prescribing Leads, and Practice Managers how the day-to-day schedule for your Clinical Pharmacy Team should be structured to manage the balance between contract delivery responsibilities and the need to support Primary Care services in general. Share any CPD learning acquired because of Stakeholder Engagement and Environmental Awareness analysis with The Clinical Director, PCN Manager, Prescribing Leads & with your immediate team. Monitor the inputs (number of clinical sessions and tasks) undertaken by your team members (CPs and PTs) and assess the effectiveness of these interventions. Support the individual CPs and PTs with queries whilst they progress through their independent prescribing qualification. Proactively organise and run team meetings for the PCNs Clinical Pharmacist/Pharmacy Tech team monthly liaising with wider PCN management team as appropriate Conduct probation reviews and appraisals for the CPs & PTs within their team in accordance with the appraisal policy whilst seeking timely feedback from the Clinical Director and practice GP prescribing leads Make recommendations to Clinical Director for any necessary individual or team development in a timely manner Using personal networks, contribute & support the recruitment process for new recruits to the PCN Clinical Pharmacy Team Alert the PCN/Practice Manager to any Significant Events and associated learning that arises within them (independently of practice-based SE reporting) Follows professional and organisational policies/procedures relating to performance management. Ensure there is appropriate clinical supervision in place for all pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. Ensure all pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are engaged with the review and appraisal systems.
Management of Medicines Safety:
Agree a process with each Practice within the PCN (recognising that all practices within the PCN are moving forward from a base of multiple individual processes) to ensure that all medicines safety alerts are managed, and learning is supported without unnecessary duplication of effort across individual practices, whilst in accordance with the reporting received and in compliance with CQC requirements. Proactively propose any necessary SOPS to be introduced or modified following discussions with Practices/PCN Prescribing Leads
Person Specification
Experience Essential
Experience in the specialist clinical field equivalent to working at advanced level 1 of the RPS pharmacy framework Experience and an awareness of the breadth of common acute and long-terms conditions that are likely to be seen in general practice Experience in the leadership, supervision and management of other staff Experience in the teaching and training of others in a variety of settings e.g. clinical, academic
Desirable
Working in community or primary care based teams Experience of leading clinical audit
Qualifications Essential
Professional degree or diploma in relevant field or equivalent Extensive knowledge of medicines optimisation, acquired through post graduate clinical pharmacy diploma or equivalent experience or training. Post graduate learning to masters level or equivalent Appropriate statutory professional body registration - the General Pharmaceutical Council Successful completion of the CPPE Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway Must be willing to participate in any relevant training identified to develop skills required to carry out duties including extended role activities Maintains a portfolio of CPD in line with regulatory body standards Holds an independent prescribing qualification Teaching, training or mentorship qualification or experience to the equivalent level
Desirable
Specific CPD modules relevant to specialist field Leadership and management qualification Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy
Other Skills Essential
Advanced specialist theoretical and clinical knowledge appropriate to service area and profession Advanced knowledge of relevant current issues in health and social care, ethics and innovation and application in practice An appreciation of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing Demonstrates awareness of limits to knowledge base Experience of leading the development and implementation of clinical governance, service development and quality measures in practice Knowledge of current research and/or clinical audit methodology Knowledge of clinical patient record systems Advanced assessment, planning, treatment and evaluation skills appropriate to clinical area Performs highly specialised tests / procedures / diagnostics relevant to clinical role to an advanced level Highly complex analytical and creative problem-solving skills in unpredictable situations, synthesising a variety of evidence and presenting this in a relevant format e.g. report; presentation Workload management including delegation of tasks and day-to-day team leadership Competent IT skills in order to collect and interpret data, present reports and compile presentations in a range of contexts Advanced verbal, non-verbal and written communication skills including communicating complex or potentially distressing information to patients / carers and managing conflict when appropriate Risk assessment skills Reflective practice skills able to give clear and effective feedback and support others to develop Develop and lead complex clinical audit within clinical area Lead / contribute to research activities relevant to clinical area locally and nationally Able to demonstrate clear and inspiring clinical leadership internally and externally always behaving as a role model Displays care, compassion, sensitivity and responsiveness to other peoples feelings and needs Able to work as part of a team, co-operating to work together and in conjunction with others and willing to help and assist wherever possible and appropriate appreciating the value of diversity in the workplace Able to develop, establish and maintain positive relationships with others both internal and external to the organisation and with patients and their carers Able to work under pressure, dealing with peaks and troughs in workload managing unpredictable service demands Positive and flexible attitude to dealing with change; able to respond to the changing needs of the patient in an appropriate and timely manner. Willing to change and accept change and to explore new ways of doing things and approaches Highly motivated and reliable Has a strong degree of personal integrity; able to adhere to standards of conduct based on a culture of equality and fairness Demonstrates values consistent with those of the Trust
Desirable
Experience of practical application of innovation techniques Knowledge/experience of highly specialised treatment modalities within the clinical area Evidence of clinical leadership Experience of change management theory
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 West View Surgery
Address 9 Park Road
Keynsham
Bristol
BS31 1BX
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://westviewsurgery.com/ (Opens in a new tab)