About this role
Job summary
Principal Pharmacist: Medication Safety and Governance
Department: Pharmacy
Band 8a, £57,528 - £64,750 Per annum, pro rata.
Hours: Full time, 37.5 per week plus on-call, all MKUH roles will be considered for flexible working
#TeamMKUH are looking for an experienced and passionate Principal Pharmacist to play a key role in Medication Safety and Governance at Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Working closely with the Medicines Use & Quality Manager, the post-holder will provide expert leadership, influence practice at senior level, and drive continuous improvement in patient safety. This is an excellent opportunity for an advanced pharmacy practitioner who wants to take the next step in the career and make a tangible impact on patient outcomes and service quality.
You will lead on ensuring there are robust systems for incident reporting, learning and assurance, leading investigations into medication-related incidents, supporting compliance with national safety alerts and CQC requirements, and providing expert advice on medicines governance.
Working collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams, senior clinicians, and operational leaders, you will influence strategic decision-making, support quality improvement initiatives, lead audits, and contribute to service development.
'We care We communicate We collaborate We contribute'
'Previous applicants need not apply'
Interview date: 21st July 2026
Main duties of the job
To support medicines safety, clinical governance and regulatory compliance across Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Trust.
To act to ensure the safe, effective, and high-quality use of medicines through robust systems, assurance processes, learning from incidents, and implementation of national safety alerts and regulatory requirements.
To support the Medicine Use and Quality Manager to develop and deliver the medicines governance agenda including the preparation and maintenance of pharmacy-wide policies and procedures relating to the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines.
To support the Trust's patient safety agenda, Quality Improvement (QI) programme, and compliance with CQC standards, NHS England requirements, and national patient safety frameworks.
To oversee and complete comprehensive reporting on medication incidents both within the pharmacy department and trust-wide to relevant committee meetings and to be responsible for driving actions to improve patient safety across the organisation.
To lead on the governance of Controlled Drugs working with the Clinical Director of Pharmacy and the Controlled Drug Accountable Officer.
To support the Medicine Use and Quality Manager to develop, deliver and evaluate the service they are responsible for in accordance with relevant standards and guidance.
Please refer to the Job Description attached for full details
About us
Milton Keynes University Hospital, in proud partnership with the University of Buckingham, is a University Teaching Hospital committed to advancing patient care through cutting-edge research and education. With a "Good" rating from the CQC and significant investment underway, this is an exciting time to join our team and grow your career.
As a medium sized general hospital, we provide a full range of general medical and surgical services, including a busy Emergency Department, Maternity, and Paediatrics. As the population of our city and surrounding areas continues to grow rapidly, we are expanding and enhancing our facilities to meet rising demand and improve access to care for all our communities.
We are also proud to offer a growing portfolio of specialist services. In January 2025 we opened our state-of-the-art Radiotherapy Centre, bringing advanced cancer treatment closer to home. Our services also include neonatology, specialist surgical care, and a wide range of diagnostics, supported by the new Community Diagnostic Centre at Whitehouse Health Centre.
Further investment is underway, including the construction of Oak Wards - a new ward block featuring two 24-bed wards - and the recently approved Women and Children's Centre, set to open by 2030.
Visit our website to explore the latest news and opportunities at MKUH - News - Milton Keynes University Hospital -
For further information about Milton Keynes please visit - Visit Milton Keynes
Job description Job responsibilities
NHS Staff Survey: Our staff scored Autonomy and Control at 7.19, well above the national average. Here, you're trusted to lead, innovate, and shape your work.
To represent Pharmacy and Medication Safety at organisational Operational, Safety and Governance meetings.
To represent pharmacy at multi-disciplinary patient safety incident response framework (PSIRF) meetings.
To support the internal pharmacy PSIRF panel in collaboration with pharmacy area leads and managers.
To investigate medications-related incidents, liaising with and delegating to pharmacy managers where necessary.
To participate and where necessary lead on hot debriefs, after action reviews (AARs) and MDT investigation into medication-related incidents as deemed by the patient safety team.
To develop a good working relationship and communications with clinical and managerial staff in the clinical divisions and provide a link regarding all aspects of Medication Safety across local health economy.
To ensure effective communication with the Patient Safety Team and the Pharmacy team, between the team and the rest of the Pharmacy, within the Trust and external to the Trust as appropriate
Please refer to attached Job description for full details.
We believe success lies in the diversity of our employees and are committed to promoting equality, encouraging diversity and embracing inclusion. We welcome applications from everyone interested in working for us.
MKUH is committed to equal opportunities and improving the working lives of our staff and as such we offer a range of flexible working practices.
We reserve the right to expire vacancies prior to the advertised closing date once enough applications have been received.
MKUH uses identification scanning technology to confirm the authenticity of documents; all prospective employees of MKUH will have their original documents verified using this technology.
By applying for this role, you accept if successful, that information from your application will be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR) system. Your personal data may be transferred from the Trust to another NHS organisation where your employment transfers within the NHS. This is in accordance with the streamlining programme which aims at saving you time and improving efficiencies within the NHS when your employment transfers.
Upon commencing employment with the Trust all employees (except Medical & Dental Staff on national terms and conditions)are subject to a probationary period lasting a period of six months with an option to extend for a further six months to a total of 12months.
Person Specification
Qualifications and knowledge Essential
B.Pharm. / M.Pharm Registered with GPhC Post-graduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy or equivalent experience Evidence of on-going CPD (in line with GPhC requirements) Evidence of a good understanding of medicines safety. Formal teaching or mentoring training
Desirable
Relevant Post-graduate qualification at Master level or above. Independent prescribing qualification Member of RPS
Experience Essential
Demonstrates a passion for Medication Safety & Governance Significant post registration experience in a hospital Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team to provide patient care Experience of managing drug expenditure and understanding of budgetary mechanism Experience of audit work and research Evidence of supporting multidisciplinary teams through change in clinical settings Experience of service development or change management An awareness of current national standards, guidelines and delivery issues relevant to patient and medication safety Experience of supervising, developing and appraising staff as well as giving feedback
Desirable
Experience of writing policy, guidelines, SOPs, PGDs/PSDs/MAPs, Experience of writing evaluations or reviews of medicines and critically appraising evidence Awareness of tools and techniques to support horizon scanning. Experience of providing Medicines Information and Pharmacy Advice Service to patients and HCPs
Skills Essential
IT, Presentation skills and report writing Meets targets and identifies a vision for the delivery of pharmacy and medicine services to patients Good inter-personal skills, with the ability to liaise and influence senior managers and consultants Meets expected levels of practice as identified by others and identifies new areas of practice Understands local and national priorities in care and has the ability to reconcile these with local realities Demonstrable ability to manage time, people and resources to deliver outcomes Integrates research evidence and audit results into practice; documented experience of own research & audit Identifies and manages risk Demonstrates awareness of and commitment to governance and medicines safety agendas Demonstrates clinical knowledge, clinical reasoning and judgement; manages difficult and ambiguous problems Identifies own training needs, actively seeks training opportunities and maintains a portfolio of practice Works autonomously and can delegate authority appropriately Evaluates the quality of own work and can evaluate service quality An ability to prioritise a complex workload and work accurately under pressure
Personal and people development Essential
Experience as a trainer Experience of supervising, developing and appraising staff as well as giving feedback
Communication Essential
Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to influence others Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written Evidence of team working Evidence of effective and timely project delivery
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 Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Address Pharmacy (Dept)
Milton Keynes
MK6 5LD
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.mkuh.nhs.uk/working-at-mkuh (Opens in a new tab)