Whittington Hospital NHS Trust rIDPs5Rx
The role encompasses a variety of responsibilities including leading medication governance, supporting education related to prescribing, conducting patient assessments, developing personalized care plans, and ensuring effective communication among healthcare professionals. Additionally, the pharmacist will manage medication provision, conduct audits, and support the integration of pharmacy services across community and acute settings. The position requires a commitment to improving the quality of patient care and promoting evidence-based medicine while actively engaging in promoting self-management and health gain through education and collaboration with healthcare providers.
This post can be offered as a development opportunity at Band 7 with progression to Band 8a following completion successful completion of the ACP course.
The advanced pharmacist will provide a highly specialist clinical and professional pharmaceutical service to virtual ward at Whittington Hospital. They will need to support the wider multidisciplinary team in developing sound governance, building out pharmacy related pathways across the both the ICO and NCL, improve medications optimisation, ensure high quality, safe medication provision and support education across the service in relation to prescribing and administration of medication.
These teams offer clinically stable patients an enhanced supported discharge from the acute hospital focusing on shortening inpatient length of stay by offering nursing care at home as an alternative to continued hospital stay, for up to two weeks.
The post holder will proactively manage a caseload of patients requiring complex case management in order to prevent hospital admissions and facilitate early discharge to improve patient health outcomes. Patients requiring case management in the virtual ward and Rapid Response services will be identified by case-finding in the Ambulatory Emergency Care (AEC) unit, Accident and Emergency department, Whittington Hospital, UCLH and LAS, Care Homes, Community Nurses and via GP referral and NHS 111 referrals.
Facilitate the early discharge ('step-down') of patients from Whittington Health and UCLH inpatient wards and complete their recovery in the home environment by working collaboratively with the AEC Consultant.Also contribute to admission avoidance for 'step-up' patients via the complex frailty virtual ward pathway and rapid response services.
Provide and develop a specialist clinical pharmacy service to improve the quality of patient care and to promote evidence-based, cost-effective prescribing and use of medicines. Identify risks related to medicines and manage these to ensure patient safety and improve patient experience.
To help with overall governance of medication within the Virtual Wards
Lead on projects and audits to monitor the delivery of the pharmacy service as the virtual ward evolves.
To ensure safe and secure handling of medications as dictated by the Whittington and RPS standards
To support the provision of clinical pharmacy services to patients requiring pharmaceutical support once discharged from the hospital to Virtual Wards
To provide day to day management of medication provision to Virtual Wards
To support medicines management and medication optimisation activities within the Virtual Wards and providing support to the wider multidisciplinary team (MDT) in this area, when needed
To help with integration of pharmacy services across adult community services and the acute site
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Be aware of and utilise appropriate resources within the Virtual Wards team and in the provision of total patient care. To help manage the team on a day to day basis, supporting junior staff with decision making and skills development
Act as a link pharmacist to AEC consultants, GPs, Community Nurses, LAS, Social Services and other relevant professional areas as necessary.
Undertake a comprehensive baseline assessment for each identified patient in conjunction with the AEC consultant, patient, relatives, carers and patient care team.
Use the assessment to agree and implement a patient held personalised plan of care to be agreed with the patient, relatives and carers and the patient care team
Ensure that there are effective communications with other agencies (including Out of Hours Services) about care plans and maximise the input of these agencies to support patients at homePromote self-management and health gain through patient education and health promotion activity
Prescribe medication as appropriate and help with auditing and monitoring of the overall service prescribing. Further education and guidance for wider MDT around prescribing practice
Perform and document episodic examinations to support proactive monitoring of chronic diseases and identification of early symptoms of exacerbation and liaise with professionals including the Lead Matron as necessary.
Work collaboratively with the AEC consultant or GP (as agreed) and liaise following any significant event, to review and amend treatment.
Ensure that as far as possible the patient care is provided in the community and to work with the AEC consultant, ward consultants and/ or General Practitioner and patient care team to facilitate this and reduce hospital admission.
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