Clinical Pharmacist

Job description Job responsibilities Purpose of the roleHaving Clinical Pharmacists in GP practices means that GPs can focus their skills where they are most needed, for example on diagnosing and treating patients with more complex conditions. This helps GPs to manage the demands on their time.Clinical GP Pharmacists work as a key part of the primary care network (PCN) multi-disciplinary team to improve value and outcomes from medicines and consult with and treat patients directly. This includes providing extra help to manage long-term conditions, advice for those on multiple medicines and better access to health checks. The role is pivotal to improving the quality of care and ensuring patient safety. Key Responsibilities Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients with the purpose of optimising drug therapy, reducing polypharmacy, minimising waste and adherence to formulary. Any changes made should be communicated effectively to the individuals involved. This may be practice based or involve home visits. Medicines should be reauthorised at this stage to indicate that a review has been completed. Long term condition reviews, these will take place both face to face and via telephone, where the intention is to optimise medical care for a patient with a long term condition (e.g. hypertension). It should be ensured that the patient is having the appropriate monitoring and review by the relevant individuals Frailty reviews, to provide medications reviews for those individuals identified as being frail and where medicines de-optimisation may be appropriate Participate in joint reviews where identified with other members of the MDT, to provide prescribing and drug related advice. Management of common / self-limiting illness, to provide advice and review of those patients with a common or self-limiting illness. This may involve signposting them to the relevant individual or providing advice and/or prescription Attend primary / secondary care interface meetings and where attended disseminate any key messages out amongst the team. Administration of vaccinations. Where appropriate training has been completed the opportunist and planned administration of vaccinations (i.e. influenza) Assist with the development and review of any practice policies and procedures, particularly those involving prescribing and the supply of medicines. Medicines reconciliation of medicines between care settings, ensure that medicine changes on discharge and following secondary care review are appropriately documented and actioned. Where necessary any follow up, monitoring or communication is arranged. Where needed to communicate information between care settings for patients moving between care settings i.e. on admission to hospital. To recognise own limitations and to be able to refer to seniors or more appropriate colleague(s) when needed Recognises the roll of others within the local and wider healthcare environment and their role within patient care. To encourage and signpost to alternative resources where possible, this will include social prescribers, community pharmacy, online resources, patient support groups. Telephone enquiries. To deal with general telephone enquiries from patients and the wider MDT (i.e. community pharmacy) Medicines administration, to deal with the reauthorisation, monitoring and appropriate prescribing of repeat and acute medications. This will include personally reviewing prescriptions and reauthorizing medications, and the training of staff and provision of policies to ensure that this is completed. This may include ordering the relevant investigations and if necessary, making patient referrals. To be a point of advice within the MDT for medicines related queries. These should be dealt with in a timely and appropriate manner. Facilitate and participate in MDT meetings and training particularly those involving prescribing or drug administration. New patients, to review and set up new patients to practice, where needed optimising medications, or changing to formulary choices. To actively improve medication safety within the practice to minimise patient harm form any prescribed medications. This will include the review of the prescription of high risk drugs. Medication safety, to action any drug alerts or safety recalls in a timely manner communicating to the required individuals Medication safety. To participate in audit, both practice lead, local and national to improve patient safety and to optimise prescribing and cost effective medicine usage. Care home reviews, as identified to complete care home medication reviews as required, taking into account, medicines optimisation, cost effective prescribing, long term conditions and frailty. To work with the care home pharmacists and staff, as requested, ensuring a profession working relationship, improving the safety of the prescription, administration and supply of medicines. To attend and participate in practice, local and national level meetings and training as identified by the individual practices. To work with the practice to ensure that local and national standards are met and considered especially around medicine prescription supply and administration, i.e. CQC, QOF. Be actively involved in the development and training of the MDT on medicines related issues. To support any public health campaigns. To be involved in the management, analysis and allocation of prescribing budgets. To analyse, interpret and present medicines related data to influence prescribing decisions. To promote cost effective prescribing, though a variety of resources which will include the joint Formulary, ePACT data, QOF, eclipse, optimise To work with the practice and PCN prescribing team to ensure safe cost effective prescribingProfessional development Develop strong MDT working relationships within the practice environment To develop and build strong working relationships with community pharmacy colleagues, utilising their service where possible. PCN & INT, to build strong working relationships within the PCN & INT teams, including the MDT, administration staff, support staff and managers. To work with the ICB prescribing team to optimise cost effective prescribing, and to understand and help work towards prescribing initiatives and incentives Good verbal and written communication skills to a variety of individuals including the MDT, patients, carers and system leaders.

Work with your supervising Pharmacist/Mentor to undertake continual personal and professional development, taking an active part in reviewing and developing the roles and responsibilities. Adhere to organisational policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, equality, diversity and inclusion training and health and safety. Where needed to be able to take ownership of an identified issue, feeding back where necessary and identifying any actions needed To feedback at practice level any prescribing issues, alerts or messages. This may be through a variety of media i.e. newsletter, attendance at meetings, email Responsibility for supervising, teaching and mentoring junior pharmacy staff, technicians or support staff. Miscellaneous The individual should be a car driver and be able to travel between sites or care settings. Be able to use VDU for a large proportion of the day. This will include prescribing systems, email, prescribing data, reports writing and web searching. Be able to deal with complaints or concerns regarding prescribing, medicines administration or supply, from either patients, carers, the immediate or wider MDT. Be able to manage a complex and changing workload, often working under pressure and time restrictions. This will require the individual to be able to prioritise appropriately, and manage their own time to ensure that deadlines are met. You should be able to organise and delegate workload as necessary utilising the MDT to ensure the smooth process and flow of work. Individuals should be registered with the GPhC, having successfully completed the pre-registration qualification and be committed to ongoing continuing professional development. Work as part of the healthcare team to seek feedback, continually improve the service and contribute to business planning. Contribute to the development of policies and plans relating to equality, diversity and health inequalities. Undertake any tasks consistent with the level of the post and the scope of the role, ensuring that work is delivered in a timely and effective manner. Duties may vary from time to time, without changing the general character of the post or the level of responsibility