About this role
Job summary
The Purbeck PCN Pharmacy Team includes Clinical Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians and a Care Co-ordinator, working alongside General Practice and the PCN clinical teams. This is a part time post of 27.5 hours a week based at Swanage Medical Practice and the PCN office in Wareham. The Clinical Pharmacist will be required to work flexibly to meet the needs of the service and this role will include supporting patients in care homes and also home visits for housebound patients.
The Clinical Pharmacist will need to liaise with GP practices, hospital pharmacy teams, local community pharmacists, social services, care homes and care agencies to ensure any continuing medicine management issues are addressed and managed throughout the patients care pathway. The Clinical Pharmacist will provide relevant information to patients/carers and staff on matters relating to medication. The Clinical Pharmacist will counsel patients on how to take their medicines and identify any barriers to them taking their medication. The Clinical Pharmacist will undertake face to face and person-centred consultations with the emphasis on shared decision making. This post will involve assisting the PCN in achieving national requirements, NICE implementation, and utilisation of medicine optimisation initiatives.
Main duties of the job
Please see the Job Description for the full details.
To be part of a multi-skilled primary care team in a patient facing role. Providing patient centred medical services based on patient needs with a focus on continuity of care. Including: Patient facing / telephone Structured Medication Reviews.
About us
Purbeck PCN is made up of 6 member practices and works closely with the wider locality to improve and enhance patient care. Purbeck PCN is committed to delivering an integrated neighbourhood team approach within the community and works to improve patient access to local services, by working with many sectors including the voluntary sector, mental health services, Help & Care, and Dorset Mind.
Job description Job responsibilities
To be part of a multi-skilled primary care team in a patient facing role providing patient centred medical services based on patient needs with a focus on continuity of care. Including:
Patient facing / telephone Clinical Structured Medication Reviews
Be responsible for the care management of patients with chronic diseases and undertake clinical medication reviews to proactively manage people with complex polypharmacy, especially the elderly, people in care homes, those with multiple co-morbidities and people with learning disabilities or autism
Review the on-going need for each medication, ensuring monitoring needs are performed and use the opportunity to support patients achieve better health outcomes through shared decision-making conversations
Support patients to take their medications to get the best from them, reduce waste and promote self-care
Make appropriate recommendations to prescribers
Promote safe disposal of medicines and recycling of inhaler
Patient facing consultation Long-term Condition clinics
Help to set up pharmacist-run long term condition clinics particularly for patients with complicated medication regimes. This could include, but is not limited to:
Optimisation of blood pressure control where clinically appropriate.
Optimisation of lipids using nationally recognised pathways
Optimisation of diabetic control
Optimisation of medicines for Chronic Kidney disease
HRT or contraception reviews / advice
Patient facing consultation Care Home Medication Reviews
Undertake clinical medication reviews, formulate a medicines optimisation plan jointly with the patient/ carer and facilitate its implementation by working with other professionals, services and agencies as necessary
Support patients to wean from medications including opioids, gabapentinoids and antidepressants in line with national guidance.
Work with care home staff to improve safety of medicines ordering and administration.
Medicines information
Answers relevant medicine-related enquiries from GPs, other practice staff, other healthcare teams (e.g. community pharmacy) and patients. These are known as tasks and letters and must be actioned during each shift, prioritising urgent requests and ensuring routine requests are processed in a timely way.
Suggest and recommend solutions using clinical knowledge and trusted pharmaceutical sources
Medicine Reconciliation
Carry out medication reviews and reconciliation for all new patients.
Medication reviews for patients whose care is transferred back into primary care, often this will be via a discharge summary.
Medicines Management
Support initiatives for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing locally.
Supporting the practice with the Month of Birth recall process, which includes annual medication safety checks and those of high risk drugs monitoring, complying with relevant Practice policies.
Support the PCN pharmacy team in to manage blood monitoring of High-Risk Drugs and DOACs across the PCN.
Provide specialist expertise in the use of medicines whilst helping to address both the public health and social care needs of patients at the PCNs practices and to help in tackling inequalities
Undertake and, where appropriate, lead on any specific medicines optimisation-based projects/portfolio areas of work as may be required by the Pharmacy Team, e.g., diabetes medication, blood pressure optimisation, lipid lowering therapy
Collaborating Working Relationships
Work collaboratively with ICB medicines management teams
Develop relationships and work closely with other pharmacy professionals within and across the PCN and the wider health and social care system
Take a central role in the clinical aspects of shared care protocols, clinical research with medicines, liaison with specialist pharmacists, liaison with community pharmacists and anticoagulation
Explores the potential for collaborative working and takes opportunities to initiate and sustain such relationships
Education and Training
Enrol in the NHS England CPPE Primary care pharmacy education program (if not already undertaken) and complete the 18-month course. This will be fully supported by the PCN, and time allocated for study days.
Complete the Independent Prescribing course (if not already undertaken)
Medicines optimisation
Demonstrate self-development through continuous professional development
Develop a good working knowledge of the clinical systems used by the practices
Attend internal and external meetings and training courses, and supervision sessions with designated GP supervisor on a regular basis
Complete regular mandatory training
Provide clinical supervision pharmacy technicians in the Practice and PCN pharmacy team
Practice
Support the implementation of national prescribing policies and guidance within the practice, care homes and other primary care settings. This will be achieved through undertaking clinical audits, supporting quality improvement measures and contributing to the Quality and Outcomes Framework and enhanced services.
Support the delivery of the pharmacy and medicines optimisation elements of the network service specifications within the Network Contract DES (Pharmacy Quality Scheme)
Help the GPs with reauthorising medication and repeat prescribing process and medication reviews.
Supporting the practices Month of Birth recall process, ensuring compliance with relevant Policies.
Answering medication queries from patients
Understand the role of CQC in General practice and adhere to practice policies.
Take part in significant event meetings and practice protected learning meetings.
Service development
Work with GPs and Pharmacy Technicians to create processes and Standard Operating Procedures for use within the practice and pharmacy teams, which offer improvement in consistency and delivery of our services to patients.
Contribute pharmaceutical advice for the development and implementation of new services
Identify areas of good practice and help to disseminate across the PCN
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
To discuss development needs with line manager and establish an agreed development plan in order to consistently achieve best practice and continuously improve personal performance.
To identify own training needs and attend relevant study days/courses as agreed by the line manager and in accordance with the Personal Development Plan.
To demonstrate appropriate behaviour in stressful and difficult situations, recognising personal limitations.
WORKING CONDITIONS
The role requires flexibility, as there are often changes to the planned programme of work, according to matters arising for independent contractors requiring urgent attention.
COMMUNICATION AND WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
The post holder will:
Work actively to develop good and effective working relationships with colleagues in the Practice and PCN and with individuals and external organisations in order to develop the service, facilitate collaborative working and mutually beneficial solutions to problems.
Act as an ambassador for the Practice team and the PCN in terms of telephone and in personal contacts and as a friendly and competent point of access to the Practice and PCN for outside organisations.
Work collaboratively with colleagues to ensure that resources are used flexibly to meet the demand, including providing assistance in times of particular pressure in any area.
Assimilate, manage, and communicate a wide range of information, some of which will be sensitive and complex and may involve matters relating to individual staff or patient matters or to matters of commercial confidence.
ENVIRONMENTAL
The post holder may be required to concentrate for sustained periods and the post requires significant periods of DSE usage. The post is practice based so the holder will be required to be on site and in an office / consulting room environment for extended periods. The post involves the holder making multiple telephone calls to patients per day.
Person Specification
Personal Qualities Essential
Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with individuals from all agencies and at all levels including service users, carers, and professionals. Demonstrated ability in having excellent communication and organisational skills. Self-motivated and able to work with limited direction. Ability and commitment to engage with and empower service users and carers. Excellent written and oral presentation skills. Demonstrated ability to work methodically and accurately. Demonstrated ability to support colleagues and check own or colleagues work as appropriate. Ability to work independently without direct supervision. Subject to the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act, able to travel using own vehicle. Demonstrable skills in written and spoken English, adequate to enable the post holder to carry out the role effectively.
Desirable
Demonstrated ability in training.
Experience Essential
Can plan, manage, monitor, advise and review medication for patients in core areas, including long term conditions. An appreciation of NHS agenda, national policies and government targets. Basic IT skills, normally obtained through practice or practical training.
Desirable
Primary Care experience. Recent experience of developing and implementing pharmaceutical care initiatives. Relevant theoretical and practical knowledge of Primary Care Networks and General Practice. An understanding of the current PCN DES specifications. Awareness of GP budget management and funding systems to enable GP clinical pharmacist services to assist delivery of PCN and NHS priorities and requirements for financial balance and quality. Awareness of systems to support management of patients in a primary care setting, delivering pharmaceutical input and support in the context of pathways of care and the business of the organisations. Evidence of involvement in education and training of other professionals. A wide range of IT skills especially Microsoft 365 software and specifically Excel. Experience of working with clinical management systems, especially SystmOne.
Qualifications Essential
Pharmacy Degree Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education primary care Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) registration Education Pathway (PCPEP) qualification or working towards/ willing to enrol
Desirable
Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Postgraduate diploma in Clinical Pharmacy or equivalent experience Registered non-medical prescriber
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 Purbeck Primary Care Network
Address Swanage Medical Practice
Station Approach
Swanage
Dorset
BH19 1HB
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.purbeckpcn.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)