About this role
Job summary
Join Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust as a band 8a Advanced Specialist Pharmacist and play a key role in transforming mental health care across Berkshire.
Working within Community Mental Health Services by providing expert medicines optimisation, prescribing, and clinical leadership to support people with complex mental health needs in the community. As an integral member of multidisciplinary teams, you will influence service development, deliver education and training, lead quality improvement initiatives, and help shape the primary and secondary care interface. We offer opportunities for independent prescribing and professional development across multiple Berkshire locations.
This post is a full time, permanent contract with base to be confirmed. We offer free onsite parking, top staff accommodation less than a 5-minute walk from your base.
Main duties of the job
- Help support and maintain clients in the community by advising them (and their carers) about how to optimise their medication therapy.
- Plan and deliver medicines management training for clinical staff in CMH service to help ensure high standards of practise are maintained within the service.
- Be a prescriber or supported to develop their role to become an independent non-medical prescriber to work autonomously and alongside the consultant teams.
- Lead in audit-related service development and implementation (including NICE standards)
- Have good people management skills and leadership capability to positively influence members of their team, patients/carers and other health-care stakeholders at all levels of seniority.
- There may also be inpatient ward cover as part of the clinical role and to ensure seamless care of patients across inpatient/outpatient settings in emergency situations
About us
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated 'outstanding' by the CQC, we're committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we're committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.
Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are
- Caring for and about you is our top priority
- Committed to providing good quality, safe services
- Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions
Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:
- Flexible working options to support work-life balance
- 27 days' annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
- Generous NHS pension scheme
- Excellent learning and career development opportunities
- 'Cycle to Work' and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
- Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
- Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
- Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
- Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
- Free parking across Trust sites
Job description
Job responsibilities
The must haves for this role
- Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council as a Pharmacist
- Postgraduate clinical qualification and hospital experience to be considered for band 8a
- Have a flexible approach to work in order to meet the developing needs of the pharmacy service
For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.
We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted.
Your application is your opportunity to demonstrate to us how you meet the requirements of the role. We recognise that AI tools can support accessibility, equity and confidence for applicants. However, its important that examples and responses given in your supporting statement genuinely reflect your own experience and abilities, as these will be explored further during the selection process. AI must not be used to provide misleading or false information during any stage of the application journey.
In addition to explaining how you meet the person specification, you must complete your employment history for at least the last five years. Any experience, skills or responsibilities referenced in your supporting statement should be evidenced within your employment history. Applications that do not include sufficient employment history to support the experience claimed may not be shortlisted.
We're committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Stonewall Proud Employer, Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.
We welcome any questions you may have. Please don't hesitate to contact Ozma Tahir, Deputy Chief Pharmacist, by phone on 07580737965 or email: [email protected]
Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.
Person Specification
Education, Qualifications or Training
Essential
- Good Pharmacy Honours degree (MPharm or BPharm)
- Clinical or Psychiatric Postgraduate Certificate
- Clinical or Psychiatric Postgraduate Diploma
- Non-Medical Prescriber (Pharmacist Independent Prescriber) or willing to undertake and complete the NMP training
- Registration with the General Pharmaceutical Society (GPhC)
Desirable
- MSc in Clinical Psychiatric Pharmacy or relevant research subject
- Member of the College of Mental Health Pharmacy
- Member of the Royal College of Pharmacy
Continuous Professional Development
Essential
- Evidence of continuing professional development and compliance with the GPhC CPD on-line recording system
- Willingness and ability to undertake all Trust statutory and mandatory training
Previous Experience
Essential
- Substantial post registration experience as a practising pharmacist
- Substantial experience of mental health hospital pharmacy
- Experience of multidisciplinary mental health team working and making clinically appropriate interventions
- Experience of line management
- Experience and competence to provide patient information & education to patients and carers
- Experience of teaching and training healthcare professionals at a range of levels (undergraduate and postgraduate)
- Experience of managing unpredictable work patterns and to effectively manage situations where concentration may be interrupted, for advice.
Desirable
- Experience in audit and project facilitation
- Experience of service planning and development
Knowledge, skills and abilities
Essential
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Demonstrates expert clinical knowledge and skills
- Up to date knowledge of NHS and DoH policies and publications relating to medicines, especially national patient & medicines safety agendas
- Ability to influence, negotiate with and practice at senior and directorate level
- High level of report writing and presentation skills
- Critical appraisal skills
- Ability to identify and manage risk
- Keyboard skills and computer literate, with the ability to use software packages appropriate to role
- Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills to communicate confidently and credibly in all situations
- Demonstrate ability to organise and prioritise own workload
- Demonstrates awareness of and commitment to the Clinical Governance agenda
- Keen to undertake self-development
- Diplomatic and assertive
- Good time management skills
- Ability to work under pressure, prioritise and to meet deadlines
- Ability to work alone and as part of a team
- Good mentoring, coaching and relationship building skills
- Self-motivated and confident
- Professional manner and physical appearance
- Demonstrates an empathetic, compassionate nature
- Leadership skills
- Adaptable in working practices, including flexibility to teach topics outside own area of expertise
- Role model for junior pharmacists and pre-registration pharmacists
Additional Requirements
Essential
- Ability to travel across all sites within the Trust
- Ability to work in restricted/ hot desk areas as and when required
- Flexible approach to work patterns in line with needs of service
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.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
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
Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust
Address
New Horizons, Pursers Court, Slough, Berkshire, SL2 5BX
Slough
SL2 5BX
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)