Summary of the post

Undertake a range of clinical and leadership activities in the various aspects of pharmacy practice within the Trust, being responsible for the provision of pharmacy services in the designated areas.

Key responsibilities

• Deliver an agreed standard of pharmaceutical care and medicines management to patients on a designated ward or group of wards which may include Acute or Community Hospitals.
• Provide clinical advice and professional support to the bedside medicines management team ensuring individualised, safe and effective reuse of patients’ own medication and continuing medicine requirements.
• Ensure early co-ordination and implementation of a timely and effective discharge planning process, authorising discharge prescriptions and dispensing at ward level and ensuring seamless care at the discharge interface including communication to patients, GPs, community pharmacists and other agencies e.g. nursing homes and community hospitals. This will include e.g. highlighting changes in medication and the organising of ongoing medication compliance aids.
• Professionally supervise, support and delegate tasks to pharmacy staff involved in the delivery of the medicines management service to the designated wards e.g. pharmacy technicians, pre-registration and training grade pharmacists.
• Responsible for pharmaceutical care input into the multidisciplinary team.
• Contribute to consultant ward rounds.
• Monitor and influence the practice of other healthcare providers, including medical staff, to ensure that prescribing and medicines use is safe and effective for patients.
• Ensure the provision of a prescription monitoring service to the wards applying specialist expertise in this area.
• Co-ordinate a professional screen for all inpatient and discharge prescriptions including accurate interpretation of biochemical and haematological results, and other clinical data. Report all appropriate adverse drug reactions via national reporting scheme.
• Work as an independent prescriber (when qualified), developing the role for designated areas of clinical practice.
• Ensure the provision of accurate, evaluated and impartial up to date and helpful information and advice about medicines to ensure safe, clinically effective and cost efficient use of medicines in patients and health care professionals, making an informed decision on the appropriate response required.
• Work as an independent prescriber (when qualified), developing the role for designated areas of clinical practice.
• Deal with sensitive and emotional issues that relate to a patient’s diagnosis and drug treatment; communicate and convey information to the recipient in an appropriate manner and with the appropriate terminology.
• Advise nursing and medical staff regarding drug choice and drug administration (including therapeutic drug monitoring resolving local prescribing issues and adhering to local formularies.
• Ensure the accuracy of drug histories for patients within the designated wards.
• Carry out high quality medication counselling on the wards and outpatient areas as requested by patients, nursing and medical staff.
• Advise on pharmaceutical stability, being involved in the calculation, formulation and preparation of small scale extemporaneous medications, injections and infusions for individual patient requirements.
• Provide medicines information including e.g. stability, storage, legislation, compatibility, dosage and adverse drug reaction data in a prompt and definitive manner, particularly for urgent requests to enquiries.
• Carry a bleep to ensure availability for any urgent requests for advice or pharmaceutical services throughout the working day.
• Provide, on a planned basis, clinical advice and professional support to the dispensary.
• Comply with infection prevention and control procedures at all times.
• Comply with responsibility to safeguard children and vulnerable adults, ensuring attendance at appropriate training.
• Participate in the emergency out of hours service, to include:

o    provision of advice to hospital staff, outside agencies and patients and carers   concerning all aspects of medicines management;

o    supply of medication to wards/departments within the trust or other trusts;

o    sourcing of supplies of medicines not held within the dept from other Trusts, wholesalers, manufacturers as necessary;

o    dealing with unexpected and unpredictable requests from other hospital staff, including major incident planning.

•    Have knowledge of and be involved in the clinical trials on-going within the trust and the legal documentation and legislation requirements of named patient drugs and unlicensed products.

Person specification

• MPharm or equivalent
• Registration with General Pharmaceutical Council
• Completion or near completion of a postgraduate clinical qualification and/or significant relevant clinical experience to demonstrate a similar level of knowledge
• Experience/knowledge of Acute/Community hospital pharmacy work
• Broad clinical and pharmaceutical knowledge
• Relevant specialist knowledge
• Demonstrable understanding of current issues within pharmacy and the NHS
• Continuing professional development evidenced by portfolio
• Computer literate

For more information please review the full job description in the Additional Information section