Rotational Specialist Pharmacist inPlymouth inPlymouth PUBLISHED FRI 11 OCT 2024

Up to 37.5 hours per week.

We are seeking exceptional pharmacists to join our pharmacy team at LSW working across our community, general medicine, frailty, mental health, substance misuse and virtual ward areas. You will be confident, motivated individuals who will work closely with other health care professionals within the organisation to a deliver a responsive and pro-active people focused service to continuously improve clinical pharmacy delivery.

As a rotational specialist pharmacist you will have the unique opportunity to rotate and work across different sectors within the organisation that will give you a wealth of experience in different clinical areas of pharmacy enabling you to further develop your knowledge and career aspirations.

In this post your personal and professional development will be key to achieving job satisfaction and success. You will be supported in your clinical and leadership development by experienced pharmacists and through formal education.

At LSW we support flexible working and value work life balance. We currently provide clinical pharmacy services Monday to Friday, with no late nights, weekend or bank holiday working. We have free parking available on site.

For an informal discussion about the role, please email Nicola Diffey

Interviews will take place between 18th and 22nd of November 2024.

You work under the supervision and support of the Advanced Clinical Pharmacists in MH and Community and General Medicine to provide clinical pharmacy services to inpatient and community based services across LSW specialties.

This role in particular centres on rotations through general medicine (medical rehabilitation, stroke rehabilitation and neuro rehabilitation)and mental health (acute, rehabilitation and forensic inpatient units along side community mental health areas).

There will be opportunities to gain experience working within the virtual ward (acute and community), within substance misuse, and within medicines governance, contributing to policy and guideline writing and carrying out audits.

You will deliver a high quality, clinical pharmacy service ensuring the safe, clinically effective and cost-efficient use of drugs. This will be achieved through attendance at ward rounds / MDTs and being responsible for medicines reconciliation on admission, medicines optimisation and provision of clinical services during inpatient stay, and pharmacy authorisation of discharge summaries.

This role may not be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route.

Please note that Livewell may close the job advertisement earlier than the specified deadline if a high number of applications are submitted. Therefore, we recommend you submit your application at the earliest opportunity.

All Livewell staff are expected to be able and willing to work across a 7 day service.

About us

Professional/Clinical

Under the direction of the Clinical Director of Pharmacy and supported by the Advanced Clinical Pharmacist you will:

Deliver optimum clinical pharmacy services to patients within our care

Attend MDTs and consultant ward rounds. Be responsible for the safe and effective transfer of patients across care settings including medicines reconciliation on admission and authorise discharge summaries on discharge

Provide clinical pharmacist support and advice to consultants, junior doctors, nurses, members of the MDT, patients and their carers by completion of medicines reconciliation, comprehensive drug histories, pharmacist led medication reviews, monitoring and advising on strategies to optimise response to therapies

Be supported in this training post to achieve a Clinical Diploma and Independent Prescriber qualification or similar qualification.

Contribute to the clinical governance agenda(s) of the service and of the organisation

Review policies and procedures relevant to pharmacy and monitor and evaluate medicines related protocols and guidelines

Propose policy or service changes to improve the delivery of pharmaceutical care to patients which may have multidisciplinary and resource implications

Use risk stratification tools/protocols to minimise the risk of harm from medicines

Implement changes following local and national drug alerts/information in accordance with local policy

Provide pharmacist cover for other areas and settings during annual leave or sickness

Attend, deliver and contribute to CPD sessions and peer review for the purposes of revalidation in order to maintain professional registration

Clinical services will be achieved through

Contribution to multidisciplinary team meetings, this will require pharmaceutical advice ensuring optimum treatment is recommended for every patient

Undertake medication reviews with patients to support optimum therapy and adherence, making recommendations to prescribers and the MDT and involving the patient in every aspect of their treatment

Review and interpret clinical data each day for patients requiring therapeutic drug monitoring

Recommendation of appropriate therapy for individual patients where evidence is not available, controversial, evidence exists, or other professionals may challenge advice

Provide advice on the pharmaceutical and pharmacodynamics properties of drugs including alterations of these parameters in special groups of patients, such as the older adult or those with mental health conditions.

Attendance at Consultant/Doctor/white board/MDT meetings to actively facilitate and provide advice on the treatment of patients

Promote compliance by prescribers and other healthcare staff with the South and West Devon Formulary and Referral

Application of the evidence base behind drug therapies

Identification of adverse drug reactions and reporting them to the MHRA via the Yellow Card system

Complete medicines reconciliation within 24hours for acute areas (72hrs at weekends) and within 7 days for rehabilitation areas as patients enter and leave services, identifying and informing prescribers of any changes

Contribute to the organisations wider antimicrobial surveillance programme, implementing local programmes ensuring appropriate antimicrobial prescribing within the organisation

Contribute to public health campaigns, including flu vaccinations, and adult immunisation programmes

Analytical and Judgmental skills

Applying specialist pharmaceutical knowledge to ensure drug, dose, frequency, route etc. are suitable for the individual patient. This may involve calculations and/or analysis of past medication/medical history and laboratory results

To clinically screen drug charts to ensure all aspects are compatible and no pharmaceutical needs are unmet

To clinically screen discharge summaries and ensure they are safe, detailed and complete to enable better transfer of care for patients across care settings

Use knowledge and professional judgement to respond to medicines related issues with the relevant clinician or team in a timely manner

Support the delivery of the NHS Devon ICB medicines optimisation agenda in primary care

Participation in audit and project work

Identify areas for service development, interpreting NICE recommendations and developing relevant pathways

Responding to medicines information requests from prescribers and other healthcare professionals and providing advice on medicines. In many cases this is a complex task involving specialist up to date knowledge, effective search strategies, evaluation of the evidence base and formulation of an appropriate response.

Contribute to clinical governance and risk management through interventions which optimise the management of medicines in all areas of practice, supporting best practice throughout all areas of responsibility.

Planning and Organisational skills

Organise and prioritise ones own workload in order to respond to urgent and varied requests in a timely manner.

Be flexible according to the needs of the service, which are often unpredictable

Ability to work under pressure to ensure that deadlines are achieved

Service Development:

Agree therapeutic areas of practice for development and independent prescribing in accordance with your competency and the requirements of the service

Implement changes aligned to local and national drivers for organisational and system service improvements that are designed to enhance the delivery of care to patients across the system

Actively contribute to the development of the Clinical Pharmacy Service initiatives that improve patient care and access across the system

Contribute to the delivery of initiatives that help with the seamless transfer of patients between different healthcare settings

Integrate research evidence into your practice and identify gaps in the evidence base

Provide education and training to all healthcare professionals

Write and review Medicines Policies, procedures and guidelines under the direction and support of the Advanced Clinical Pharmacist and senior management team

Review Patient Group Directions and Protocols with training and support from the Advance Clinical Pharmacist

Take part in audit work

Development and Support of other Pharmacy Staff

Provide training and mentorship to other pharmacists, trainee pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy assistants, work experience students, volunteers and any other members of staff needing support as required.

Health, Safety and Security:

To work safely in the dispensary or ward environment ensuring any risks identified to health and safety are managed or escalated to line manager

To ensure safety and security of medicines, prescription stationery and other patient identifiable documents according to locally agreed standard operating procedures

To inform line manager of any breaches of safety or security or if agreed procedures are thought to be inadequate to manage the risk

Training and Development

This is a training post to develop a pharmacist for their future career. Study at clinical pharmacy post-graduate diploma level and / or construction of an Advanced Practice Portfolio for RPS Faculty membership is encouraged

Study to achieve Independent Pharmacist Prescriber status will also be possible

Deliver appropriate training and education to healthcare colleagues, carer groups and outside agencies in order to promote the safe use and clinical application of drugs.

Freedom to Act:

Pharmacists are expected to work largely unsupervised and to act on their own professional judgement.

Support mechanisms exist within the clinical pharmacy service by contacting other team members on a mutually beneficial basis.

If studying for a specific qualification a suitable mentor and/or facilitator will be made available as necessary.

Line manager support is available as required.

Clinical supervision from another health professional can be arranged and is to be encouraged

Clinical roles are supported by policies, SOPs and guidelines within which the registered professional is allowed to exercise professional discretion / interpretation

Communications and Relationships

Well-developed verbal and written communications skills are essential to the role

Communicate medicines information (e.g. medicines doses and side effects) in oral or written form to patients and/or carers, who may have difficulties with understanding

Work with the Pharmacy team to manage day to day medicines queries, including face to face consultations with patients identified to have compliance or other problems in medicine administration

Be actively involved in patient counselling

Develop and implement patient/carer health educational groups across the organisation

Refer patients to other community services where appropriate

Discuss and resolve medication problems with prescribers where appropriate, ensuring treatment is appropriate, safe and effective

Input and maintain clinical and pharmacy records, for example using System-one IT, controlled drugs, unlicensed medication

To provide information for summary care records to other healthcare professional if appropriate to do so

Work collaboratively and effectively with all levels of healthcare staff in every area of work,

Physical Demands of the Job

There is a need to travel between sites, therefore ability to drive or commitment to attaining a driving license is essential, and to use own car is an advantage

Good keyboard / computer skills are essential.

Dispensing and checking of medication including blister packs as needed.

Manual handling may include small static loads and some patient handling