Specialist Clinical Pharmacist – Antimicrobials, OPAT and VWS

Job description Job responsibilities Please view job description attached to view full responsibilities of role. Job summary 1. The post-holder will support the Lead Pharmacist - Antimicrobials in developing the specialist clinical pharmacy service to the outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) team within, in line with local and national standards and policies, ensuring the safe, clinical and cost-effective use of medicines and staff resources. 2. The post-holder will support the Lead Pharmacist - Virtual Ward Service to ensure that the supply and service provision of OPAT within the virtual ward service is maintained. 3. The post-holder will provide a specialised level of pharmaceutical care to patients and will support other healthcare staff in the safe and appropriate use of medicines. 4. The post-holder will be a source of specialised advice within their area of clinical specialism to other pharmacists and healthcare professionals, including participation in multidisciplinary and governance meetings. 5. The post-holder will support the Lead Pharmacist for Education & Training in delivering training to pharmacists and foundation pharmacists within their area of clinical specialism and must undertake clinical supervision, mentoring and ward-based assessments of junior pharmacists, medicines management technicians and foundation pharmacists. 6. The post-holder will undertake clinical pharmacy audit and practice research under the guidance of the Lead Pharmacist - Antimicrobials and the Lead Pharmacist Virtual Ward Service. 7. Provide cover for the Lead Antimicrobial Pharmacist and Lead Virtual Ward Service Pharmacist as required. Job responsibilities 1. Clinical Services To be the primary Specialist Pharmacist for the OPAT/antibiotics at home service, working closely with the OPAT Specialist Nurses, Consultant Microbiologists, Lead Antimicrobial Pharmacist and Virtual Ward Services Pharmacy team. This will include clinical review of all patient cases (including inpatients, outpatients and admission avoidance), reporting and actioning any pharmaceutical care plans with the OPAT team and achieving safe and effective medicines optimisation. Attendance at weekly multidisciplinary teams will provide further opportunity for discussion. Ensure that the repeat OPAT dispensing process is well organised in correlation with available pharmacy technician resource for all OPAT patients (corresponding with the Dispensary Manager). Liaise with the Lead Pharmacist for Virtual Ward Services for this aspect of operational governance. Support the delivery of the clinical pharmacy service within a refined list of medical division wards, by providing a specialised level of pharmaceutical care. This will include visiting wards, speaking to individual patients to discuss all aspects of their medicines, ensuring that prescriptions are appropriate and safe, arranging supply, and when necessary, liaising with other healthcare professionals with regard to all aspects of a patients prescription and pharmaceutical care. Practise as a specialised clinical pharmacist within local and national policies and standards to deliver medicines optimisation to individual patients. Develop and maintain highly specialist knowledge in the use of medicines within a defined speciality. Clinically review individual patients treatment and determine the most appropriate choice of medication in response to complex series of data relating to their condition, their response to treatment and reduction of avoidable adverse events. Where the post holder is an Independent Prescriber, prescribe drugs within their area of clinical expertise and scope of practice. Support the medical, nursing and the site management team to facilitate patient discharges in order to maximise patient flow. Authorise electronic discharges prescriptions, resolving prescribing errors and ambiguities with prescribers. Provide information about medicines to all ward staff, in areas such as the correct calculation of doses and administration of intravenous medication, clinical interpretation of potential drug interactions and dose adjustments to be made for patients with complex medical problems. Ensure that a complete and accurate drug history and medicines reconciliation is carried out and documented for all newly admitted patients and that any discrepancies or problems are resolved. Provide each patient on the ward with appropriate pharmaceutical care, responding to individuals requirements. Provide specialised medication related advice, including individualised advice on medication dosing, drug choice, administration, drug level monitoring and dose adjustment, the use of unlicensed medicines, the use of medicines outside the terms of their product licence and advice on the safety of medications. Advise clinicians of all levels to influence treatment decisions that will lead to improvements in patient care. Carry out a comprehensive medication review for high-risk patients, to ensure medicines optimisation, and avoidance of predictable adverse drug reactions and interactions. Report or otherwise encourage the reporting of suspected adverse drug reactions via the MHRA yellow card scheme. Ensure that all patients understand how to take their medication prior to discharge, and counsel any patients when necessary, particularly those taking complex drug regimes, those who are anxious or with physical or mental disabilities and those with language difficulties. Provide appropriate verbal or written information to patients or their relatives about their medicines when necessary, particularly where this may influence the success of treatment once the patient has been discharged. Respond appropriately to patients or relatives complaints about pharmaceutical issues arising on the ward. Ensure that all prescriptions comply with legal requirements and with Trust policy. Ensure that the cost-effectiveness of medicines is taken into account when prescribing decisions are made and that prescribing is in accordance with the hospital formulary. To follow Trust Policy when determining if there is a genuine clinical need for a drug to be prescribed outside the formulary for an individual patient. Liaise with medical and nursing staff to ensure the timely supply of medication to inpatients to minimise missed doses and to facilitate the discharge process by ensuring the timely availability of medication. Ensure the safe and legal storage of all medicines on the ward including controlled drugs (CDs) and carry out 3-monthly CD audits under the direction of the Lead Pharmacist Team. Liaise with the primary care sector to ensure follow-up of pharmaceutical care in the community for patients needing additional pharmaceutical support, such as compliance aids. Work with the Ward Technicians to ensure an efficient and effective pharmaceutical service for patients. Respond to requests for medical information following Medicines Information procedures and protocols, carrying out literature searches and analysis of complex information to provide clinically interpreted responses. 2. Education and Training Support the delivery of training and competency assessments of allocated foundation pharmacists to the standards established by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), identifying the need of further training if necessary. Supervise allocated foundation pharmacists and act as a post graduate foundation pharmacist tutor in accordance with the requirements of the GPhC. Carry out GPhC quarterly appraisals of foundation pharmacist tutees, inform the GPhC of their progress and final competence to become registered pharmacists. Supervise allocated pharmacists in their clinical diploma activities and act as a clinical diploma pharmacist tutor in accordance with the requirements of their university provider. Undertake regular accompanied ward visits and ward-based assessments with pharmacists to ensure practice standards and competencies are being met. Provide clinical education, training and development of all pharmacy staff.